15+ tips for more time

Time robber

He is invisible, constantly sneaks up behind us and ambushes us. He's a mean thief. But he knows his trade perfectly. And he is omnipresent: the time thief.

We are hopelessly at his mercy if we don't watch out like hell. Yes, it is difficult to defend ourselves against him. But if we don't stop it, it will do whatever it wants to us. It's everywhere: at work, in the household, in everyday life and it even interferes with our private lives, robbing us of time even when we're asleep. The nasty thing about it is that it is as invisible as a ghost.
It means we lose so much precious time for the really nice things in life, for which we simply no longer have time. How nice it would be if we had more time for our family, for our partner or husband, for our children, for leisure time, our hobbies or simply for everything we enjoy.
Our lives offer so much time-saving potential in all areas. Just think about how and what time can be saved. Modern tools can help us with this, as can better self-organisation.

Time wasters are lurking everywhere. Especially in this modern age with smartphones, laptops, computers, tablets and the internet, we are tempted everywhere to do things that are absolutely superfluous. We sit at the computer and the first thing that hits us is a flood of emails - mostly useless adverts. Well, this can also happen to us offline when we get our hands on the weekly advertiser's leaflet full of advertising inserts.

We go to our laptop with the intention of writing a book or making an online bank transfer. What do we do? That's right, we surf the internet, check the news, chat with friends or look at the numerous offers that reach us via email. Instead of disciplining ourselves and concentrating on work, the time robber has caught us cold again. After all, it's as tempting as the special offer in the supermarket that we take a closer look at.

We lack a clear structure, the right self-organisation, discipline and consistency. Namely, the ability to defend ourselves efficiently against the time thief.

Who are the time robbers?

Who is actually robbing us of our precious time? Who are these robbers?

• It starts in the household. Whether it's cleaning, cooking, laundry, washing up, drying, preparing food, personal hygiene and much more, they all stop us from enjoying life because we fail to coordinate such tasks. We go about our work without a plan. If we thought things through properly, we could save a lot of time for the really nice things in life.

• Then there are the dear neighbours who constantly involve us in useless conversations. There are so many people who don't know what to do with their own time and then steal time from others. We often can't say no out of politeness, which is something we have to learn. To stop useless conversations in a friendly and nice but firm manner.

• It continues on the way to work or school/school
  From kindergarten to the workplace. How much time do we waste here? We don't think outside the box enough and don't come up with time-saving solutions.

• At work, there are many colleagues who force a trivial conversation on us and keep us from doing the work that we then have to catch up on. Or inadequate work organisation takes up far too much of our time.

• Our friends and relatives email us or send us text messages. We feel compelled to reply to everything straight away.

• When we go shopping, we don't proceed purposefully enough with a plan, but dawdle over the many offers. Instead of consistently working through the shopping list, we succumb to the temptation of super special offers and waste our precious time.

• We take care of everything ourselves and waste a lot of time in the process because we are simply not experts in many areas, for example: We struggle with a blocked drain, even though a specialist can do it faster. Or we build a shelf ourselves, for which we lack the necessary dexterity. We are so stubborn and want to do everything ourselves, even though this prevents us from spending more time with our partner or boyfriend and enjoying it, for example watching a nice film together at the cinema.

• The internet in particular is the biggest time waster. Most people are very undisciplined here and allow themselves to be robbed of time by the flood of emails and chats. We can't concentrate on one thing, namely the most important thing, our work. We are constantly tempted to do unimportant things. Just calculate how much time is wasted every day just looking at emails and messages, chatting, messaging and the like.
  We simply do not understand how to block the flood of advertising emails so that we are not confronted with them in the first place. You will be shocked and realise how much time is being taken away from you here. It's so tempting. Right next to the text you have to write is the Internet, which you can check every now and then. Once the computer is switched on, programmes such as chats and messengers open automatically. You are constantly being clicked on and compelled to reply, forgetting about your work and losing concentration.
  In addition to the loss of time, there is also a loss of quality.

• We have so much time-saving potential in our own business. Especially in the beginning, we want to do everything ourselves and don't trust our employees to do much. But when we are self-employed, clever time management is incredibly important. Here, time really is money. And with this time, your business is successful or not.

• Other time wasters are the dear relatives who call us, visit us and ask for help. Then there are the many people who always want to force a conversation on us. We are polite and decent and don't want to offend the relatives.

• Our own organisation or lack of organisation, our haphazard actions and the many ways we duplicate our work are other predators. We often don't think things through and play the rabbit-hedgehog game every day. The hare constantly labours and pants, the hedgehog takes other, smarter paths and is simply more intelligent. He can't run as fast as a hare and has to think of something else. It's like an ageing football star. He knows the routes and passes and doesn't have to rush after every ball like the young players. He plays more intelligently and thus saves time and energy like an older, experienced tennis player.

• The journey to work could be better organised. We don't always have to drive ourselves and alone, which also causes stress. You can get to work by bus, train or bike or form car pools and read or listen to the news during the time you save.

• The technical equipment in our household is outdated and some processes should be better harmonised. We struggle with old washing machines, dishwashers, toasters, irons, ovens, lawnmowers and hoovers and lose a lot of valuable time in the process. Technical equipment in the workplace could also be replaced and help us save a lot of hours.

• We go to gyms with outdated equipment that is useless and time-consuming. Instead of choosing a modern gym and paying a little more money (time is money!), we skimp. Just calculate the value of your lost time.

• Uncoordinated organisation of appointments at the doctor's, hairdresser's or physiotherapist's steals more hours from us. We wait endlessly and kill time in the process.

• Although we use modern means of communication such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, we do not fully utilise their potential. We could get much more out of these devices if we just put in a little time and recognise all the possibilities. This would really get us ahead and free us up for the enjoyable things in life, such as enjoying our free time.

• But our own communication behaviour also often wastes precious time. We rush around and don't know how to get to the point or express ourselves clearly and define our wishes clearly. We beat around the bush. The person we are talking to doesn't understand us and has to ask questions. We don't dare to speak with a clear edge and make our point purposefully. Instead, we show a noble reserve. And we use outdated methods, writing endlessly long letters at Christmas to all kinds of friends and relatives.

• How many long journeys could we save if we coordinated our appointments better? Sometimes it's also better to invest a little money but then have time for your partner. You don't have to go everywhere, order the hairdresser or beautician to your home. It's a good investment in improving your quality of life.

• As much as the internet steals from us, on the other hand it offers just as much relief. We just have to recognise and implement them. It helps us to save a lot of time. Our smartphone also offers a wide range of possibilities when used in a disciplined and consistent manner. More on this later.

• We can also make life easier for ourselves when it comes to childcare. If we make full use of existing resources and create synergy effects, for example by making arrangements with friends and acquaintances for the journey to kindergarten or school, for homework supervision and organising leisure activities. There are lots of people with the same interests or problems, but someone has to take it in hand and organise it. The order of the day is to make arrangements and free up time. Otherwise we will be dominated by time wasters. We also want to make time to look after our children without neglecting them. So you have to be able to let go, hand over your own children and let others look after them too. In the business world, this is known as outsourcing, outsourcing tasks to others who have the time and, in case of doubt, are paid for them. This also involves scrutinising all your actions - what can I outsource, what can others do for me, what do I not necessarily have to do myself?

