Tackling Time Management
/Do you feel overwhelmed with all you have to do?
Do you find there aren’t enough hours in the day?
Do you lack motivation to tackle your to do list?
Let’s talk time management. We all have things we need to do on a daily basis. We have work obligations, children’s sports activities, community involvements. Some of these are things we can’t get away from. When these responsibilities become something you dread, it is time to examine what exactly is going on and why.
Sure, you might just need to streamline things, work to prioritize a bit more, but there could also be other reasons why you feel like time management is a problem for you.
Try these tips to practice better time management and get things done!
Prioritize – What needs done now? What can wait? What are the things you probably will never do that keep showing up on your to do list? If something- like making homemade bins for your children’s school projects -keeps getting moved to next week’s to do list, perhaps consider it’s not that important for you to do and keeping it on your list might just be setting you up to let yourself down. Part of good time management is knowing what to say NO to, or to take off of your list. In case you missed our previous blog post on saying no, check it out here.
Delegate – What is something that you can delegate to others? Maybe you look into hiring a nearby teenager to mow your lawn, or do a grocery delivery service rather than a trip to the store. Maybe you empower your (pre)teens to do their own laundry or clean their own rooms and bathroom. Ask yourself “Is this something I have to do, or can someone else do it?” If someone else can do it, then have someone else!
Break Tasks Down Into More Manageable Parts - Sometimes big projects can cause us to get stuck in worry because they stress us out. Or, we are overwhelmed because there is so much do to and we don’t know where to start. Take that big work presentation, and break it down into smaller chunks to tackle.
Reflect – Reflect on if there are possibly other reasons behind your poor time management. Could you be unmotivated or tired because you are depressed? Could you be overly nervous about failing or not doing it perfectly, and so you chose not to start it? We addressed perfectionism in this blog post here, so be sure to check that out if you think you might not be starting something because you are nervous about not doing it perfectly. Could you have inattention issues that are contributing to you feeling as if you can’t get anything completed?
Working to address the root causes of your time management difficulties can help you to be less stressed, more productive, and have better mental health. Some of this work can be done on your own, but if you need guidance, we are here to help.
The mental health therapists at our office offer counseling for a variety of issues including trauma using EMDR, depression, anxiety, grief, and couples counseling. We work with teens, adults, and couples. We also offer online counseling services which can be great for people with busy schedules or for people who live in parts of Pennsylvania with limited counseling options. You can check out our website to see the full list of counseling services that we offer. Or, Request An Appointment here.