The Pursuit of Productivity: Time Management is a Form of Self-Care
Time management skills are more than just reaching your peak productivity. Learning to efficiently time-manage will help you balance the hustle of everyday life and create space for self-care.
The term “self-care” is thrown around a lot, but the point of it is to allow yourself to have a nurturing experience. Self-care is when you do something for yourself today that helps you wake up tomorrow with a better mindset.
The term time management stands out as a rigid schedule. It can seem incompatible with self-care on the surface. However, implementing time management strategies can be a great tool to balance your need to be productive and your well-being.
How time-management is excellent for self-care
• Prioritizing certain blocks of time can create more margin for important things like spending time with loved ones, leisurely activities, or resting.
• Learning how to organize your time can help you capitalize on your most productive time of the day. When the structure becomes a habit, you quit wasting time and can prioritize your self-care.
• Creating a schedule of tasks for a specific amount of time means you are less likely to multitask and focus on your goals.
Simple strategies for time management:
3-step Process: Planning the Day Before
Step 1: Prioritize.
· Pick your top priorities for the day. Keep them between 1–4.
Step 2: Remove distractions.
· Turn your phone on to “do-not-disturb.” Turn off notifications on your laptop and get in the zone.
Step 3: Take Note.
· Write a simple note about how you will get things done. Writing out a to-do list helps organize and prepare your mind for the next day’s workload.
Keep Away From Multitasking!
Everyone does it, but when it comes to your goals, multitasking can disrupt your flow because you end up spending more time swapping between tasks rather than giving focus on one.
The human brain does not work optimally while multitasking. Researchers suggest multitasking can decrease your comprehension levels by 11% than those who were not multitasking.
When you are multitasking, you divide your attention between tasks, resulting in a decline in the quality of work. Put your attention into one task at a time.
Define Your Productive Periods.
To gain a better strategy for time management, ask yourself: Are you a morning person? A night owl? Or somewhere in the middle?
If you are a morning person, you likely can accomplish more work in the earlier part of the day. While a night owl might need time to wake up and spend more time to situate themselves before, they do their usual workday.
Set a Timer
Setting a timer will help remind you of breaks, set time limits, and increase your productivity. Timing portions of your day for breaks are an essential part of a productive day because it allows you to clear your mind and mentally prepare to continue your task.
Also, setting a time constraint for your tasks can help you complete more and push you to reach a deadline, and leaves you feeling accomplished. For example, I like to set a timer for 2 hours at the start of the day to dedicate focus to writing a blog or whatever task requires my full attention.
Manage Your Stress with Time Management Strategies!
People who appreciate structure in their lives can benefit from these strategies.
Once you have created a process for yourself that helps you reach your goals, you can better manage your own needs and vice versa. Self-care and time management go hand in hand. Stay adaptable, and do not be hard on yourself if you do not get every task done on the list.
Manage your stress levels by implementing self-care after or before a productive day. The process of time managing the day before can help you feel more relaxed and at ease.