• If we have to drive ourselves, we can also be more intelligent here. We waste time by overtaking others unnecessarily and then having to wait at the next red light anyway. Intelligent driving means recognising situations and taking advantage of them, driving smartly and saving time in the process.

How do we stop the time thief?

Find out how you can best manage your time and get the most out of it for yourself so that you can enjoy the pleasurable
things in life. Fight your way free from the time robbers. You can see how here now:

• You need to organise your household differently. Coordinate individual processes and work steps better. For example, if you are preparing breakfast anyway, you can take care of a few steps for lunch or dinner at the same time. You are in the kitchen or at the cooker anyway, so avoid duplicating work and streamline your work processes - for example, when cleaning or doing the laundry. When cleaning your home, you can use the hoover to remove light dust from several rooms at once or clean large areas with a damp mop, and there are now even robot vacuum cleaners that you can run alongside while you clean windowsills and windows. This saves a lot of time. You can also free up hours when doing the laundry. Make sure the washing machine is always full to the brim and combine washing programmes with different types of laundry. More modern, newer appliances work much more efficiently and save time. Sometimes investing in new household appliances is not only worthwhile financially. Use high tech in the household. Delegate work to a cleaner or domestic help, child carer or homework helper, for example. You can also outsource certain household tasks. You don't have to do everything yourself. Just think about washing the curtains, the time-consuming ironing of shirts and blouses, carpet care or upholstery cleaning. Professionals can do it faster and better - you save time to plan more pleasant things with your family and partner and enjoy life. So get rid of your lack of planning in the household.
• Our neighbours are so important and we don't want to offend them. But tell yourself no more often. What do we talk about? Right, about the weather, politics and all kinds of neighbourhood gossip. Cut conversations short in a friendly, diplomatic way by always having an excuse ready, having to keep a doctor's appointment or the child waiting for you at school.

Think about how often neighbours keep you from work, steal your time and prevent you from enjoying your real life. Say a nice hello and then always make up a credible excuse - "I'm late today, my husband is already waiting for me at work!" Or: "Sorry, my wife is at antenatal class, I urgently need to pick her up there." Take back your time. Neighbours are important. You need to get on well with them. Who knows what they might be good for. Sometimes you need them if you suddenly feel unwell or need to borrow the lawnmower. Neighbourly help is valuable. But uselessly long conversations only take up time. That's why a friendly greeting is always important, but nothing more. What happens to a neighbour can also happen between friends and relatives. Trivial conversations or phone calls with parents, grandparents and siblings, but also with good friends, take up an infinite amount of time.

Recognise what is important in such talks and get straight to the point. Remain friendly and engaging, but not epically long. You should also reduce reciprocal visits to the bare minimum. Avoid boring encounters or compulsory visits. Make a meeting intense, but not too often. A heartfelt encounter is far more memorable than constant meaningless meetings. Don't constantly feel obliged to do things that you dislike. That is one of the biggest time wasters. We do things every day out of pure decency, but you can't buy that anyway.

Establish a good relationship with the receptionist at the doctor's and make an appointment as soon as possible so that you don't have to sit in the waiting room for long. Do the same with your hairdresser, nail salon, physiotherapist or chiropodist. Your appointments need to be on time to save time. And collect all the necessary work steps, such as post, banking or shopping, and then draw up a plan to organise everything in order. This is also known as organising your work at home. Never rush into the next task in a blind panic, this will only cost you time. Put things off from time to time. Not everything has to be done immediately. But procrastinate cleverly and intelligently. Learn to separate the important from the unimportant. Blind actionism simply costs us far too much time. Don't become a driven person, but instead push your fellow human beings and supposedly important tasks in front of you.

One more thing is important:

Always react in a level-headed and cool manner. Because in the face of disasters or mistakes or other bad events, we act wrongly and lose a lot of precious time in the process. We panic and rush into solving problems without thinking. We act rashly and take duplicate paths. Our wrong decisions have to be laboriously repaired.

• We may have all the modern means of communication such as the internet, computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, but we are far from utilising the full potential that they offer us. We are too quickly satisfied with the applications that are most necessary for us and overlook the fact that technical equipment can save us much more time. After all, we have them, so we need to spend a little more time on them. Sure, it takes time at first. But as with any investment, you first have to put in a little - money or time - and then you gain all the more.

For example, get to grips with the software installed on your devices. You could speed up your correspondence, write your texts better, use language software that writes everything you speak; you could keep your household accounts, draw up calculations, set up a mail or newsletter distribution list that automatically sends the same letters or messages to hundreds of recipients. Use your laptop as a calendar, reminder function, alarm clock or birthday list.

Calculate your expenses and income, use your device for bookkeeping. Send voice messages instead of laboriously writing them yourself and then mistyping them. Set up an autopilot for your online shop that takes care of everything - from ordering and payment to dispatch - without you having to lift a finger. An email programme with an automatic reply function or out-of-office message as well as a complete address and greeting function saves a lot of time.

Do you now realise where you can make your life easier and save time? There are many more possibilities. You can manage your digital pictures, save your favourite music once and then always have it to hand; you can find sample letter templates for all kinds of matters on the Internet. Use the World Wide Web for everything - for finding a doctor, as an address source, as a telephone directory, for research, hotel and flight searches, for the opening hours of your pharmacy or supermarkets, for ordering goods; you can even book your redirection request online and handle all your banking transactions. You don't even have to run to the employment agency or pension insurance office, you can submit all applications online, even your tax return online. In the past, you had to dash to every single office and plan for long waiting times. Today, you can sit comfortably at your computer and do this from home whenever you have time. If you are already online, why not bundle all the activities that you can do online? This will give you plenty of free time to spend with your loved ones or in the hammock in the garden or even on an extra holiday that you've managed to squeeze in by saving time. Utilise modern methods and devices in all areas of life.

• Do you know who the biggest time waster is these days? The internet, of course. It's so tempting to use your laptop, PC, smartphone or tablet straight away and then all kinds of programmes open automatically. Whether it's messengers, apps, chats, emails or social networks, we are immediately bombarded with messages and adverts. Anyone who is undisciplined and is immediately startled by every ringtone loses a huge amount of time. We are anchored in several groups at the same time and everyone adds their two cents to everything irrelevant. But we are wired in such a way that we have to open and read everything straight away. That only keeps us from doing our actual work.

Just open your email inbox after a good night's sleep. You will be shocked to find that over a hundred messages have arrived overnight, most of which are advertising rubbish, but at least we have to delete them. That alone takes up a lot of time. Or do you want your inbox to overflow so that the really important messages don't even arrive because you've overstretched your storage space? So we also have to deal with the daily junk. Not to mention the spam inbox, which we also have to at least check to see if anything important has got there. If you have set your technical device so that everything opens automatically, you will be overwhelmed and sit for hours over pointless stuff. And when we do get down to work, it's so tempting to take a quick break and wander off to the internet to read the latest news. The World Wide Web is a constant distraction. We need to unplug and go offline more often in order to stay focussed. Only set aside a specific, precisely measured amount of time each day for the Internet and all the chats. Stay consistent and disciplined, otherwise you will lose precious time - or are you married to your laptop and the internet? There you go, don't keep your loved one waiting either.

