This time my response is to a query on time management.
As a life skill, no other can add as much value to work-life balance as time management. Some of the most organised people have simply learnt to use their time pro-actively. Efficient time management ensures “staying in the moment”, recommended by Mindfulness-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MBCT) practitioners to be stress-free.
Perhaps the most daunting aspect of time management is the “get on with it” aspect of action requirement.
Conquering procrastination is the first hurdle; a useful step is identifying triggers of procrastination (e.g. fear of failure, boredom, lack of resources) as awareness propels us to seek support.
The modest time-table cannot be ignored – a log of ‘useful’ and ‘empty’ slots can help towards getting rid of everything that is time-wasting.
Another way to diarise would be to enlist the help of another person who can hold you accountable for your time.
Both these could help towards prioritising tasks and defining the goal/s, and help identify indicators like time spent on social media, gaming, television, telephone conversations and socialising, and identify the best time for study depending on one’s biological clock.
Making a to-do checklist and ticking them off as completed can be a useful aid.
The time-boxing method has been recommended by many. A task is selected to work on for 30 minutes, followed by a reward for putting in the time, regardless of any meaningful accomplishment.
Finally it is important to keep ourselves spontaneous and as organic as possible. Time management is making sense of our own world. In other words, what are our priorities?
On reflection, the time that is truly for our own disposal is the time between closure of college/work and bed-time and weekends and holidays. How we choose to utilise that time can, therefore, become an empowering exercise for ourselves.
(The writer is a clinical psychologist based in London, with an interest in working through adjustment issues with young adults.)
Published on December 23, 2012
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