Time management is proven effective as a tool that improves productivity. Also, those who can excel in this skill can help you in improving your overall work but with a sense of well-being.
To those who are dealing with depression, stress, and anxiety-like issues, there are chances that some of your habits might be wording the situation or causing it in the first place.
To know what can help, and whatnot, along with how you can do time management for dealing with such situations. Here is what you need to know about it.
How Time Management Affects Your Depression & Anxiety?
Time management is a vital skillset, it’s good for productivity and benefits the individual as well as the environment from strategy.
According to the study, researchers analyzed various databases by the keywords of time management. They analyzed 158 studies from around the world with more than 50,000 participants.
They determined with strategies that use three aspects such as structuring, protecting, and adapting the time, it includes:
- Structuring refers to doing a schedule and plan.
- Protecting means setting the boundaries as well as blocking out what distracts you including social media and calls.
- Adapting means allowing flexibility in the scheduler in situations that arise.
The result shows that time management helps in benefit more than just work productivity, it also shows benefits in academic environments.
- With time management, it can help people who are unconsciously pulled by desires or demands of others, it can fill much of their time, things that they don’t enjoy doing.
- When you clear things on what matters, it can help in scheduling better and knowing what matters, it can help in making time.
- Apart from productivity, time management also impacts well-being. According to a study, it has a 72% stronger impact on life satisfaction than job satisfaction.
- It helps in making you feel better about their lives as you can schedule your day-to-day around, including values as well as beliefs, it also gives them a feeling of having self-accomplishment.
- It affects anxiety and distress, as a lot of time it causes work-life conflict and imbalances with your family and work life.
Also, it helps in reducing long-term stress as you get the direction of what you need to work to do. Also, it helps in putting in control on where you should go and what can help.
Habits You Need To Remove When You Are Managing Time
There are different reasons that make your depression and anxiety go worse or even cause it in the first place, however you need to consult with a therapist if the situation is getting worse.
With that, you need to consider the habits that are not just taking your time, but causing you to feel depressed and anxious, In order to improve your time management and self-care, you need to get rid of such habits, it includes :
No Control On Caffeine
To stay awake and productive, a lot of people include caffeine in their schedules. However drinking the recommended cups does not affect you badly, but it can be a major trigger if you have anxiety.
According to studies, cutting down on caffeine can help you if you are suffering from anxiety disorders.
Taking too much caffeine causes havoc to your anxiety level and the quality of sleep.
Not just that it’s a coffee that you need to consider, but also black tea, soda, energy drinks, green tea, or even decaf coffee to some extent. It’s important to have such drinks.
Instead of caffeine, add loose herbal tea to your day. It can be chamomile, valerian root, and oat straw which is considered the best anti-anxiety teas.
Skipping Your Meals
In order to get your work done and focus on staying productive, people do a lot of things to save time. Skipping meals is one of those, it can worsen your anxiety and feelings of depression.
Even though it’s too common, either the mind is preoccupied with excessive fear and worry, and it leads to having no appetite or desire to eat.
Skipping meals causes the situation of hypoglycemia, it’s when the blood sugar falls below the normal levels, this leads to the anxiety symptoms such as :
- Feeling weak
- Lightheadedness
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Dizziness
Eating Processed Foods In Your Diet
The consumption of processed foods leads to feeling negative, which leads to anxiety and depression.
Adding the food such as microwave meals, refined carbohydrates, sugary foods, sauces, cold meats, dressings, or foods that contain a long list of ingredients.
Such food includes chemical ingredients and additives, and according to the research, such ingredients can promote anxiety while reducing mood and social behavior.
Adding Too Much Sugar In Diet
Sugar gives an instant boost to mood, but it’s bad for those who have anxiety and you need to avoid this.
According to the research, sugar has the ability to temporarily suppress the area of the brain that usually gets active when anxious, and by pausing it releases the cortisol or stress hormone.
This is why you feel a snippet of instant relief after consuming sugar, but often it leads to craving more when you have a sugar crash.
It triggers sudden spikes and dips in blood sugar which leads to irritability, low mood, nervousness and impacts the state of anxiety and depression.
Not Clocking Out
When you have a poor work-life balance, you have no understanding of where to put an end, you spend a lot of time on work, which leads to compromising time on other tasks.
This leads to stress, and it can cause problems with mental health. So make sure that you are scheduling time each night to know when you can stop and take a break.
Drinking Less Water
When you are not having enough water on a daily basis, it impacts on your overall health.
Dehydration causes stress, and when you are feeling stressed, it leads to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
According to a study, water has its effects on mood. So when you restrict the water intake, it leads to a decrease in
- Calmness
- Contentedness
- Positive emotions
- Vigor or activity
Also, consuming water leads to decreased feelings of confusion, fatigue, and thirst.
