For many of you, a to-do list might feel like something that stresses you out, which is not good for your physical and emotional being.
When you cannot create more time, it’s best to look through different lenses and see where you can adjust what you value in your schedule.
Instead of making time management stressful and hard to follow, you need to pick what suits you and make it easier for yourself. Here are some of the tips and habits that will help in making you happier.
Tips To Follow In Time Management For Keeping You Happy And Relax
The only way to keep your time management effective and less stressful is to start with tiny steps which are realistic and sustainable for you.
Try different things for a week and if it does not go right for you, you can pick something else and see if it fits or not.
The important thing is to find something which is meaningful and also helpful for you.
Here are some of the tips that can help you in this process :
Keep A Time Diary For Yourself
When you are experimenting with different techniques and methods in time management, you need to be aware of where you are spending the time.
Keep a time diary for yourself, and at least for a week where you can note down your activities along with how much time you invested. With this you can compare, this will surprise and enlighten you.
A time diary can help you in discovering the pain point, also you can see what you can schedule right away or can be done later.
Plan Your Cushion Time
One of the reasons why your team management feels too tight is because you made it that way. There is no break between your work, also you don’t have the cushion time between the commitments and meeting.
When you have free minutes, this will help you be ready for interruptions like family issues, traffic, or hold up at work.
With the margins, you will be more ready as well as present, and this will help you in getting things done on time.
Name What Is Your Priorities
Your time will be easier to handle, and you enjoy it when you identify what’s important and what are the priorities.
Using the time management matrix, introduced by Late Stephen R.Cover ‘s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
See if you have any ‘ aha’ moment, the matrix divides the four quadrants into important, unimportant, urgent, and non-urgent.
Do The 5/2 Detox With Phone
In the modern world, putting down the phone is getting challenging. That’s why you should try phone 5/2 detox.
This means, you only use the phone for five days out of your seven-day weeks and let it turn off on weekends.
Phones are not just making you feel distracted but also a reason behind failing time management.
A Lot of people are getting addicted to their phones. There are eight out of ten who check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. An average person checks the phone 150 times each day.
To know if you are an addict on not, here are some questions you should answer :
- Is your phone the first thing that you check when you wake up in the morning?
- Does your family or people around you complain that you spend a lot of time online?
- Do you find that you are using spare moments on your phone, just to check what’s going on?
- When you’re in a situation where you don’t have a connection, do you feel anxious or worry like you are missing something?
- Do you ever catch yourself spending too much time that you should do it with family and friends?
If your answers are yes to most of it, then you need to do the 5/2 detox cramps the style, live without your phone at least for a few days in a week.
Define The Boundaries
One of the reasons why you feel unhappy when you are following your time management schedule is you are letting the boundaries cross without even knowing.
The reason is, you don’t know your boundaries, it’s not defined and this makes you feel overwhelmed more frequently.
Also, you can protect your priorities, when you have healthy boundaries.
Identify When You Work Best And When Not
Instead of pushing yourself when your body is not ready for work, it’s best to find the optimal productivity time.
This is when your body is at its highest energy level and mental capacity. Also, you can concentrate on the most thought and energy-consuming tasks.
Also, find out when your body is least energetic, so you know when to take breaks and schedule your work without pushing yourself hard.
Breaks Keeps You Happy
Well, breaks are not just important to make you productive but it plays an important role in keeping you happy for the long run.
When you take frequent breaks, this keeps you mentally and physically healthy. You can adjust your favorite things, such as going for a walk, grabbing coffee, stretching, etc.
Taking breaks will help you in feeling refreshed and also keep you happy.
Calendar Time For Yourself
When you have a list of things to do, your brain fails to focus on one thing. It’s best to schedule time tours.
Also, you need a time where you do at least one thing that gives you happiness and joy.
Schedule the time for your self-care, such as going to the gym, reading a book, calling your special friend, etc.
If you wait to do something, don’t wait for the free time, but schedule it.
Make A Happiness Checklist
One of the first rules is to make a checklist, not just for a day but for a week.
However, instead of including the tasks which are work-related, write down two or at least three tasks you can achieve and accomplish to make you happy.