There is also something else: modern communication methods also offer us a lot of time savings, but very few of us fully utilise them because they simply haven't realised it yet. For example, we can set up our laptop or smartphone like an autopilot and automate responses to every message. We don't have to laboriously type in messages, but can speak them much faster with a corresponding programme, which incidentally sounds much more personal. We can listen to messages or entire books and no longer have to read them ourselves. While travelling to work, you can have an eBook read to you and listen to it on the bus via headphones. The mechanical voice may sound a little choppy, but we can still understand it and the content. If you sell goods on the Internet, set up your online shop on autopilot so that you no longer have to worry about getting your fingers dirty.

While you sleep, your system does everything by itself, you earn virtually in your sleep - from ordering to payment to delivery. Make your life easier with the help of the Internet and clever programmes and, above all, save a lot of time. Then the web can also be a blessing. Just make the most of all possible programmes, send emails to everyone who should receive them in a distribution list instead of writing to each individual. Whether accounting or calculation, presentation or graphics - the Internet and the computer save you a lot of time. Of course, you first have to invest time and familiarise yourself with the programmes, after which you will only gain. But always show iron discipline, otherwise modern technology will become a time-waster.

It is also a question of personal organisation, how you set yourself up and control yourself. Consistency is paramount, otherwise you won't be able to save time. There is one more thing to bear in mind: In addition to the loss of time, there is also a loss of quality. When we multi-task, we make mistakes because we can't be equally attentive everywhere. If you are chatting with three people at the same time, you end up not knowing who you have emailed and throwing out messages to someone that were intended for someone else. If we then write texts on the side, inaccuracies creep in. It's not the best work.

• If you have or are building up your own business, you need to structure yourself clearly. Time really is money here. If you enjoy playing computer games more than selling them yourself, then don't play them and become a successful gamer. You can only survive as a businessman or woman if you concentrate your time on earning money. Work is work and booze is booze - that's all it means: You are only entitled to free time when the job is done. This requires a personal structure. You need to be designed to take care of your business and nothing else. That comes first, because it is your survival.

• You may also have responsibility for your own employees. Their jobs must not be jeopardised by your poor time management. So give your new business the right structure right from the start. Every work process must be well thought out and coordinated like a large construction project. Many self-employed people think they are finally free, no longer have a boss, can do whatever they want and organise their working hours as they wish. This is only true to a limited extent. Particularly at the beginning, you use your capital time intensively.

But if you can't invest that much money, you at least have to sacrifice your time. This is especially true for an internet business. You often spend ten or fifteen hours a day fiddling around to get your business up and running. But once it's up and running and you've optimised it, you save a lot of time. And you need a high level of motivation, a strong will, a goal and even dreams. You want to make time for your family, your partner or your husband so that you can enjoy life together. To do this, your business must become a self-runner at some point. Then you will have made it.

• We've already talked about our dear relatives in another context. Actually, they're just a constant nuisance. They really want to visit us, we haven't seen each other for so long. Aunt Frieda whines to us and we know for sure that she's stealing our time. But there's something else too. We also have to prepare for her visit. That's right, the painting she gave us years ago is gathering dust in the cellar. It absolutely has to be hung on the wall again before Aunt Frieda arrives - what stress and how much time is wasted. We don't want to offend Aunt Frieda. And it's the same with all grandmas and grandpas, siblings and our own parents. We are well-behaved contemporaries and do what our relatives expect of us.

Think about it: do you live for your relatives or for yourself? Organise a big get-together for your relatives once a year, whether they like each other or can't stand each other shouldn't matter to you. One wash-up and then it's good for another year and you've saved a lot of time. Keep phone calls short, give a compact summary of your family developments - oh yes, Tom got an A in German, Lisa now plays the piano and Beppo the dog has overeaten and thrown up, your husband has been promoted and you have dyed your own hair. That's enough and you've brought your relatives up to date without having to visit them. That's how you save time in private.
Put aside all politeness and diplomacy, you will only waste time. Be completely selfish when it comes to your own time. Your relatives can slide down your back. This is about you. Apart from the fact that you are (unfortunately) related to them, and even if they're a million miles away, they have nothing to do with you.

• Avoid low moods, because disgruntled, negative and depressed people have a life expectancy that is up to nine years shorter. You also have to convert the time factor into lifespan. You want to live beautifully and as long as possible. So save your time. Of course, you can also increase your lifespan through a healthy lifestyle, but don't overdo it.

Eat healthily, exercise, don't smoke too much and, above all, don't drink too much alcohol. Statistically speaking, all of this will prolong your life, but it doesn't really have to. There is no guarantee. But you don't have to constantly cheat your own body, that would be the best and easiest way to a short life - short but sweet, which can also be a philosophy of life. In this eBook, however, we want to look at the time we can gain to make our lives more beautiful and live them to the full.

• We are personally poorly organised or sometimes not organised at all. We plan too little and somehow act blindly. We lack a proper time concept and we double and triple up just to manage our daily routine. Life also needs to be planned through. A lot of time is lost. We need to find smarter ways, think outside the box and not always walk the beaten track. Instead, we are constantly playing the hare and hedgehog game. We become the hunted. The hedgehog is smarter, and he has to be, because he is naturally slower. So he comes up with tricks, he is always already rested when the hare comes running with his tongue out of his throat. Think strategically, make a daily and weekly plan. Give your private life a structure. If you don't organise your studies properly as a student, you won't get it right.

Some degree programmes simply require a logical structure. You can't start with the big criminal law certificate before the small one, you can't master lesson two before lesson one. It's as simple as that, so organise yourself in a structured way. Order is half the battle, as every child knows. And be economical with your resources. Use more life experience. Take the example of the ageing professional footballer who no longer has to run down all the paths that a young player simply takes out of inexperience. The experienced footballer knows where the ball will roll or where an opponent is likely to kick it. With his brains and experience, he places balls in such a way that his team-mates are set up in an excellent and promising position and can take the final shot on goal. Even an ageing tennis player no longer has to rush so much.
The motto here is to be clever and save time.

• How much time do we actually lose on our way to work? We torture ourselves through rush hour, through congested streets, past red traffic lights, only to finally arrive and look for a parking space. We are annoyed and stressed. Is this the best way to start work? Hardly! But you could make it much easier and save a lot of time. Set up car pools - one person drives and takes three other colleagues with them, who can listen to music or read messages, have an eBook read to them or browse through their emails on their smartphone. During the journey, you can even work on the presentation you have to give in the office that morning. You can entertain the driver with the latest news from around the world. You could also simply look for other, more convenient, faster routes. What do you think about changing to the bus or train? You arrive at your workplace feeling rested and use the time on public transport to listen to your favourite music or have a book read to you.

You can tinker with your daily and weekly plans, optimise your shopping and plan your next holiday while driving to work. Make the most of your journey time, which you are wasting anyway. Fill such idle time with other things that you would have to do later anyway and for which you would then have to spend time. We carry out so many steps simply out of habit and never think about optimising them. But this is exactly where our time is wasted. Use your mind and do without your instinct, without the time-wasting habits.

• We are plagued by technically outdated devices, machines and cars. These are all energy and time wasters. There are hoovers that clean faster and more thoroughly, and even robots can now be used to do other things in the time saved. Modern washing machines clean faster, ovens cook more quickly and lawnmowers are already available as robots that cut the grass automatically. Invest in new appliances and save a lot of time. Better harmonise and coordinate individual processes. While the eggs are boiling on the stove, the washing machine can run alongside or the tumble dryer can dehumidify our laundry. Certain household chores can also be outsourced - just think of the tedious task of ironing shirts. Launderettes offer completely different time-saving options. Invest a little money to buy yourself precious time.

