We all know how overwhelming September can feel. With the start of school, a busier schedule with potentially a job (or two) to afford day-to-day things, there may be important for you to make time for your health as well. Research has shown us that maintaining your health through physical activity, nutrition, and stress management skills is important. But how do we make enough time in the day, week, or month, when there is so much going on?
Let us talk about time management first.
Time management is characterized as the ability to use one’s time effectively. Many people just think that this skill is important for work and school only, but it can have a positive impact on those with busier schedules. The university environment can be very chaotic and overwhelming, especially for those who are first-year students, students who are on campus for the first time, or new staff. For those trying to juggle many commitments, burnout and health decline could be a very real reality before you even add in trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
This is where time management can come in. Through one of the multiple strategies, time management can help you pinpoint times in your schedule when you think you are spending too much time on certain items or tasks, and it could free up time for something else or relaxation. But how do we go about time management if we have never done it before?
It is important to note that time management is not filling up your schedule to the point that you are thriving on being busy and you take on so much that every portion of your day is scheduled in. Doing this, like not coming up with a time management strategy, can lead to burnout and feeling unfulfilled. People often undervalue free time in their schedule, where there is no plan or no goal to reach. These opportunities to do whatever you want, or nothing at all, are just as important as the goals you create in your working sessions.
The University of Central Florida has highlighted 16 traits of individuals who are effective time managers. A full list is in our resources but a few we think are important and others do not think about:
- Seeking advice from others: this is such an undervalued skill that could help take anxiety from items and better your time management. This could be asking others about how long tasks should or are expected to take.
- Prepared for the unexpected: life happens. Things may not go as you wanted and planned originally. If you do not do well with unexpected changes, try coming up with a plan B or plan C, or however many plans you might need to make you feel confident in your time management.
- Know when to say ‘no’: again, another undervalued skill that shows you can evaluate what you have currently on your plate. Even if it is just saying you will get back in a certain amount of time to make a better decision so you can assess if current tasks will be disrupted, or quality of other tasks will diminish if you take something else on.
So, how do you time manage and still prioritize your health?
The biggest thing we see is aware of how much time we have. Looking at your schedule, evaluate where and how much you are spending your time. Do you want to be spending 5+ hours a day mindlessly scrolling through social media, or would you like to use some of that time differently (we are all guilty)? Is there a way you can optimize your commute? Can you delegate something to someone else? This paradox of time and the seeming lack of it is important. And it is important to remember that to be healthy, you do not need to spend hours in the gym every day. You do not even need a gym. Setting time in your schedule for a 10-minute walk a couple of times a day is just as effective. Maybe you like going to the gym, so setting aside 30 minutes for a higher-intensity workout is just as effective as a workout that takes 1 hour at a lower intensity.
Managing time for healthy food is also a great way to work on your health when you are busy. Something as simple as making an extra portion can make healthy eating feel much more achievable when you realize you do not need to cook three times a day, every day. Like preparing an extra day’s worth of snacks ahead of time when you are already preparing makes things seem much more manageable. If you enjoy cooking and find it relaxing, setting aside time to prioritize is just as or more important than setting aside time for other things.
We do not want to tell you how to manage your time, because everyone has different goals, and everyone will be more successful when they find a way that works for them. However, we hope that this may spark some ideas on how you can manage your schedules.
One of the resources is a feel book that you can view on Google Books that highlights different ways to plan and common mistakes people make when trying time management for the first time. The most important thing this resource talks about is taking breaks. A common one people talk about is the 20-20-20 rule.
The concept is to look away from your screen every 20 minutes and focus on something that is 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Focusing helps with relaxing the muscles in your eyes after prolonged screen time. This can also help set brain breaks every 20 minutes by letting you reset if needed. Some also use a similar timing for taking a general break every 20-40 minutes to allow for time to rest during long working sessions when possible.
Resources:
https://web.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/ARC/16_Traits_of_effective_tm.pdf (Free resource)