The past year has been tough, not just due to the fear of disease and the pain of losing loved ones, but also due to dramatic changes in lifestyle, social interactions, financial strain, and “work-life conflict,” which refers to imbalances with family and work life. At a time when many people are working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, these issues are more relevant than ever.
Given that ‘Work from Home’ may continue to be a reality for many people for a long time to come, how do we learn to create and maintain a balance between the multiple roles and responsibilities we have to juggle on any given day?
There are merits to creating a structured work schedule and good time management, and it has been shown that these are “vital skill sets” for productivity.
Most strategies for a structured work schedule use three aspects: structuring, protecting, and adapting time to changing conditions:
- Structuring refers to scheduling and planning.
- Protecting refers to setting boundaries and blocking out distractions like social media and phone calls.
- Adapting refers to allowing flexibility in your schedule in case something arises.
Time management benefits work productivity and empowers those with work autonomy, and it also shows benefits to academic environments. Even more than productivity, time management impacts well-being. It has been shown that it had a 72% stronger impact on life satisfaction than job satisfaction, which is equally valuable. Time management helps people feel better about their lives because it helps them schedule their day-to-day around their values and beliefs, giving them a feeling of self-accomplishment.
Time management skills can affect anxiety and distress. Many mental health-related issues arise from putting too much pressure on ourselves. We are driven to succeed—at any cost. Our lives are centered around goals, and most of us are constantly trying to outdo what we have previously done and squeeze more into every day.
Most people I see in my practice have one thing in common matter how wealthy and successful, ultimately, they are not happy with their life or enjoying the spoils of their success I believe that’s because when you’re always focused on ‘bigger, better, more,’ nothing is ever enough.
What Does It Look Like to Adopt a Time Management Strategy?
While time management is helpful, not every method works for everyone. For instance, a low-level employee can’t delegate tasks to an assistant, and, oftentimes, they are the ones taking on the insignificant tasks. Someone like a caretaker for an elderly, child, or sick person has to balance their needs with those of the person they are responsible for.
Planners are an all-time favorite, as they help with visualization and sticking to a schedule.
I would also recommend assessing your values. Many people are unconsciously pulled by the desires, demands or expectations of others and fill much of their time with things they don’t enjoy and are not beneficial to them. When we get clear on what matters most to us, we can better schedule our time, and when it matters, we find ways to make time.
This could look like declining lunch with someone you don’t enjoy being around, or not participating in activities just to impress others. There are things we must do, like work, to put food on the table. Everything else is negotiable, and when we start scheduling our time focused on cultivating joy, our lives improve beyond measure.
To determine if a time management regimen could be beneficial for you, I would suggest you start reflecting on how your recent workload makes you feel. Look at how you spent yesterday, last week, or the past month. On a scale of 0 to 10, rate your level of satisfaction and sense of fulfillment. Anything less than an eight is not bringing you a positive return on your time investment. Aim for at least 80% of your ‘free will’ time, the time you get to spend however you choose, to be highly fulfilling, which for some will require learning how to say no to others, so you can say yes to yourselves.