DEAR SO&SO,
I think that “There’s just not enough hours in the day” has become my new catchphrase and something about it just feels embarrassing. As an adult, I feel like I am supposed to have more of a grip on my life but I cannot seem to get it right. I feel more overwhelmed as each day passes. Everything I need to get done keeps stacking higher and higher, and I’m afraid that one of these days I am going to topple over like a Jenga tower. I try to balance my work life, social life, healthy habits, and more, but I am finding it difficult to decide what should be my priority. And to make matters worse, Daylight Savings Time just took an hour of my day away. I had an extensive to-do list to tackle on Sunday, but I woke up at 11 am dazed, confused, and with half of the day already gone. I wish I had time to do everything, but it feels like there are just not enough hours in the day… I need advice. So&So, how do I find the time to do everything that I want and need to do?
Signed,
Daylight Savings Time Hater
Dear Daylight Savings Time Hater,
When I read your submission, I immediately thought to myself… Is it the time change, or is it time for a change? I think you should consider that question for yourself.
Ironically, time management is a timeless issue. I struggle as much with time management now as a did when I was in high school and middle school, and things were much more simple then. Unfortunately, it is an issue that won’t dissipate into thin air, and will only get worse if you ignore it. So, what can you do about it?
Everyone has their personal tips and tricks, and some may work better for you than it does for others and vice versa. The best thing I can suggest for you to use is some kind of calendar or planner. If you have a lot to attend to, it has to be written down somewhere. If you keep all of your tasks inside of your head, you’ll likely forget to do them or become incredibly overwhelmed by them. Regardless, you don’t want either of those things happening. Whether you want your planner to be digital or on paper can be up to you. Personally, I use Google Calendar on my phone because I know I will always have access to it (because my phone is stuck to my hand). Although, I do know there is a certain satisfaction that comes with crossing off tasks with a pen on paper.
You should find specific periods of time during your weekly schedule where you can truly be productive and get your work done. Finding chunks of time, whether it is 6 hours or 30 minutes, to sit down and focus can help you immensely and cut down your workload by tenfold. During these periods of time, I mean truly be productive without multi-tasking or any distractions. Psychology research has proven that our brains cannot truly work on two things at once and that “multi-tasking” actually makes you less efficient. So, when I say get your work done, I mean get your work done.
The last thing I want to highlight is that not every day will look the same in how much work you get done, when you complete your tasks, how productive you are, or anything along those lines. In high school, I followed the same schedule every weekday. I went to school during the day, danced during the afternoon, and went home during the evening to complete my work and go to sleep. In college, each of my weekdays is immensely different. On some days I have a 5-hour break between classes and on some days I have a 10-minute break between classes. Unlike high school, I am the most productive during the day in college so that I have time to go out at night.
Time management is something that we will always be learning and getting better at. It may seem like there’s not enough time in the day, but what is most important is the use you make of the time you have. Taking 10 minutes to center yourself and spending 2 hours getting to work can both benefit you and your productivity in different ways.
XOXO, So&So