6 Steps Towards Successful Time Management and Better Health
We all want to be healthy but it’s just so hard to find the time! How do you deal with managing time when you have to handle studying or work, cooking or even kids. Here re some tips for successful time management and better health.
Multitask if Possible
One of the best methods to manage time is to do two things at once if it’s possible. I don’t mean juggling two kitchen knives. But when you’re waiting for the water to boil or food to cook, you could be using this time to do some squats. While you’re moving to and from the kitchen, you could easily stretch your neck or legs, massage parts of your body or wave your arms back and forth to exercise your lungs. Even when you’re going to the bathroom at work, you could be doing these things. All this is easy, it’s a matter of whether you can remember. The secret is forming them into habits, to the point where you’re doing it without thinking.
Use Time Wisely
I’ve had unproductive days that took over two hours to get one task done because I was so distracted with other things. Other days when I put my heart and soul into it, I can get five times the amount done in half the time. Why? Because I’m determined and will do nothing else until it’s done. Although it’s very hard for our minds not to wander off, just keep thinking how great it feels to be have it out of the way so I can relax without worrying about it. Remember when you had an assignment due and it just felt stressful before you started but once you handed it in, your stress vanished and your relaxation time felt real? Try and put 100% effort in completing any task, work or assignment so you can enjoy real free time.
What if you simply can’t come up with an ideas or was stuck on something? When you’re stuck, the best thing is to give it a break and come back back to it later. Just like when you’re stuck on an exam paper, you should never waste an hour just staring at it and trying to figure it out when you could be using that time to do answer the next question. If you run across an experience like that, I suggest skipping it for the time being because the answer may just come to you later.
Plan Ahead of Time
I find this helps me a great deal when it comes to doing what I do. My tasks are to write up articles for all my website, and because I don’t like wasting so much time in the morning thinking about what to write, I like to plan beforehand. The best time to plan these things are when you’re doing something else. I often think about ideas when I go to bed or wake up in the morning, while I cook, exercise or go for a walk. Sometimes, dreams can even inspire me. Always keep a pen and notepad.
Another good way to plan is to list out all the things you need to do in order of priority, and then start on the most important and work towards the least.
Have a Good Sleep
Believe it or not, lack of sleep affects the body very negatively. If you’re always tired, your mind won’t work properly and you’ll find that you become a lot slower with doing everything. Your body will also be too tired to exercise. I’ve had days when I’ve slept for about 5-6 hours and I simply didn’t want to get off the chair because I felt too tired to walk. However, when I’ve had 8 hours of sleep, I feel as if my body is on fire and I could accomplish anything.
Lack of sleep also affects the mind as well. When I’m very tired, I find it hard to think and concentrate. My mind becomes a blubbering mess and no thoughts even make sense, so I end up spending a long time getting frustrated and grumpy for not being able to get things done fast when I could easily do that after a good night’s sleep. You may find that when you’re tired, you simply don’t have the energy or will to get things done. So try and ensure at least 7-8 hours sleep.
Keep your Mind Happy
An unhappy mind will want to sink into despair and give up. If you’re simply unhappy with life, you’ll likely end up not trying to manage time as you wouldn’t see the point. Sometimes, problems could arise with school, home or work can be hard on your mental health. Certain medical conditions may even make us depressed. I feel that it’s really important to address these problems before you can move on to the next level. It’s clear that our safety and happiness is the higher priority and we can’t achieve much without those being fulfilled first.
I remember when I had to work at a retail job that I hated, I was constantly lethargic, unmotivated and felt as if there was no point to life. I personally have a weakness in dealing with rude customers so to me, jobs like this was especially hard. I noticed that when I wasn’t happy, I simply didn’t have the will to do a lot of things, let alone time manage and get other things done. Only when I dealt with the problems at work was I able to find the energy to do more.
Kitchen Time Management
It seems that many people don’t have time because there’s too much to do in the kitchen. However, things aren’t that time consuming if you can manage your time in the kitchen well. Firstly, I suggest when you are cooking, try and reuse bowls and plates so you don’t have an overload of stacked dishes to wash afterwards. Perhaps you could even share the cleaning with another member of the family. Try not to fret over little things in the kitchen, like a spectacle of dirt or dust. I really feel that there’s no need to clean the kitchen all the time, just a wipe at the end of the day to get rid of the grease and and dirty stuff should do.
When you’re preparing food or fruits, there are ways to shorten the time too. It’s always faster to prepare a lot at once. One of the things I do is prepare fruits for the entire week. I prepare one batch of four Saturday nights and a batch of three on Wednesday nights. When I’m cooking lunch, I make a giant pot that lasts me a whole week so I won’t have to worry about doing it during the week. If cutting is way too time consuming, buy pre-cut fruits and vegetables at the supermarket. They may be a bit more expensive but if you can afford it, why not?
