Why Learning Time Management Can Actually Improve Your Health Condition!

Most of us stress out with too little time, despite we all have been generously given twenty-four hours. We got to-do lists, apps, using big words and claim to do XYZ. Oh, and we certainly don’t have time to through short constructive feedback view on the week. Do you familiarise yourself? Keep on reading then!

The power of constructive feedbacks

A written statement or goal is way more powerful compared to simply saying out loud. Not to mention that it is easier to make a better and stronger commitment, compare and measure it in terms of successful or not. The practicality itself is to minimise stress and we recently marked the World Mental Health Day. By setting off time to a constructive review of your task list and performance, you’ll optimise the outcome of the current and upcoming tasks ahead most likely. This angle is also supported by the Dutch author, Jos van Rozen, of the book “Be decisive now”. A book showcasing both speed reading and seeing the bigger picture for lasting results. Shortly put, a balance between grasping the essential details at great work speed. That leads us to a clearer state of mind and the definition itself.

“Time management” is the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities. Good time management enables you to work smarter — not harder — so that you get more done in less time, even when time is tight and pressures are high. Failing to manage your time damages your effectiveness and causes stress. (mindtools.com)

Mental health

Our mental health is at risk long-term when we cannot seem to connect the dots between what’s creating good energy and what drains our energy capacity. A simple visual mind-map and/or an A6 notebook that you carry out in your jacket throughout the two-month trial project could be the change you’re looking for. By scribbling down small and important tasks by hand, you detach yourself from the noise the smartphone creates. That’s also why thought leaders across industries are stacking behind the argument of healthy morning routines.

Morning routines and your environment

From a respective full-time student and SMB-owner perspective, there’s a lot of elements playing in the backgrounds, e.g. friends opinions decisions to take on a rapid speed. How to manage that in a smart workflow and evolve alongside your journey to become an enlightened person in your field?

Things boil down to the neatly, gritty morning routines. Your first 30 min. without checking your notifications will do wonder. Trust me. Let it be you shape your day and your inner compass, not the external environment. It’s often the changes and tweaks to initial ideas that makes the chosen solution successful by integrating more insights, credible sources etc.

Management skills

Time management can be definitely be linked to project management, also well known as project planning and project scheduling. It’s identifiable as one of the essential functions identified by practising good project management.

The benefits of time management can be summarised:

• More control of your day 
• Increased efficiency
• Peace of mind when you categorise and prioritise correctly
• Increased self-awareness
• Easier to adapt to challenging environments, deadlines etc.

Further principals on a great time management

As a physiological view on this matter, we all love shortcuts. That’s just how the human brain at its core is built up, e.g. books with titles “7 steps to a fit body” are bestsellers and how-tos. We seem tempted to save time while doing a lot of multi-tasking does in most cases slow us down. Instead of doing that one task efficiently and at a great level, we do it half-way. Tim Ferriss has a clever way of looking at time in author collection incl. “The 4-hour Workweek”. 

Audit your time and write short notes along the way about any stress levels (highs and lows) that are noticeable from your regular pattern. That underpins your level of consciousness and mental health. A Sunday is a great day to plan the week ahead, thinking of writing a to-do list of tasks with a variety of importance.

Reverse engineering

I have felt it myself. Setting up ambitious goals and only meeting the expectations half-way. Well, it doesn't need to be that way. See, if you state what you want from that particular meeting, assignment or project with the outcomes, you're reverse engineering task management. Following that thinking pattern, you can increase your drive, speed and motivation to fulfil the task(s) needed to achieve what you wrote down.

The priority matrix

To utilise the need lattice, it is ideal to audit your assignments consistently. Every day, ask yourself: 

Which of my undertakings needs doing inside the following 48 hours? Those are the 'Pressing' errands. Of the pressing errands, which ones are more significant? 

It is a smart thought to list your undertakings arranged by significance, as opposed to giving them an outright 'significant/not significant' differentiation. 

Of the non-pressing errands, which ones are more significant? 

Once more, it is a smart thought to show them all together, as opposed to giving them a flat out qualification. Presently utilise the responses to these inquiries to assign your errands to the crates in the need network, keeping these guidelines: 

• Each crate ought to contain close to around seven or eight undertakings. 
• Start with the 'Do Now' box. 
• Essentially, don't put off critical or significant things since they are upsetting. They won't show signs of improvement for lingering.

Smarter routines, better mental state

We can summarise this short article to say that by starting your day detaching yourself from the phone, you'll increase your self-awareness. Whether it's reading 20 min, doing yoga, running for 30 min. plus a shower, you've just kickstarting your day. You're increasing the level of efficiency and utilise the great energy levels early in the morning. Then you can head-on with the task list you wrote the day before, moving smoothly with a clear consciousness about your end goal - reverse engineering your project. In that way you’ll improve your health condition, having a better mind-body connection. Fairly speaking, there’s none black and white view on this subject whatsoever. 

Thanks for taking the time reading. See you next Monday!