4 Tips On Making The Most Of Your Time And Easing Stress

Each day contains the same amount of time. The same number of hours, minutes and seconds. Every week is made up of seven days, all months are a set number of weeks and every year contains twelve months.

Yet often it feels as though you haven’t enough time to fit it all in. To finish all the work that you must accomplish, do the household chores and keep up to date with family and friends. All this as well as the little extras such as maintaining a level of personal hygiene, getting your hair done once in a while, dentist and doctors appointments while including some resting time too.

Whatever stage of life you’re in it is so important to use your time wisely as there are always tasks building up that can become overwhelming if you don’t organise yourself. This can lead to stress and anxiety.

Use the following four factors to help you make the most of all the time you have and tell them to a friend so that they can make equal use of theirs, and in turn, feel happier and healthier.

Plan well

Life works best when it is planned successfully. Not everything needs to be done to the textbook and of course you must allow for things to go AWOL from the initial plan, but certainly managing your time well is key to leading a stress free life.

If you haven’t already then get yourself a diary. It’s only February so it isn’t too late. Buy a ‘day to a page’ one if possible to make your planning clearer and list tasks that need to be achieved each day. Then, feel the happiness go through you when ticking them off after they’ve been completed.

This may sound odd but as well as dedicating planned sections of time to accomplish tasks for the day, also designate periods for rest and relaxation. In other words ensure that you also plan in a bit of time for you.

If you’re going out to the cinema or for a meal add this into your planning. If you don’t then often free time can get neglected and you’ll eventually overwork yourself, possibly leading to illness.

Set achievable tasks

Once you’ve spent a good amount of time, but not too much that it becomes procrastination, scheduling everything that needs to be done each week, take five minutes to evaluate it and make sure that all the tasks set are achievable and realistic. There’s no point writing a long list of things to do when you’ve got a five-hour shift at your part time job, one of the tasks is huge and will probably take you three hours to complete and by this point you’re already eating well into your evening.

It’s all about time management and thinking realistically about how long each job will take so then how many more things you can fit comfortably in to your day leaving a little bit of down time at the end, so you don’t go stir crazy with stress. Equally, it’s no good not fitting enough in so there’s too much time left where you find yourself twiddling your thumbs.

It may take a bit of practise but in time you’ll get the hang of it and know your work load and how much rest you need in between. Knowing your limits will help you successfully get everything complete each week while not burning the candle at both ends.

Think of your health

We don’t get given an awful lot of time on this earth and a lot of it is spent sleeping. In fact, according to the Mental Health Foundation, we spend a third of our lives asleep.

However, you mustn’t forget how important sleep is to your body and getting the right amount each night will increase productivity and boost your mood the following day. Sleep regenerates and allows your body to recover from the mental and physical exertion from the day’s tasks ready for the next lot.

Not only sleep but exercise is also crucial for your health so when planning your time slots factor in half an hour each day to get outside and do something to get your heart going. Even if you go for a short brisk walk, it’s still something and will help your mind and body stay healthy so that you can continue to achieve everything you set yourself.

Studies show that people who exercise are better equipped to handle what the days bring with a positive and calm mindset so make sure each day includes a period of physical activity.

Sometimes we feel the pressure of time so forget to leave space to look after ourselves and stay healthy. Make sure that you include this in your planning and you’ll feel better for it.

Enjoy yourself

Most importantly, you must love the time that you have on this earth. Life is great whatever you’re doing. If you plan in the boring tasks as well as those more enjoyable then you’ll find things run smoothly and the time you do have to do whatever you wish will be more and better spent.

You may not have noticed, or you may be fully aware and therefore desperate for summer, but longer days have been proven to make us happier. Not only does the sunlight release happy hormones, but it’s as if we feel there’s more time to fill during the lighter months of the year, that the pressure of time lessens.

Be sure to make the most of every day that you have by planning wisely and leaving plenty of time free for you to fill with things you love as well as time to take care of your health. By doing this you will feel much freer and less stressed to achieve more. Good luck.

Harriet Mills is an English Literature and Creative Writing graduate based at her hometown near Cambridge. She is an aspiring writer interested in features and travel writing. She is keen to pursue copywriting as a career as well as maintaining her position as a freelance writer. For more of her story check out her personal website.

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