What Does an Extra Hour Really Get You? June 15, 2011 @ 09:00 AM | By Jill Huselton

Last weekend my son graduated from pre-school. I’m not sure when this event became momentous enough to warrant a ceremony complete with cap and gown and the playing of a recorded version of Pomp and Circumstance over a horrible sound system, but now it seems to be the norm. My family and I sat in the audience cheering and trying to get pictures, while, as my husband says, we shed two tears: a sentimental one because our son is moving on to kindergarten and a jubilant one because we wrote our final daycare check.

As we were driving home, another thought struck me: I will save an hour each day by not driving back and forth to daycare. Sixty minutes. Get in a workout. Make a trip to the grocery store. Finish some emails. Read the paper. This is almost as exciting as the essential raise we are getting.

We talk a lot about the value of conferencing and how you can get more time in your day by having a web conference instead of driving across town for a meeting. Because I don’t travel very often for my job, the concept of getting some time back never really sunk in. Now, though, it is in a context that really hits home. Even just having an extra hour can reduce your stress level and make you more productive.

So, if the solution for getting more time back in your day isn’t the end of daycare drop-off and pick-up, could it be conferencing? Can you cut even one trip out of your schedule and earn an extra day (oh, imagine that!)? What about leaving work early to avoid rush hour and taking your end-of-the-day meeting in the car or at home? Have you found other ways to utilize conferencing to your advantage?

Jill Huselton is a senior marketing manager at InterCall. She's been in the conferencing industry for nearly 15 years, working in operations, account management and marketing, mainly based in Colorado. Before leaving the Mile-High City, she hiked a 14er, one of her top accomplishments. Now she's traded the mountains for the beach and works from a home office in North Carolina.