Making the Most of Your Time

Time can be one of the hardest things to manage in the modern age, where distractions are becoming an almost inescapable aspect of daily living. Constant notifications, social media, advertising – these are just the tip of the iceberg. We naturally fall into behaviors that dramatically reduce our attention span, and increase our inclination for procrastination. This can have a negative impact on productivity, and the consequent stress and anxiety for not meeting personal deadlines can prove detrimental to your overall emotional health, and subsequently make you less equipped to handle your daily tasks. This can become a vicious cycle for many, and thus it is so important to create a healthy attitude around time management. Try implementing this advice to take control of your time.

Wake Up Early

Cheeky lie-ins or being sluggish and lethargic in the morning wastes a lot of time that would otherwise be brilliant for setting the day up and making life easier for yourself. If you wake up late, you spend the whole of the day chasing up the time you missed, often a fruitless endeavor. Set alarms and stick to them, pretend the snooze button is not a function, and try to get out of bed within thirty seconds of opening your eyes.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is a leading factor in how productive you are throughout your day. Not getting your forty winks can set the day off to a terrible start, and you will struggle to both feel as good and be as proficient without the necessary rest your body requires. If your sleep quality is poor, you may find it harder to get out of bed in the morning, which as discussed before can ruin a good portion of the day. Create an evening routine to relax your body before bed and give it time to recuperate for the coming day.

Be in Control of Your Screens

A lot of work needs to be done by computer and phone, but what we mean by this is don’t become a slave to your devices. They should work for you, not the other way round – yet so many people can’t navigate technology productively without becoming distracted. This is a common occurrence, as a lot of devices are designed to subconsciously draw your attention to lots of things at once. We recommend setting time limits on certain apps to make you aware of how you are using your devices, or use a stay focused app like Blocksite where you can take control back from your device and instead utilize it to help you be productive and make progress in your goals by blocking pesky and distracting sites or applications.

Commit to One Task at a Time

Feeling overwhelmed can put a halt on any type of productivity and will definitely put a strain on your mental wellbeing. Combat this feeling by making a to-do list, either daily, weekly, or even one without time constraints if that is better suited to your schedule. Then rank these tasks by priority and take them on individually, rather than all at once. This is a simple yet efficient way to manage your responsibilities and make the most of your time.

Create Healthy Stress Outlets

One of the reasons you are not making the most out of your time is because there is nothing to break up the monotony and tension of your responsibilities. Using your time wisely means designing your day around the fulfilment of your different needs. If you set out with no structure, the time can become easy to lose, and without rewarding practices like exercise or socialization, you can get stuck in ruts which feel impossible to escape. Down-time is essential for physical and emotional health, and is a brilliant way to make sure the time you spend working is balanced and effective in your daily routine.

Engage Yourself Creatively

One of the leading causes for inefficiency is a lack of enthusiasm for your responsibilities. If you feel that you have a tendency to procrastinate because you don’t enjoy the nature or content of your work, try to reconstruct your thinking around work and get excited by your profession again. A brilliant method of managing this is to find inspiration and fulfilment in activities outside of work, and channel the energy from these into your other daily behaviors. Individuals have commented that when they have a project or hobby that really fulfils them, the positive impact on their mindset has carried through to all other aspects of their life, including work.

This article highlights useful approaches towards creating a mindset and employing techniques to feel as accomplished and in control as possible in regards to your use of time. Most time management skills come from introspection and mindfulness, so try to look after yourself first, and see the positive effects bleed into your daily structure.