How to use your time effectively

When we think about time, its usually in a negative way. We say things like ‘’i dont have time to do that..’’, ‘’There’s not enough time in the day’’.. What if I said there's a way you can find more time in your day and manage your time better?

Especially now, most of us have a lot more time than we use to with some working from home.

Firstly, 3 things we need to understand:

• We always have time for the important things

• Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day

• Maximising your time and achieve your goals is a skill that can be learnt

Most people think time is objective and you don’t have control over it. It’s thoughts like the above, ‘’i dont have enough time’’, that creates stress and anxiety, meaning you are going to act stressed and overwhelmed.

If you change your thoughts, you can change your experience of time. You have control over time, you choose what to do everyday, it's in the choices you make.

How to create more time?

1. Be clear about your values and priorities - write these down, more effective to see them.

2. Eliminate the pointless things you spend time on

3. Delegate tasks that you dont like doing or dont have to do - share chores with partners or kids

4. Say NO - how much time are you spending on others?

5. Make Decisions - we waste time on second guessing, start making decisions on little things and build up from there

6. Take action - dont procrastinate, if it takes less than a minute, just do it.

How to manage time better?

1. Plan and review - week or day ahead

2. Find your most productive times during the day

3. Time blocking - 25 minute timers.

4. Let go of multi tasking

5. Write things down - free’s up your memory

6. Honour your schedule - take action

Task to help you manage time better:

Create two columns, in the left hand side, write down exactly what you have done over the past 48 hours. In the right hand side, write down what you would like to do in a standard 24 hour day.

What did you find??

It’s also important not to be hard on yourself, sometimes we need to take that time out for ourselves and just do nothing, and thats ok, but don't make it a habit.

Next Steps?

What is one bite size action that you can take to help you move forward?

You can also find a buddy - Have a person to help you get you on track and support you towards your goals.

Everything you do in life is a choice, if you don’t like what you are doing then think about it and maybe let it go