You can also upgrade the technology at your workplace and save a lot of time in the process. Make the purchase of new equipment palatable to your boss by showing that such an investment pays for itself quickly and even generates money. After all, a slow, outdated computer or printer also hinders the work processes of colleagues. Even newer software makes life at work easier. Even in gyms, we can strengthen our muscles better on new equipment and reach our goal of a washboard stomach or weight loss more quickly. Convince the operator to purchase better fitness machines. Then he might also gain more customers. After all, you would rather pay a little more money if you could get fit faster.

• In the office, appointments are organised and perfectly coordinated by specialists. But in our private lives, we take a completely uncoordinated approach. We don't co-ordinate our daily tasks. Whether it's the doctor or hairdresser, shopping or bank, there's a new appointment for every trip. Why don't we make a plan and complete all four tasks in one go? Work out how much time you could save.

• Our own communication behaviour is sometimes quite complicated. We simply can't get to the point quickly and instead rush around, beating about the bush like a cat. We are also plagued by procrastination. We put off doing unpleasant things like transferring bills or filling out questionnaires until it's almost too late and we're rushed by the pressure of suffering. Then we become hectic and lose a lot of time in an uncoordinated way. The pressure of deadlines makes us headless and then we take double and triple routes. Procrastination in and of itself is not a bad thing, but you have to procrastinate intelligently and keep an overview. Don't let everyone put pressure on you.

Aunt Gertrud can wait another week. You combine the compulsory visit to your heiress with other errands in one trip. That's much more efficient and time-saving. A wise man from America once even said: "There are many different ways of not succeeding in this life. The surest way is to want to do everything right away." Procrastination is even the key to sustainable success. Sometimes we simply talk too much instead of taking action. Don't discuss every little thing with your partner. You can also quickly decide and tick off some things yourself. Endless discussions take up so much time and in the end the result is the same anyway. Take a quick, results-orientated approach. Think about what you want to achieve beforehand - and then get down to business.

Learn to express yourself clearly so that the other person understands you quickly. Your language must be clear and understandable for everyone. Define your wishes more clearly ("I really want to see the new James Bond at the cinema tonight!"). Try to be emphatic. It is your absolute wish, and only that will make you happy today. Your partner can then decide whether to jump on the bandwagon or do something else on their own. Put facts on the table. Don't beat around the bush ("I'd really like to ..." or "Maybe we could ..." together tonight).

This is exactly what leads to endless discussions and misunderstandings that take up valuable time. A clear edge instead of bragging! Put aside your elegant reserve and diplomacy. Don't confuse your counterpart either. Don't write a personalised Christmas greeting to every relative or friend. You can write letters in such a way that they still sound personal, but it saves time to send them out a hundred times over. Make use of all modern possibilities for this type of communication. Speak messages or greetings into your smartphone, sing a song, send photos or videos. It's quicker and has an aha effect. It's not the cheap greeting card that has been around for twenty years. Our times have become more modern, better and faster, so adapt and be the same.

• At work, we coordinate our work and optimise it to save time - so why not in our private lives? Instead, we walk long, complicated routes. We don't structure our daily routines and make extra trips to the bank, post office, supermarket, dry cleaner or hairdresser. If we combined several journeys into one, we could save a lot of our precious time. We would have more time for our family, for our partner or boyfriend and could enjoy the finer things in life. Instead, however, we don't have time for these things. It's not for nothing that they say "planning is half the battle". There really is something to that.

With a good plan, we can save half of our life time and then enjoy it to the full. We can also delegate, outsource and outsource tasks in our private lives. Have your blouses or shirts washed and ironed, you know how time-consuming that is. The hairdresser and nail/foot care are also happy to come to your home for a little more money. But you save the journey and the time. If you can afford it, employ a cleaner for a few hours - especially for the time-consuming cleaning of the windows. It's easier to outsource curtain and carpet care to external providers. Instead, invest some money in your quality of life. This is a good form of investment and yields a return in the form of time.

• We have already talked about the internet in another context. However, as much as it offers us numerous simplifications, which we need to recognise and use, it is also a major time-suck. We need iron discipline. So set specific times when you go online, otherwise switch it off. It always tempts us to play around and waste time. Give it a try, you can do without it. Don't hesitate to tell your friends that you are not available 24 hours a day, but only at specific times of the day. Then they will also be prepared for this. Anyone who has something urgent to discuss with you can use other channels, such as calling you. You know this from yourself, writing a text and interrupting your urgent work to quickly check emails or read messages.

It's best to go to work where you don't have the internet, then you won't be tempted. And if you already have the World Wide Web at work, simply switch off all chats, messengers and the ringing every time you receive an email. Because every sound startles you and tempts you to look in or even reply. Switching off acoustic and visual signals is an important measure. Just as your desk should not be cluttered with distractions of all kinds, the Internet should not prevent you from doing your actual work. After all, this robs you of precious time that you then need for your quality of life. And it's the same with your smartphone. Switch it to silent when you have important things to do. Don't play around with your device all the time. This is an ideal time waster, especially for people who are addicted to gaming. Recognise this and counteract it.

• Childcare is also associated with a lot of wasted time because it is also very emotional. We want to be the best parents and give our children the best possible care. But have you ever thought about what your children actually get out of it? In many cases, their thoughts are already elsewhere, with their toys and mates. They spend far too much unnecessary time. Why don't you make it easier for yourself? Organise car pools and childcare groups.

Give your child a warm farewell at the front door and have a neighbour take your child to kindergarten. Take turns.

This is also known as fully utilising existing resources and creating synergy effects. Team up with other parents and divide up the work. Then everyone has time off and can do other things. If three or four pairs of parents join forces, you all save a lot of time. This can also be organised for the journey to school, homework, tutoring and even visits to the doctor. Organise joint games afternoons and plan leisure activities. This will also help your children make new friends and playmates. Find a babysitter so that you can go to the cinema or out to eat in the evening.

• Optimise your daily routes and journeys. Whether you drive to work, take the children to school or nursery, go shopping or take care of visits to the authorities, doctor's appointments and other necessities - you will save a lot of time. Make the most of journeys that are already on your compulsory programme by combining them with shopping, returning borrowed books to the library, getting your shoes repaired, putting mail in the letterbox, withdrawing money from the bank and so on. Make a plan every day and avoid double journeys. The journey to work can also be organised in car pools. Which is quicker - driving your own car or taking the bus? Sometimes you're even better off cycling. How much time do you waste if you always make extra journeys? Simply organise yourself better. Think a little before you set off blindly again.

• Time wasters lurk everywhere at work. Be it in poor, uncoordinated work organisation or bored colleagues who constantly rob us of time with superfluous conversations. Work processes are not coordinated. Duplication of work is the result. We can optimise them ourselves by streamlining our own work and saving a lot of time in the process. We need to become more effective than our colleagues. Or simply submit a suggestion for improvement. Make it clear to your boss how much savings potential your suggestions will bring and thus save the company a lot of money. Protect yourself from colleagues who steal your precious time. Remain friendly and engaging, say hello, but avoid employees who just want to chat so they don't have to work. "Sorry, I'm working on an important project and have to see the boss straight away!" The number with the boss always works, it discourages others from stealing your time. Don't join in with every office gossip. "We can talk about this later, but I really have to get on with it now, my customer is about to arrive and wants to see the quote." Get your colleagues to realise over time that they shouldn't disturb you at work with useless conversations. You are happy to talk about a work problem and help find a quick solution - but nothing more, true to the motto "work is work, booze is booze". Others are welcome to drink the alcohol after work, but without you. You can also arrange to meet up for a chat after work.

