Are you someone who wishes you had more than 24 hours in the day? With so many responsibilities, tasks and goals to achieve as a modern woman, it can sometimes be exceptionally challenging to manage the hours in the day efficiently. If you are someone who chronically struggles with time management and are all too familiar with the phenomenon of ‘more hours, less time’, you’ve landed on the perfect article.
In today’s guide to time management in 2022, we share 5 expert tips that every modern girl can benefit from. If you are ready to take control of your time and your life, simply read on to find out more!
- Embrace The Wonders Of A Lifestyle Diary
If you are someone who loves putting pen to paper, the best thing you can do to improve your time management skills is to embrace the wonders of a lifestyle diary or planner. With an endless list of things to do, places to go and goals to achieve, a daily planner can help you to keep track of and remember the small yet crucial details in your life. Whether it is scheduling your doctors appointments, dates with your special someone or listing down the goals you want to achieve this year, don’t let the small things slip through the cracks by keeping track of them with the help of your lifestyle diary or planner.
Looking to get a headstart on the upcoming year? Get on top of your schedule, goals and finances by treating yourself to a 2023 diary today. We promise you won’t regret it!
- Time Block Your Week
Time blocking your week can do absolute wonders when it comes to boosting your productivity and graduating to the next level of time management. For those who haven’t heard of the term, time blocking is a time management method that gets you to divide your day into blocks of time. Each block is dedicated to accomplishing a specific task that you can then tick off your list before heading to your next priority. Unlike a traditional to-do list, time blocking takes it one step further by not only telling you what to do, but when to do it too.
We highly recommend time blocking if you…
- Have trouble breaking down or planning tasks;
- Battle constant interruptions or distractions throughout the day;
- Are looking to engage in deeper, more focused work;
- Constantly find yourself multi-tasking; and/or
- Struggle to find the time and mental space in the day for big-picture thinking.
While there is nothing wrong with manually time blocking your schedule using pen and paper, we much prefer going the automated route. There are dozens of free time blocking and management apps available online, so have a browse through what is on offer and pick one that suits your needs the best!
- Beware Of The Social Media Rabbit Hole
We’ve all been there – you’re scrolling through Instagram, Tik Tok or Youtube, only to realise that 3 hours have passed and you’ve done nothing but consume hundreds of videos. Don’t get us wrong, social media has its time and place in our lives and we are by no means trying to deny that. However, if you find yourself unable to focus on other aspects of your life due to online distractions, it may just be time to to start taking control of your digital life. If like many of us, you fall into the trap of endless scrolling and dopamine hunting, a great step to take is to regulate the time you spend on social media applications so that it doesn’t get in the way of other responsibilities or fun activities. If you don’t know where to start, we recommend the following tips:
Keep track of how much time you spend online. You might be surprised at how many hours of the day get lost in the social media rabbit hole.
Unfollow creators whom you do not resonate with. Being mindful as to what type of content you are consuming can be a great starting point to curbing social media addiction and improving time management.
Allocate a time slot for social media. Instead of randomly scrolling through apps at any given point of the day, we recommended dedicating a specific time slot each day for social media and apps. If you have trouble sticking to this rule, we suggest setting up an app blocker on your phone to help.
- Master The Art Of Meal Prepping
Did you know that maintaining a healthy and balanced diet stimulates dopamine production in the brain? Dopamine is responsible for engagement, motivation and productivity which can be directly linked to your time management skills. Finding the time to prepare yourself healthy meals can be a huge challenge, especially if you work all day long and have little energy to spare at the end of a gruelling day. This is why meal prepping is such an incredible time management tool for busy girls who aren’t looking to compromise on a healthy diet.
Meal prepping comes in all shapes and forms, and choosing what works best for your schedule is key. For some, meal prepping may consist of batch cooked meals on the weekend that are simply reheated during the work week. For others, meal prepping may involve chopping your produce and ingredients in advance so that there is less prep work to do when you get to cooking your meals at the end of the day. Whether you choose to cook your own meals or decide that a pre-planned meal kit is more up your alley, time management is made so much easier when you plan and prepare your food in advance.
- Take Time To Unwind
You know that they say…all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl. Okay, so maybe we’ve changed that proverb a little, but you get the gist! Although taking time to unwind may seem contradictory to effective time management, rest plays a key role in helping us maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle that enables us to lead a better quality of life overall. Many of us equate time management to ‘hustling’ non stop or working ourselves to the bone. Unfortunately, the mantra of ‘rise and grind’ and the toxicity of hustle culture in the 21st century only ends up fueling cognitive dissonance and can very easily lead to unhealthy competition and burnout.
If you really want to make the most out of your 24 hours, getting adequate rest and giving yourself some much needed time to unwind will do wonders for your productivity. In turn, you will be much better equipped to manage your time not just more efficiently but also with your physical and mental health in mind.
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And there you have it – 5 expert tips that are guaranteed to help you not just better manage your time, but also create a healthy work-life balance that will contribute to your overall health and wellness.