Having Poor Eating Habits
Having unhealthy eating habits can affect anxiety levels, also it makes you less focused and productive.
It includes habits like :
- Eating too little or too much.
- Not having enough whole grains, vegetables, and natural whole food in my diet.
- Not giving proper time to chew the food properly.
- Consuming food which is highly processed or drinking too sugary, low fiber, etc.
When you have poor eating guavas, it affects the intake of essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, essential fatty acids, and minerals which are crucial for mental health and the nervous system functioning.
Studies have also shown that the deficiency of certain nutrients impacts on mood and levels of anxiety.
Having No Interaction With Others
When you are working and living life, a lot of people put their whole focus on doing their tasks and it gets too much, that you end up socially isolating yourself.
When life is overwhelming, it’s natural that you turn inward. This might feel embarrassed and unwilling to reach out for help and social support during hard times.
When you are feeling like there’s too much going on that you can’t handle it, it’s best to receive help from your family and friends.
No Exercise And Physical Activeness
Another habit that you should remove is having no physical activity and exercise in your schedule.
Sitting down all day and not doing exercise, makes your physical and mental health suffer.
The body is designed to move, and certain functions depend on physical movement.
For example, the lymph system needs to breathe and muscle movement helps in moving the fluids as well as removing waste from the body.
So when you have no habit of moving, it makes you inefficient for removing toxins, and it leads to anxiety-like issues.
Skipping On Sleep
One of the common symptoms that cause anxiety disorders and depression is not getting enough sleep, and according to research, sleep deprivation is positively correlated with your anxiety and leads to nervousness, irritability, and tension.
With this, you need to get enough sleep and improve the quality of it to boost productivity and have healthy well-being.
Too Much Of Rumination
Not only is it a sign of mental illness, but also you need to understand this is not healthy.
People who are suffering from depression are prone to rumination or dwelling on thoughts that are negative.
It can include feelings like failure, rejections, loss, etc which leads to stress and bad feelings.
Dwelling too much on negative time can compulsively lead to unhealthy situations. The best way to deal with rumination is to seek professional help.
Too Much Watching Of News
Depression and anxiety can get worse when you have no control over what you are watching, especially the news. Since there are a lot of things going on in the world, this creates tension and pressure, it can make you feel moody and lead to mental health.
According to a study, watching news triggers negative psychological feelings.
However it’s important that you need to keep yourself up to date, but don’t start your morning with this as you can set an anxious tone.
Comparing Yourself With Others
In today’s world where everything is on social media and the internet, it gives instant access to other people’s lives, and a lot of the time you end up comparing yourself with others.
But when you do it on a daily basis, it leads to feeling unhappy, negative thoughts, and low mood.
As comparing yourself, you focus on someone’s best aspects as compared to weakest
Ignoring The Anxiety And Signs Of Depression
There are different signs that you get, this indicates there is something not right or changed, so if you are not taking those signals, it is going to get louder until you hear it.
When you keep ignoring it, this leads to anxiety and depression on such a level that starts taking control of your life.
You need to keep it under control by understanding the signs, and getting proper medical attention.
Spending Too Much Of Time On Cell Phones
It’s important that you schedule time for spending on cell phones, you need to record where you are spending time and what triggers the feeling of anxiety and depression.
Spending too much time on a cell phone can lead to being unproductive and less focused, and also not good for your mental health.
List Of Habits To Add In Time Management For Dealing With Depression & Anxiety
When you are dealing with anxiety and depression, you need to be aware of what habits can help you in making situations better.
Also, habits can help in controlling the life you are living, also improve the quality and productivity.
Here are some of the habits that you can add to your schedule and manage your time well.
Moderate Your Caffeine Intake
To those who are habitual of caffeine, it’s difficult to leave it. However, if you can’t do that then you can always put it into consideration.
It’s proven that it can intensify the symptoms of panic disorder and anxiety. So if you are drinking four cups of coffee a day, instead of stopping it suddenly, it’s better to reduce the amount slowly.
Switch to beverages that have lower amounts of caffeine or take half caffeinated cups of coffee in case of feeling extremely exhausted.
Create Your Night Routine
As compared to the morning routine, it’s also important that you focus on creating a night routine too.
According to the CDC, one-third of Americans don’t get enough sleep on a daily basis. If you are one of them, you need to create a bedtime routine as it can help you in enjoying better sleep.
A bedtime routine is basically a set of activities that you do in the same order every night. It can be 30 to 60 minutes before you go to bed.
You can start with basics and add what makes you feel calm, it can include:
- Deciding on what time you will sleep, it’s important for the sleep-wake cycle.
- Keep the electronics away, and keep yourself away from strong blue light.
- Have something as a light snack or bedtime tea.
- Take a warm bath to soothe your nerves and muscles to prepare for sleep.