• We have already talked about friends and relatives in another context. Now we also constantly feel obliged to respond immediately to emails, text messages, letters and other messages. We are basically the servants of our own communication system. Tell yourself that more often. Don't be afraid to leave emails lying around, we don't have to be available 24 hours a day. Don't become a driven person.

Take the time to go through all your emails at once and then reply in one go. Constantly checking our mail robs us of an infinite amount of precious time. After all, the postman only comes once a day at a certain time. Tell yourself this again and again. Your friends and relatives can also wait. Switch off the loudspeaker on your smartphone or laptop so that the annoying ringing doesn't keep us from doing our actual work, distract us or steal our time.
Tell yourself again and again: I don't process my mail immediately, it can be left lying around. Why do we react so hurriedly to electronic mail? As well as losing time, we also lose concentration. We are constantly interrupted in our work and mistakes inevitably creep in. The texts we are writing are not getting any better as a result. Or take other tasks, in the household, in the kitchen, at work, when driving - we lose concentration and make mistakes. How much working time is wasted if we are constantly replying immediately to nonsense messages or chats? A lot of things have become so irrelevant. Someone posts their lunch - so what? Or what's with the cinema ticket that someone posts online? Ignore it all and save a lot of time for your really good life.

• Everyone knows that shopping with a shopping list saves a lot of money and even more time. Don't linger unnecessarily long over all the offers. Work through your list purposefully and don't stay in the shop longer than you need to. Choose the checkout that clears the quickest or simply use the fast checkout for just a few items. Be very selfish in the supermarket and don't get involved in any additional conversations. You should already be smart enough not to fall for the supposed bargains. Resist all temptations in the supermarket, they only take up your precious time. Or simply ask a neighbour to bring you what you urgently need. That will save you even more time. In some shops you can even order online and the goods will be delivered to your home. That's how you save time shopping these days.

• We are not specialists in all areas, but sometimes we want to be and do everything ourselves. Let's take an example from business life more often. Outsourcing is the magic word here. We hand things over to experts who can simply do it better and faster. We don't have to build our own website on the Internet, optimise the page for the search engine, lay out the garden ourselves, paint the house, pave the driveway to the garage, clean the blocked drainpipe in the toilet, repair the broken toaster, wallpaper the rooms, change the oil in our own car, teach the children, cut and dye our own hair or curl our own hair, put up a shelf, iron the washing and so on.

Apart from the fact that we do such work inadequately and make mistakes, we lose far too much time because we don't even know the time-saving actions of a specialist. Delegate more in your private life too. We are so stubborn and want to do everything ourselves, even though this prevents us from spending more time with our partner and enjoying it, for example watching a nice film together at the cinema.

• Have you ever observed yourself in a state of raging jealousy? How much time do we waste in vain when we react jealously to our partner - for example after an argument or a break-up? We waste so much time thinking about what he or she is doing now, who he or she is with, where he or she is at the moment. Yes, sometimes we roam the neighbourhood like a dog, go to the place where we think he or she is, watch the ex like a stalker. Jealousy robs us of so much time. We keep imagining a chance and want to be near him or her. We think about all the things we could do, we secretly phone to see if he or she is at home.

We play detective, think up presents, write letters or emails, send flowers or simply run after them.

Recognise quickly where there is nothing left and where the relationship has really come to an end. Realise this and accept it. Draw a line and don't waste any more time. You have to know when it's finally over. Keep telling yourself: if there is still a spark of hope, then it will happen. Stay cool and level-headed, don't lose your head.

Jealousy can also quickly produce envy and hatred. You are envious of the ex who has a new partner. Envy gives rise to negative feelings that quickly turn into hatred and lead to rash behaviour. Yes, you may even become violent and want to destroy. Scratched cars and paintballs thrown at house walls are just two examples of useless investments of your time. Why don't you treat your ex to the new girl, he'll see what he had in you. Always remain a patron, treat him to the break-up and the new girl. A defeat doesn't look so bad in retrospect. It offers an opportunity for something new, perhaps even better.

Save yourself the time of negative feelings. Tell yourself instead: Other mums have beautiful sons too. Quite apart from that, hatred and revenge are dangerous counsellors. They will only get you into trouble. Don't play the worldly judge. Somehow, everything has its compensatory justice. Envy and jealousy can also arise because you feel disadvantaged at work, for example. Your colleague is promoted faster, earns more for the same work. You compare yourself too much with others and believe that you don't get enough. Don't constantly squint at others, even at neighbours who have a bigger car or a better house. All that does is cost you time.

• Useless thoughts are equally dangerous time robbers. What is actually going round and round in our heads? Switch them off quickly, because they are useless and only rob you of time. Thoughts are free and cannot be seen by others, only you can filter and switch them off.

• Obsessive ideas also cost us a lot of time. We believe we have to do or refrain from doing certain things: But now I have to call Aunt Erna or Uncle Philipp because the pressure of suffering has become too great and I haven't let anyone hear from me for a long time. I have to go to church, I have to wish the neighbour a happy birthday or she won't say hello to me, I have to finally have sex again and so on.

We always think we have to - you don't have to do anything. Who tells us that? That's right, the evil little time eater that is constantly breathing down our necks. It's constantly trying to make us feel guilty. But he only wants our time, nothing else. He is a nasty contemporary. Resist him, nobody is obliging you to always have to. Instead, switch to wanting - yes, I finally want to have good sex again. That sounds much better, and it's time well spent. If you have to have sex, then you are obliged to - a must. It's guaranteed not to be good sex and your time will be wasted.

• How often do we argue pointlessly? We call it "arguing about the emperor's beard". That best expresses the futility. The emperor can grow a beard however he likes. We can't change that anyway. Arguing about it is as superfluous as a goiter. Don't constantly argue with your partner about trivial things.

Stop arguing with teachers, nursery school teachers, the authorities, work colleagues, neighbours, friends or relatives. It's time-consuming and doesn't help. Some people are argumentative on principle. They always want to be right, they are so-called right-wingers. They always want to have the last word. People like to avoid such people and prefer to let them stand alone. They are unpleasant contemporaries in the guise of time wasters. If you always want to be right, you waste a lot of time.

Recognise quickly where it is important to argue and where it is not. Arguing with the cashier about a bill is pointless. The goods have been scanned and already have their correct price. You don't argue about the price of petrol at the petrol pump either. Certain things are obvious, they are like a law.

Don't suddenly start arguing with your partner about her figure or hair colour. You knew that before you married her. So don't start arguing about it now. You got a parking ticket because you had to take your son to hospital with a broken leg. You feel you are in the right because you had to park in a no-parking zone. Don't start an argument about it, you have committed an offence, the parking ticket has been issued and registered - your bad luck, the traffic warden couldn't have known what problem you were carrying around with you. So don't waste time in useless and unsuccessful arguments. It's better to pay the fee quickly before you end up in court with a fine. Save yourself precious time and trouble. It's no use at all.

