Tips: How to improve your time management

Hi guys!
How has this week gone?! I have to admit that time management wise I was a little disaster…

Don’t you sometimes just wish there were more hours  in the day? Or that your to do list is so long, you just wish you had more time? Or maybe you’re a procrastinator, like I tend to be sometimes, especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed by all the things I need to do. Or when I just have hunderts of ideas in my head and don’t know where to start.  Time is manageable though, and there are certain things you can do to not only use your time better, but also to have more hours left in the day. Here are some things I do when it comes to time management and reducing stress. Especially point 3 is my favorite but also most difficult to do 😉

1. Get up 20 minutes early. It takes a little perseverance at first, but when you get up earlier than you have to, you’ll feel more relaxed in the morning because you don’t have to rush everything. Getting up early and taking time to prepare for the day makes you feel more calm throughout the day. Especially now as the sun is rising earlier it gets a lot easier for me to get up and feel awake.
2. Make a to do list (when you have that time left in the morning, or the night before) so that you’re head won’t be overflowing with all the things you need to do and mustn’t forget. It gives you an overview and you’ll be able to plan your activities in a way that they’re manageable. This makes you also forget a lot less.
3. Put your phone down more often. Yes, that’s hard for most of us but even though we don’t notice it, our constantly bleeping phone can cause quite some extra stress. We fill up ’empty’ moments by checking our phones, social media and email, but what if you would just put your phone on airplane mode a few half hours a day and actually enjoy your free time, or not let yourself be distracted while you’re doing things?
4. I love the 2-minutes rule: if you can do something within 2 minutes, then do it immediately. Another way to getting more things done.
5. We tend to multitask a lot and switch between different tasks. This switching asks more from your brain than you might think. Focusing on 1 task at a time and nothing else helps. What also helps is clustering tasks within a certain category and doing those before switching to another category.
6. When you have a big task, divide it into smaller tasks so that your task looks less overwhelming and you won’t be tempted to procrastinate. Therefore, I usually write about 2-3 core tasks that I really need to do and others are secondary. If I get them done, great, if I don’t, there’s always another day tomorrow. Don’t ask too much from yourself.
7. Enjoy your free time. Actually enjoy it, instead of scrolling through Facebook. Put your phone down and do something you enjoy, like getting your face in the sunshine, reading a magazine or doing Yoga. Taking more moments of rest will make you feel more rested, even though you have a million things to do.What do you do to manage your time better?

What are your tips to manage your time better? Let me know! I am always looking for new ideas 🙂

pictures via pinterest