Time is essentially a philosophical concept and has preoccupied even the Greek Mythology where Kronos (“Time” in Greek), the God of Time, is considered destructive since it devoured its own children. This personalization of Kronos is definitely frightening but it also represents a reality that obsesses most people.
Beyond those deep concerns, the issue here is that you have -like everyone- 24 hours per day and the crucial question is how to use these hours without making it harmful to your health? What’s your real relationship to Time like? Do you feel like you’re always rushing? Do you feel like there’s never enough Time? Do you often go to bed feeling guilty about not getting enough done?
The choice is yours. Change your relationship with Time as of today! Create Time and stop looking for Time. Take control over your life.
Read on to explore easy tips on how to master your Time.
- Bring space in your day only by breathing.
If you feel overwhelmed and stressed only by thinking about Time, a place to start is to focus on your breath throughout the day. Don’t change anything else yet. Regular breathing exercises will change the way you breathe, your self-confidence, your relation with others, and what’s most important your relation with Time. The introduction of simple breathing techniques three times per day, such as lower abdomen breathing helps you relax at challenging times and is beneficiary for your mind and body. When you learn how to control your breath, you focus better, and you control your life better. Your body is liberated while your energy levels are increased, and your stress levels decreased, and then magic happens and your relation with Time changes.
- Change the way you talk about Time.
Instead of always talking about how you don’t have enough Time, your weekend went too fast, and you wish there was more Time in the day, ground your energy and acknowledge that Time is precisely what you make of it.
Say out loud: “I create time” and “I have as much time as I need.” Even if these statements don’t feel totally right for you yet, start programming yourself to operate this way.
- Write down the five top things you most care about-the big picture.
It could be:
- Inspiring, conscious work
- Optimal physical, mental, and emotional health
- Authentic, supportive relationships
- Philanthropy and giving back
- Education
Focus on your list with honesty and authenticity and compare your top five value focuses on the list of activities you spend your Time on every day. Do they align? If not, eliminate one activity that doesn’t match up. Keep eliminating activities and obligations when you can until you’re only doing things that align with your top five values.
- Focus on three primary projects every day – do the most difficult one first
This is where you come up with your perfect day, focusing on your chosen primary projects every day – and not just projects related to work. Your ideal day might be writing your newsletter, meeting with a client or a colleague, having a yoga course, and making dinner for your family. Anything else comes as a bonus!
If you find yourself overwhelmed because you have more than three things to do every day, get as close to this goal as possible. Choose your top three to complete first and do the others afterwards if there’s still Time.
It’s often helpful to do the most challenging one first each morning, preferably before lunch. This gives you a great sense of accomplishment and fuels you with momentum for the rest of the day.
- Use a calendar instead of a to-do list.
If you put something on your calendar, it’s much more likely to get done. You’ll be more realistic about how much Time it takes, especially if you’re using a digital calendar and have to allocate a specific amount of Time. Determine the Time you need for each activity, the start hour and the end hour. This is how you will avoid having too many breaks and focus on what you do while doing it.
Set your limits in your planning. For instance, reading & writing emails for one or two hours. Otherwise, you could easily spend your day on emails.
Break your projects down into chunks. For example, if you need to create your website, break it down into pieces, like write a bio, do a photo shoot, etc. Most projects have multiple parts, and it’s intimidating to just put “create a website” on your calendar.
On Sunday evenings, spend 20’ to plan in detail your week and write down all your projects on your calendar.
- Delegate and automate
You can’t do it all! This is a fact. Every superman and superwoman has a support team. When you delegate and automate activities you don’t love doing, you free yourself up to work in your zone of genius and preference, which leads to flow states where work feels much more manageable and has a much greater sense of happiness.
Here are some ideas:
- Hire a college student to help you with some easy activities for a relatively small salary.
- Give or share work with colleagues.
- Make sure you have the right organizational tools such as a good filesystem to make sure you can find easily and quickly what you are looking for.
- Ask help from your husband and kids. One, two, three, in the end, they will make themselves available when they see you aren’t after them to cover what they didn’t do.
- Dedicate ½ hour per month to schedule all personal care appointments for the next six months or so (hairdresser, massage, haircuts, pedicures etc.)
- Set up your finances, so your bills get paid automatically.
- Release perfection
The enemy is good is better. Time is relative and tricky some times and might not always feel or be perfect. Let go of the need to be perfectly scheduled and productive every day. You’re a human, not a robot. Use gentle language to bring yourself back when you get off track. Don’t judge yourself, be gentle with yourself and be realistic about your Time. Stay positive, and don’t forget to keep supporting your physical, mental, and emotional health.
This article was originally written in Greek by Isabelle Razis and published in https://www.govastileto.gr/editors-blog/alakse-ti-sxesi-sou-me-ton-xrono-apo-simera-ti-protini-i-health-coach-izampel-razi/