Simply avoid arguments. If you have a different opinion on a political issue, for example, where the other person has a completely different point of view, you don't have to start an argument about it now. Instead, realise that you both have different views and that's that. Endless discussions about this won't get you an inch further, so don't argue either, save your time for other nicer things in life. We often think the wrong way when we waste time arguing. We really want to give the other person something else, namely our point of view, our opinion, so that we can perhaps change their mind and make them think. What good does that do? Absolutely nothing, just a waste of your time. Don't play the world-improver either. Leave that to the politicians. You have no influence on it anyway.

• Do you realise how much time is lost because negative feelings and thoughts constantly arise in us? We get annoyed with a neighbour who always leaves her rubbish on the doorstep. You grumble inwardly about the teacher who supposedly treated your child unfairly. You get upset about the driver who overtook you on the road and cut you off so that you had to slow down. You complain about the poor organisation of appointments at the doctor's surgery and the long waiting time. You are annoyed by the customer in front of you at the sausage counter. You think negatively about relatives who always want to show off and be more than they are. All these negative feelings only prevent you from doing your actual work. You are slowed down. You are running out of time because you are producing too many bad thoughts. If you had a different disposition and started the day positively, many things would be easier for you in your daily routine. You would be able to complete your tasks much more freely and quickly.

Think positively and don't waste your time getting upset about people who aren't going to change anyway. Finally get rid of your pessimism. As well as wasting your time, it's also bringing you down. And that really affects your quality of life. Negative thoughts also prevent us from making clear, quick decisions. They disrupt our own daily routine and that takes up a lot of time. Negative feelings can also turn into hatred, revenge and destructiveness. We invest even more time and then lose it in order to spend more pleasant time with our family.

• Bad dreams rob us of the sleep we so desperately need to concentrate on our work. If we go to work without a good night's sleep, we produce poor results. We are bad-tempered, irritable and also spread a bad mood. Nightmares make us ill. In extreme cases, they can even lead to depression. Insomnia is an illness. It costs us a lot of time. If you wake up in a sweat, you don't start the day feeling rested.

Never go to bed thinking about and planning the next day's activities. Never go to bed with negative feelings either. Instead, try to take something positive with you to sleep, such as thoughts of good sex. Visualise with whom and how you could best and most beautifully reach your climax. Then fall into pleasant dreams and a deep sleep.

For example, you could imagine the woman or man of your dreams. What should he or she ideally look like, what qualities should they have? What kind of sex would you like to have, what do you like best, how would you like it to be? Or another example: What would you do if you won millions in the lottery, what dreams would you fulfil? Imagine in your dreams how you would spend a million euros. Or imagine what your dream job could be - perhaps under palm trees in a hammock with an online business? This will help you fall into a good night's sleep and get to work in a good mood the next day - saving you time.

• Take care of your health. Because if you are ill, you lose a lot of time. An impaired immune defence caused by pessimism makes you susceptible to any flu. Bacteria and viruses will knock you out in no time. Your work comes to a standstill when you have to stay in bed. You can then catch up again when you are healthy again. That takes twice as much time. And illness also prevents you from going to the cinema or on a trip with your partner or girlfriend. You may also have to cancel a city trip you have already booked.

Make sure you eat a healthy diet and lead a healthy lifestyle. Avoid alcohol and cigarettes and get enough exercise. People in a positive mood are less likely to fall ill because their immune defences are in order. Go for regular check-ups to recognise serious illnesses in good time. Because once you have cancer, all the time in the world can't save you. Your quality of life is gone and you lose the enjoyable time of your life. So always make sure your body is healthy and listen to the signals your health is sending you. You don't have to become a hypochondriac, but a certain amount of caution and a careful approach to your own health are important if you want to continue to enjoy your life to the full. What good is it if you have incurable bowel cancer at the age of 50 and have thrown all preventative measures to the wind?

• Excessive ambition can cost a lot of time. It then degenerates into doggedness. For example, we fixate on the goal of becoming the boss and invest a lot of time in it. We feel like we're on a hamster wheel, pedalling along without really achieving our goal. Because we are constantly going round in circles but can't find the turning lane. You are a victim of your own high expectations of yourself. You want to achieve more than others, be better, because you want to reach a certain goal. If you're unlucky, you'll never achieve it because you have superiors who simply ignore your ambition. Then you lose your way and have sacrificed a lot of time. You can see the doggedness in the faces of people with such exaggerated ambition. They live under constant tension. Even when they have achieved their goal, they don't let go of their frown lines and never relax. Because ambition remains, you don't hand it in at the cloakroom. Work must also be fun, it must not become a burden just because you want to get ahead. You should certainly have goals, but you should never subordinate your lifetime to these goals. Anyone who loses the joy of life through ambition is doing something wrong and belongs on the couch. People with ambition also recklessly walk over dead bodies. Ambition is not just limited to professional life. Ambition can also become a problem and time waster in private life - for example, if you absolutely want to have children, have to build a house, need a bigger car or want your partner to be a beauty queen. It's imperative that you pile deeper, nothing must, everything can - but please don't use the ambitious crowbar. This becomes an unbearable burden that only costs you time. Lower your standards.

