“I wish there were more hours in the day” “I don’t have the time” “Would love to but… there’s no time”
Do these statements sound familiar to you? How often do you say these or something similar?
Life is so busy these days – and it never seems to stop or slow down. To-do lists run to pages (if indeed we even have the time to write one), tasks get more and more urgent and it gets harder and harder to juggle everything. Work, family, children, house, social life, responsibilities, hobbies, events, health…. How are we actually supposed to fit it all in?
Time management is a phrase and concept that has been around for many years – yet it has only relatively recently been connected to our mental health, to our stress levels. Studies show that when we feel overwhelmed with everything – just the worry alone can sap us of any extra time we had to complete things – and so then we worry some more and the cycle continues. If we manage to get a hold on our time management then actually it helps the mind regain some sense of control and order – and helps us get back to a healthier more resilient mental state.
There are lots and lots of different tools and techniques you can use to time manage and they all have a number of core elements that form the foundation for effective and sustainable success:
- Get rid of the unnecessary: Now this is often easier said than done and in a stressed state it’s difficult to even recognise what is unnecessary but it’s worth getting some help to do this if you find it a challenge. We regularly fill our to-do lists up with things we don’t really need to do – just because we have always done them, we feel obliged to do them, as a way to procrastinate and many other reasons. My top tip for eliminating things is to ask yourself the following questions then get rid of them accordingly:What will happen if I don’t do this?Who is affected if I don’t do this?
Is there someone else who could do this?
What is the purpose of doing this?
How important is this?
Does this affect anything else I have to do?
- Prioritise: To-do lists are great but without any sense of order or priority they can turn into a huge headache. Devise a scale that suits you (numbers, colours, labels etc) and make sure you allocate everything accordingly. I personally find numbers easiest. 1 – 3 = Today, 3 – 6 = This week, 7 – 10 = This month. I then have bonus numbers for jobs it would be great to do but technically have no priority/deadline at this time. As an addition to this process I also add how much time I think each task will take – this helps with the next point.NB: Speaking of To-Do lists – I have recently changed the name of mine. The meaning or label we give something can often be the trigger to our stress response and as an ex project/operations manager who lived by ‘to-do’ lists I realised even the name of it felt like a negative to me. So now I have my daily goal list (and weekly, monthly yearly – but that’s for another post!).. and it feels so different and really does provide me with a boost when I tick off my goals as I do them.
- Diarise/Plan everything: You may have heard the saying “Fail to plan and you plan to fail”. When you are busy it’s so tempting to just dive straight in and get on with things. However, just a few minutes planning could actually save you much more time. I tend to plan at the beginning of the week, making sure to include buffer time and with the expectation I may have to change some things around. I use post-it’s a lot and pencil so I can easily move things around and/or erase when things come up unexpectedly.
- Include ‘me time’: When planning – include everything: including breaks/leisure/sleeping/eating/’me’ time etc: If your stress response is being constantly triggered, rather than those hormones helping you (which they do at first) your body starts to get flooded and overcome with them – common brain functions such as memory, concentration, problem solving and rationality are negatively affected and we become less efficient. Making sure you take regular breaks and look after yourself is essential to effective time management (even though it may appear counter-intuitive). When you return after your break or some ‘you’ time you will find you work much more effectively and complete tasks much quicker.
- Stop Multi-Tasking: Effective multitasking is actually a myth—our brains struggle to handle multiple cognitively demanding tasks at once. The brain can of course do more than one thing at once however what that actually means its its dividing ‘brain power’ to do it – rather than focussing all its efforts on one thing – and that’s a dangerous habit to get into.Trying to multitask can actually be quite damaging on our brains as because of this split focus it increases the risk of stress hormones being constantly released. This in turn then affects our memory, our ability to focus, our emotional state and even rational thought.On the flipside, when you focus on 1 task at a time – because you are giving it your full undivided attention you are much more likely to get it done more efficiently, more effectively and to the best of your ability.
Finally, the best bit of advice I was given and implemented is, rather than managing time day by day, look at it on a week by week, flexible basis. Thinking of it as 168 hours instead of just 24 hours not only sounds so much more – but also allows you that flexibility for when things change and you have to move things around due to priorities.
SAM, as absence management software for schools, can help you to set reminders and tasks all helping you to manage your time. You can add Fit Notes, Occupational Health Reports and Return to Work documents within SAM, all helping you to hold regular meetings and increase contact by providing you with the information you need to make decisions and complete tasks. SAM supports you in applying a fair process for all employees and can ultimately help you to reduce absence. If you don’t currently use SAM, get in touch with one of the team on 01924 907319 to book a demo.
This blog was written by Nicky Lloyd Greame, founder of The Stress Specialist at https://www.thestressspecialist.com
