With so many responsibilities, time management has become a bit of a ninja skill. How is your relationship with time lately? What’s tops on your to-do list? Push-and-pull feelings can be strong during the holidays when we have to balance time between multiple families and events – PLUS – the regular day-to-day responsibilities.
To live your best life, it’s important to feel in control of your time. Identify a reason behind your need for better time management and work on a productivity plan that make you a better time manager. Keep reading for some of my top time management tips.
Make Me-Time Happen
If you’re running out of time for yourself, write down a list of goals or activities you’ve always wanted to do and put them on your calendar. “ME TIME” needs to be as important as other scheduled activities to keep your level of personal happiness from bottoming out!
Make your me-time as important as a medical appointment, the conference call, and your meeting with the contractor. Treat it just like any other appointment.
Try to find at least 20-30 minutes every day for you. It doesn’t have to be all at once. When you schedule your me-time, promise yourself that you won’t waste it.
Keep a Checklist
Checklists keep us focused on what needs to be done and we get to feel accomplished when we cross things off!! Definitely, keep your checklists manageable.
First, sit down and do a BRAIN DUMP of all the activities you need to accomplish and then space them out over time. As much as you want to – you can’t do it all! Don’t be afraid to delegate and please remember that you can say NO to something that doesn’t fit into your schedule.
Deadly Distractions
It’s nearly impossible to avoid distractions with all the social media scrolling, streaming video services and barrage of blasted emails. Everyone can benefit from a break, but when a few minutes turns into a few hours of zoning out, it’s time to draw the line.
If you find that distractions are preventing you from getting the most out of your days, here’s something you can try.
Turn off your notifications!
Are you sick of living by the chiming, beeping and dinging? From the phone to the microwave, we live in a reactive manner so much lately. Time management is all about being proactive. Instead of all those notifications, set aside a few minutes out of every hour to attend to the distractions instead of being reactive to every beep, ding, chime and alert. This will help you avoid FOMO without it overtaking your life.
Give Yourself a Break
Remember, there are only 24 hours in a day and what we do with those hours is what really matters. If TIME feels like an enemy, practice sticking to a productivity plan to reduce the pressure you feel from lack of time. There are a lot of apps you can use stay in your productivity zone. Have you tried the Pomodoro technique yet?
The key is to set a timer for a block of focused work time and when that time is up take a small break. Repeat this process a few times and after 2-3 cycles, reward yourself with a bigger break. Here are some activities you can do on your breaks.
- Sit on the porch with a cup of your favorite warm beverage and watch the clouds go by. No phone or calendar allowed.
- Call a friend to chat. This doesn’t mean planning the bake sale or organizing the neighborhood yard sale — just talk, without an agenda.
- Move. Get up from your work table, stretch, and walk around the block or up and down a flight of stairs.
- Breathe in and out. Really breath. While you’re sitting in your office, car, or home, focus on breathing slowly and gently for 5 minutes. It’s OK if your mind wanders a bit, but don’t start planning what you have to do next.
De-Stress With Yoga
Calm down with a relaxing yoga flow. Yoga is beneficial for improving core strength, flexibility, and stress levels. When time is tight, skipping exercise can be so easy. A benefit of exercise is that when you make it part of your routine, your ability to manage your time may improve because you’re calmer and the endorphins give you an energy boost.
Look for a relaxing routine that focuses largely on stretching and breathing exercises. Yoga in the evening can also help empty out or at least settle your mind before bedtime. You hit the pillow feeling more relaxed and hearing less mind-chatter. The 3 Week Yoga Retreat is a great 3 week at home yoga program with step-by-step expert instruction. Perfect for beginner yogis.
We all lead busy lives. There are only so many hours in the day to get everything done. When you’re struggling to manage your time, remember that it is okay to slow down.