• Social pressures are another time waster. We feel obliged to go to the neighbour's funeral, show up at Aunt Emma's birthday party or attend every children's party. The society around us demands far too much of our time - why do we always jump on this bandwagon?
  Say "I've got to do shit!" more often and you'll be fine. You don't have to be everywhere - seeing and being seen is just a burden. You don't have to sit in the front row at church, attend your neighbour's daughter's wedding or go to Uncle Willi's rabbit show. It can all be done without you. And what do you mean by "social constraints"? Who sets them, why do they apply to me and not to others? Break through these constraints more often and you'll see how much time you can free up for yourself.
• You can even plan your holiday together with friends and make life easier for yourself. Take the initiative and organise childcare yourself. Find families with similar interests and then plan it. Make contacts at nursery or school, for example at parents' evenings or on notice boards, which can even be found in department stores and supermarkets. Don't feel like a bad mum if you let your own child out of your hands. Your child knows exactly where home is. Ultimately, you will also save valuable time in which you can spend more time with your children.
• How can you save time with tricks and gimmicks? Sometimes a simple excuse helps. An experiment has shown that people who have a valid excuse (I have an urgent doctor's appointment, I have to go to a pregnancy course or I will otherwise miss my train) are usually allowed to go first in long queues. However, if someone just brazenly pushes in for no reason, they will be met with the protest of all those waiting. You will see this for yourself if you ask nicely at the sausage counter: "Would you please let me go first? My bus leaves in five minutes and I don't want to be late for work?", then they will let you go first and you will have cleverly gained time. Another trick is to think of quicker routes, to think outside the box and not always walk the beaten track. Our lack of concentration costs us a lot of time - coupled with a lack of discipline and the inability to give our lives a structure. And then there are all kinds of distractions. This hodgepodge is a compact package of time theft. That's what makes our lives so difficult. Especially in the modern multi-tasking world, the evil time thieves are lurking everywhere. If we're not careful, we sink into a quagmire and can't get our work done anywhere, we lose a lot of time. We actually need to take a course in concentration - but that's not necessary if we simply focus on our main task at the moment. look for alternative ways to avoid the inevitable rush hour. Plan every single journey and use routes for several tasks, don't set off for each one separately. Take friends, acquaintances or neighbours with you and, conversely, ask them to transport you next time. We always make the same mistake and drive alone in our car - there are at least three free seats. We often make complicated, time-consuming detours out of habit. Think about how you can get to your destination faster - perhaps a few kilometres longer
• Don't be disturbed by business emails when you have finished work or at weekends - they belong to you and your family alone. Your life needs to run smoothly and not be constantly interrupted by external factors. If you go about your day without a plan, you lose a lot of time. Act more than you react. Set the agenda by knowing exactly what can be done together - shopping, post, bank, hairdresser, dry cleaner, massage, doctor and nursery. Your daily routine should be well organised. You'll be amazed at how much time you'll have freed up in the end. Of course, this assumes that you can plan and think in a structured way. If you don't have this ability, you need to learn it.
• It's not that difficult. You can also put together your shopping list. So you also know which tasks you have to do each day. Most of the time they are the same. Organise yourself better so that you save time.
• And one more thing: distraction is a major time waster, so put away anything that prevents you from focussing on the essentials. No "toys" such as pictures of your loved ones, pots of make-up, hand cream, pin-up girls or erotic ashtrays, magazines or an aquarium belong on your desk. No televisions or audio systems belong in the kitchen. In the car, please don't hang any dolls on the rear-view mirror, and teddy bears on the shelf will only distract you. Do you realise where the time wasters are lurking? Sometimes you also need a change of strategy in your private life: Take the car to work or the bus, do your own ironing or take it to the laundry, bake bread or buy it, go out or cook it yourself, mow the lawn or hire someone to help, clean or have it cleaned and so on.
• Don't think like everyone else. Look for smarter solutions. Make time everywhere. Where do you waste the most time? Waiting for hours at the orthopaedist, queuing at the housing benefit office, being stuck in traffic jams, long queues at the supermarket, consultations at the pharmacy and so on. Make up touching excuses everywhere or, for example, use the fast checkout for a maximum of five items even if you have ten. Pay in cash instead of by card, it stops you in your tracks. Have change ready instead of spending hours looking for pennies in your wallet (we know this from some senior citizens with a lot of time on their hands). Be flexible too.
• If the queue at the ATM is too long, withdraw money at the till. Create good relationships and dependencies, friendships everywhere - according to the motto: one hand washes the other. Your friend is the main employee at the counter in the doctor's surgery; she is happy to push you past all the other patients. Establish a good relationship with your doctor - if he only sees you, he'll bring you straight into the consultation room. Find things you have in common, such as the same holiday destinations or hobbies.
• Do your doctor a favour by placing a nice article about him in your newspaper as a local reporter. Then all doors will be open to you, saving you time. Or if you have a good acquaintance at the office, make an appointment with them directly. Maybe you're in the same bowling club, so you can help each other out among friends - nobody has to know. Relationships only harm those who don't have any. Vitamin B still counts in our society today. This is how you can use tricks to get at the time robber's throat.
• We should first wait and think about it, sleep on it for a night and then take considered action. Analyse your supposedly terrible situation carefully. A little later, it doesn't look so bad, and sometimes we even laugh at our initial panic. Some things even disappear and resolve themselves. In the face of terror, we switch off our brains instead of staying cool. All kinds of thoughts suddenly pop into our heads - mostly negative ones. What could the consequences be, what impact will the event have, how should we react as quickly as possible? We don't have to do anything, just wait and think wisely.
• Everything can be solved, there is a solution for every event, no matter how terrible. Keep telling yourself this and you will become much more relaxed. A bill won't knock you off your feet straight away. Check the payment request and arrange to pay in instalments if necessary.
• An accident can be bad, but there are good doctors who will nurse you back to health. Even being made redundant will be less frightening if you start looking for a job immediately and pull out all the stops. Contact the employment agency immediately and look for a new job with all the support you can get. You may also need to scrutinise your notice of termination and seek the help of a lawyer. Go through the whole repertoire of your options. And even if your partner leaves you, the world will not collapse immediately. See every defeat as a new opportunity; you can only learn and gain from it. But don't waste time by acting rashly and blindly. Don't do more than is absolutely necessary. The time you waste in the process will be lost in your quality of life. Don't waste your precious time by being thoughtless. You have to act like a minimalist here, like a time manager in our private lives. But this also happens in the world of work when we can't make decisions on the spot.
• Being headless costs us a lot of time. We have an accident or receive a hefty bill that we didn't expect, such as an additional claim from the tax office. We panic and react rashly, falling into blind actionism. That takes up a lot of our time. We then also make the wrong decisions, which later have to be repaired in a time-consuming process. We should always remember the saying: Nothing is final, only death. Everything can be regulated.
• I have to write exactly this text now and concentrate only on it, I don't care about anything else around me. Then you can even write the best text with loud music and conversations all around you. Switch off, don't listen at all, switch to deaf ears. Then you'll be able to get any work done even in noisy environments. Just take the bus driver: if he was distracted by all the conversations on the bus, he would definitely have to have an accident with twenty or thirty passengers on board. No, he is a bus driver and does a good job because he is focussed. The machine operator in the steelworks has to concentrate fully on the expensive machine he is operating, otherwise he would deliver faulty work.
• Even the housewife has to be careful when cooking so that she doesn't burn her fingers and doesn't let the food boil, as she could then throw it away. And any mistakes due to lack of concentration only cost time. Save yourself that by paying attention and always being fully focussed. Make use of a quintessentially German virtue, namely iron discipline - even against yourself. We need so much structure - at work, in traffic, at school, in business - why not in our private lives too?
• More structure will save you a lot of time. So put together a package of concentration, discipline and structure. Then you will gain the time you need for a pleasant life. And you really can gain a lot from this. This is all the more true if you have your own business, which is precisely when you need to demonstrate these virtues. Otherwise you won't be successful. If you approach your self-employed job with the attitude "Now I'm finally free", you're guaranteed to lose. Time is money, especially here. Just always remember: life, work, your job, even your private life is a test that you have to work through with concentration, otherwise you wouldn't pass it.
• Think about which work steps follow each other logically and practically. Organise certain things so that they really save time. We often say 'in one wash-up' and that's true. After all, you don't wash each cup individually.
• Why don't we do several necessary errands in one go? Don't go to the bakery and the butcher's and then to the florist's - all in one go instead of always going the extra mile. In the office, the meeting only follows the presentation. The first half in football takes place before the second, the second half follows the first half, a boxing match is over in the twelfth round if there is no knockout in the first. Our lives consist of logical, inevitable processes. Let's respect this and organise ourselves accordingly. Let's get the most out of our lives through clever planning. Otherwise, we can sacrifice a lot of time if we don't organise ourselves well and go down far too complicated paths. Don't make life too difficult for yourself.
• Some companies suffer and are less successful because the individual work steps are not optimally coordinated. Take the simple example of construction: when the heating engineer arrives after the screed has been laid, he can no longer install underfloor heating. Or if the electrician wants to lay his cables when the interior plaster is already on the walls, he has to tear everything up again. If the roofer only turns up when the windows have already been installed, rain can destroy the wood. Everything would have to be repaired again at great expense of time. That's why the optimal coordination of the individual work steps is part of the work organisation - even in private homes. After all, you clean the windows first before you mop the floors. This saves you double work, as water and cleaning materials always drip onto the floor when you clean the windows. After all, you don't go to the hairdresser and get your hair curled if you want to clean yourself in the shower afterwards. And you don't serve the roast dinner before the soup. You don't drive your children to school before they go to sleep. Everything has its own order, you just have to be the master of your own organisational skills. Time is money here. That's why it's important to be well organised at home too.
• Go through all areas of your life and think about where you are wasting time. Think and act a little more intelligently. Make a daily plan. Avoid double and triple trips. And finally get rid of all the distractions. The magic word is concentration. You have so many compulsory tasks to do every day, so make an effort and do them without listening to music or watching TV on the side. Concentrate on preparing your food, doing the washing up or cleaning your home, on your job or on your leisure activities.
• Check your driving behaviour in your own car. We overtake another car only to have to stop at the next red light. Why don't you drive more intelligently and with foresight? Recognise certain situations in good time and react in a time-saving manner. You won't gain a metre if you are constantly changing lanes and squeezing into gaps, perhaps obstructing another driver or even forcing them to brake. Stay calm and level-headed, even in traffic jams. You will reach your destination faster if you calm down and don't get upset. Don't put yourself under pressure by planning your journey too tightly.