- Listen to music depending on what you like, as soon as you feel relaxed, you can add it.
- Do relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation.
- You can meditate to improve the quality of sleep.
- Read a book that you like.
- Write down the journal and to-do list.
- Preparing your bedroom includes making it quiet, dark, and cool to sleep.
Make Time For What You Enjoy
Engaging in activities that help you in expressing yourself through creativity, it can be something fun and can help you in enjoying the moment as for improving the mood.
If you are feeling depressed in this area, this might be due to ignoring it. It might be difficult to do, but try things in small doses, slowly you will start to enjoy it.
Create Your Social Support And Invest In it
One of the symptoms of depression and anxiety is due to withdrawal from people with whom you care. Due to a lot of reasons, you might be withdrawn and isolating yourself especially when people are living such a busy schedule.
So it’s more than needed to create and invest in social support for yourself.
Well, it’s a support network that includes peers, friends, and family.
To create one for yourself, you need to understand a few basic points :
- Volunteering can help you in meeting with people who share the same interests and values as you, so pick what you feel is important and get involved.
- Join a fitness or gym group, this is good for your health but helps you in meeting people.
- You can take classes or communities to connect with people you share hobbies with.
- Looking online, using social networking sites can help you in staying connected with family and friends.
- Make sure you are in staying touch, answer the calls, return emails and reciprocate invitations
- It’s better not to compete, so if they are doing well, be proud instead of feeling jealous.
- In order to form deep connections, it’s important that you need to be a good listener.
- In order not to exhaust or waste a lot of time, be careful not to overdo it.
- Be appreciative towards how they are helping you and expressing your feelings.
Have Time For Practicing Gratitude
Gratitude is important to do, you might forget to show gratitude towards life. It’s so easy to focus on negative aspects, this leads to feeling stressed and eventually causing a situation of anxiety and depression.
So you need to get the time set for showing your gratitude towards life, people, and other important aspects.
Practice Doing Meditation And Deep Breathing
Mindfulness, deep breathing, and learning the meditation practices which can help you in relaxing your mind.
You can engage with different exercises which can help you in learning how to calm yourself. It helps you in managing stress, also it’s good for helping in anxiety and depression.
Feed Your Body And Mind Healthy Things
Several studies show that your diet and mental health are linked. Not only is there a strong association between obesity and depression, but the research shows that heavy consumption of processed and fast food can increase depression.
Also, make sure you are watching things that increase positive and boost the healthy mind.
Get Moving
When you are in the midst of an episode, it can be difficult to convince yourself to get up and move, but that’s what you need.
Go for the exercise, move your body and do yoga, this can help you in reducing the chances of such situations
Keep Yourself Hydrated
Perhaps one of the easiest and simplest habits you can add is drinking water, this can help you in staying active, productive and improve overall health along with improving mental health.
You can keep a bottle with you, it can be reusable so you can keep it with yourself. You can set the alarms on the phone so you can remind them when you need to drink water.
Have Time For Yourself
You need to have time for yourself, it’s important that you have scheduled hours for yourself.
Many health organizations emphasize that self-care is important, according to some research suggesting that self-care strategies like mediation and relaxation show that it reduces the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Self-care doesn’t have to be something that is time-consuming or too complicated. It should add what you like and make you happy , along with being easy to manage.
For this you can start with :
- Allow yourself to have 15 minutes and read chapters as well as enjoy time in silence.
- Take a warm bath or hot shower when the hard day ends.
- Treat yourself with a face mask, focus on your skin and make it healthy.
- Running sound yard or going with your dog.
Apart from this, you can add things, such as exposure to scents that can help in claiming via candles and essential oil. You can consider scents like :
- Bergamot
- Vetiver
- Rose
- Lavender
- Roman chamomile
- Neroli
- Frankincense
- Geranium
- Ylang Ylang
- Sandalwood
- Orange or orange blossom
Invest Time On People You Feel Close With
They can be your family, friends, or even pets, this is important that you have someone to rely on when things get stressful for you.
According to a study that happened on 163 Latinx young adults in college associated lower levels of support from their romantic partner, family, friends with loneliness, perceived stress, and depression symptoms.
More To Explore:
- How to Deal with Anxiety at Work: 51+ Proven Ways
- Why Your Time Management Fails: Everything You Must Know
- Stress Relief: 10 Highly Effective Strategies for Relieving Stress
- Beginner’s Guide For Time Management In 2023
- 100 Best Books on Self-Discipline and Self-Control
“Vision, strategy, and inspiration – these three words describe me the best. I am the founder of “TheLeaderboy” dedicated to leadership and personal development. As a self-taught practitioner, I have been studying the principles of effective leadership for the past decade and my passion lies in sharing my insights with others. My mission is to empower individuals to become better leader