How are your time management skills? Let’s put it to the test.
You have 168 hours within a week.
Break that down.
How many hours do you spend sleeping each day? 7 hours per day = 49 Hours.
How many hours do you spend getting ready in the morning (showering, brushing teeth, etc.)? 1 hour per day = 7 Hours.
How many hours do you commute? 14 Hours
How many hours do you work at your job? 25 Hours.
How many hours are you in class? 10 Hours.
How many hours do you spend studying/doing homework? 8 Hours.
How many hours do you spend eating per day? 21 Hours.
Spend time with your family? 5 Hours.
Gym? 5 Hours.
Relax? 7 Hours.
That is 151 Hours of Accounted For Things.
168 Hours – 148 Hours = 17 Hours Unaccounted For.
This is a part of my daily schedule. Now you do this exercise.
Most likely you are doing less work than you think you actually do.
An excuse I always here people say is that they don’t have time to do what they want. That they are too busy or too tired. The rebuttal to that is always “You have to make the time to do what you want”, which is true, but what does that exactly mean? It means that you have to prioritize what you find important and actually commit to doing it. It means managing your time.
So how do you do manage your time in order to do what you want? You just do it.
You set a goal, create a plan to complete that goal, and do it.
I’m going to share with you my different ways of building the self-discipline into doing what I want.
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A Laid Out Planner
I have a weekly planner (It’s my bullet journal, read how I made it here) in which I write down all my commitments for that week on the left, and my to do list on the right. I make sure I do everything on the to do list for each day. This helps so that I’m able to do everything that I wanted to do in each day.
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A Reward System
Create an incentive for you to get something done. Incentives make people do shit. I’m a big rewards driven person, so in order to do my homework, I’ll reward myself with a snack or a youtube video every homework assignment I finish.
Also don’t forget to celebrate your wins. If you achieved going to the gym 7 days in a row, congratulate yourself by going out for ice cream (HAHA, it kind of defeats the purpose but who cares, it’s fun).
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A Punishment System
Basically the opposite of a reward system. Just like you wouldn’t reward your dog for ripping apart all your shoes, don’t reward bad behavior. Eventually, you’ll be conditioned to reach your goals because you don’t want to be punished.
What I mean by punishing yourself is that hold yourself back from let’s say going out with friends until you reach your goal. Or not going out to eat. The punishment can be anything you want it to be, but it has to give you an incentive to reach your goal.
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Set Small Goals
So I know some people set giant goals so they will aim super high. Personally, I’m not able to just set a high goal and achieve it right off the bat, but if you can then go you! What I find effective for me is setting small goals, like taking baby steps. Every single small goal you complete, set a bigger goal after and build up upon it. Eventually, you are able to not only hit your super high goal, but also manage your time better in order to be able to reach that super high goal consistently.
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The Buddy System
Set a group goal with one or even some of your friends! Setting a goal with a friend allows you to both be encouraged to do it. If one person is slacking, then the other person can keep them accountable. This is your accountability system.
These are just a couple of tips that I myself use, but there are probably a bunch more out there. This is what works for me the best and I hope maybe it could help you too. Find and use what works for you.
You control your time.
Love,