• Incidentally, we should be more intelligent in all areas of life. Let's just think about all the things we could do on the way to work. We don't have to make an extra trip to the bank to withdraw money, or go to the letterbox to post mail, pick up a suit at the dry cleaners or return borrowed books to the library. How can we organise ourselves better in our private lives, at home, in our free time and with our partner? You can work out a coordinated plan and do everything at once. This saves time and is efficient. A desk, for example, should always be tidy and only contain the most essential items. Whether it's framed pictures or magazines, ashtrays or make-up pots, none of that has any place there because it only distracts us from doing what's really important. Nothing should distract us. You often need a change of strategy, like taking the bus instead of walking or the train instead of the car.

• Saving time with tricks and tips needs to be learnt, but once you have mastered it, it is very efficient. You have to push your way past long queues and come up with cunning excuses. Wait at the checkout? Queue at the office? Hold out at the sausage counter? Sit for a long time at the doctor's surgery? With a few tricks, you can avoid all this and save a lot of time.

• Our headlessness costs us a lot of time. If something terrible happens, we react like a rabbit in front of a snake. We freeze in shock and make the wrong decision instead of holding out and working through the situation in a structured way. Wrong decisions are costly to repair. Instead of thinking things over calmly and sleeping on it for a night, we fall into blind actionism. In hindsight, every situation, no matter how dramatic, is a piece of cake. Sometimes we even laugh about it afterwards. Nothing is so bad that it can't be sorted out somehow. And nothing is as final as death, which we cannot prevent. Careless behaviour robs us of the precious time that we then lack for a good life. Because everything that then has to be painstakingly repaired due to wrong reactions is basically wasted time. If we had reacted appropriately and correctly straight away, we would have saved a lot. We need to act like minimalists here, like time managers in our private lives. But this also happens in the world of work when we can't make decisions on the spot. But this is also always a question of how we and our employees are structured. If we can't organise ourselves optimally, we lose a lot of time. It's not for nothing that there are specialists who only work on optimising work processes in order to save time and money.

• Distraction, lack of concentration, indiscipline and lack of structure are other time wasters that make life difficult for us. We allow ourselves to be distracted far too easily and too often by all sorts of things. Be it the pinup girl on the desk, a picture of our loved ones or a golf ball. All sorts of "toys" around us prevent us from doing what we need to do at the moment. We can't concentrate on the one important thing, for example our work. We keep wandering off. If we didn't have all this play material, we would have no choice but to work. We are not disciplined enough towards ourselves. Yet it is precisely when we are working that iron discipline is required. If we have to pass a test, we have no choice but to work through the tasks. If you are self-employed, you have to give your life a structure, otherwise you won't get anywhere. Their business would go down the drain. Time really is money here.

• Non-optimised work organisation takes up a lot of time. Let's just take the example of construction. If the individual trades were not seamlessly integrated when building a house, you would lose a lot of valuable time and, of course, a lot of money. Work has to be optimally coordinated. This is where the greatest time savings can be made. Just think how much can be saved if the optimum is utilised. There are specialists who specialise in improving work processes to the point. It's just like travelling to work, where you can do all sorts of things on the way. If we utilise a route that we have to take every day anyway with other necessities, we have saved a lot of time. We take so many duplicate routes and lose a lot of time that we could be spending elsewhere enjoying life.

• Time wasting due to raging jealousy and envy is widespread. This is where we encounter one of the biggest time wasters. Out of jealousy, we spy on our ex, stalk them and still have a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. We think too much and get carried away with the unrealistic. We plan gifts, phone calls and other impossible reactions. Have you ever thought about how much time is wasted here? In the process, we become more and more jealous - does she or he perhaps already have someone new? If we then find out that another partner is already involved, our jealousy turns into blind hatred. This also costs a lot of time because we are planning revenge. It also becomes dangerous. Envy of others who are better off also costs us a lot of time, because we want to catch up and then invest time and money in doing so. Our neighbour has a bigger car, so we have to buy an even bigger one. We scrape together all the money we can, look for a bigger car and still only lose out.

• Don't think so much about useless and pointless things. Too many stupid thoughts circle in our heads and only take up our time.

• We constantly have to do or refrain from doing something, take certain actions or change. Compulsion robs us of so much time. But we don't have to do anything.

• So much time is also lost through pointless arguments. We argue with our partners, children, neighbours, friends, relatives, teachers, bosses, colleagues, government offices, authorities, insurance companies, property managers and so on. It's often small things. Sometimes it's so trivial that you'd think we only argue on principle because we might be argumentative. Just think about how much time is wasted when we argue about the emperor's beard. We get ourselves all worked up and forget all the good things we could be doing during this time.

• Negative thoughts and feelings are also huge time wasters. We spend hours worrying uselessly about bad, unpleasant situations, brooding about what is going wrong and how we could react to it. Pessimism only drags us down further, it reduces our quality of life. It prevents us from making clear and correct decisions. Negative thoughts often turn into hatred and revenge, which cost us more time but don't get us any further and only put us in danger.

• Bad dreams rob us of restful and necessary sleep time. They put us in a bad mood and make us downright ill. And they can lead to depression, which prevents us from enjoying the good life.

• Illnesses and an impaired immune defence cost us so much time. We lie flat and can't do our work, which has to be done at some point. We are much more susceptible to colds, for example, if our immune system is unstable. Every flu puts us out of action and prevents us from doing enjoyable things. We then don't have the time.

Closing words

Do we have to be happy, start a family, father a child, build a house, plant a tree, get the better job, buy the fatter car and be everywhere? Fun!

No, we don't have to! It only costs us time and whether we will lead a better, happier life afterwards is also written in the stars. You can live well on your own, a family can make you unhappy, a house mortgage can become a burden. Say no more often and make more time for yourself.

That's what it's all about. Make time for what you really want and like. Ask yourself: what the hell do I really need time for right now - for myself, for my partner or my boyfriend, for my job, for my children? Everyone has different priorities here. The point here is to make more time for what we enjoy, where we want to spend it most - more time for a better quality of life. Break the shackles of the time robbers, don't give them any more chance to steal your time.

Enjoy the time you have gained!