Do Something No Fancy
Have a cup of the tea which is your favorite. Go outside or sit next to a place that makes you happy. It can be a beautiful tree near you or you can admire the starry night.
Do something that makes you feel happy and enjoy, and be present and notice how you enjoy it.
The point is to add something to your schedule, so you do something which is not funny and hectic, just something which makes you happy.
Say Yes Bit More
It’s important that you are aware of this- You are the creator of your own story. So whatever happens in your life, you have the control to completely shut it down or let it happen.
But with this, you also need to understand the art of experiences, so when someone asks you to try a new exotic type of food or fitness class, don’t say no.
This will bring you something new and will make your life more exciting and happy.
Also, you don’t have to worry about whether or not the adventure is for you o, just say yes and make it happen.
Turn Off Your Tv During Weekends
Another technology-related rule you should follow is to turn off the TV on weekends. Also, you get free time which you can use for doing something you feel happy and need time for.
You can use the time for doing as well as building the habits that can make you feel happy and satisfied.
MakeTime For Silence
In order to be happy, you need to be the best version of yourself and in order to do that, you need to choose activities that help you in achieving that.
However, with that, you need a silent meditation. You can take a simple walk and have time without any distractions. It can be something in nature and silence so you just have moments of doing nothing.
Also, try to quiet the voice you have in your head, and it will help you feel more at peace.
Here are some of the examples that can help you :
- Go and try some new fitness classes in the gym
- Learn a new style of cooking
- Go to the yoga retreat.
- Learning a new skill or you can language and art course
- Walk the camino de santiago
Schedule A Lunch With Friend
You can manage a time and schedule it for fostering relationships with people who are close to you.
You can talk and have lunch with friends, you can enjoy the time and it will make you happy.
List Of Habits To Add In Your Time Management To Make You Happy
Happiness depends on people, it’s a state of mind but adding small habits can help you enjoy your life better.
A Lot of people feel stressed when they are following their schedule and managing their time. If you have poor time management, you might find yourself jumping from one task to another.
Well in order to make your schedule interesting and most importantly, to make it happy for you :
Smile Daily
You smile when you are happy, but it’s a two-way street. However, when you smile because you are happy, it helps in releasing the Domaine which leads to happy feeling hormones.
However, it doesn’t mean you need to fake a smile all day. But when you feel low, try to smile and it will make you feel better,
You can start the day by acknowledging one thing you feel grateful about. You can also do this when you are brushing your teeth.
Be Grateful
Simply being grateful can help you in boosting the mood, along with other different benefits.
For example, A recent two-part study reported that practicing gratitude which signifies fat impacts on your feelings of hope as well as happiness.
So you can start with
Exercise
Exercise is not just for keeping your body healthy, but when you do regular exercise, it helps in reducing the anxiety, stress, and systems of depression while it also boosts happy feelings and self-esteem.
Even doing a small amount of physical activity can make a difference. The trick here is not to overexert. So don’t throw yourself into doing the strenuous routine, it will end up you feeling frustrated and sore.
Some of the exercises you can do :
- Take a walk around the corner after dinner
- Sign up for the tai chi or yoga classes.
- Start the day with 5 minutes of stretching
if you have the activities that you used to do and it was fun but have fallen by the wayside. You can start it again or try something you want to do for a long time.
Get Plenty Of Your Sleep
Your mind needs time to recharge, so does the body. And even though you have a lot of work to do, make sure you never skip adequate sleep.
It’s good for your mental health, brain function, and emotions.
Adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, And when you don’t complete an adequate amount of it, your body gets tired which leads to brain fog and the urge to nap during the day.
Some of the tips that you can build that can help you in a better sleep routine, it includes :
Write down the hours you slept every night and how rested you feel.
- Track the hours and compare it after a week to know how it’s doing and do you feel better or not.
- Pick one time and go to the bed and wake at the same time.
- Don’t let yourself sleep for extra hours during weekends.
- Reserve the hours before you go to bed, keep it quiet. You can take a bath, read, do something to make you feel relaxed, and prepare your mind for sleep.
- Also, quit drinking and heavy eating before you sleep.
- Keep the room quiet, cool and dark.
- Invest in bedding that is comfortable for you.
- If you want to take a nap, make sure it’s limited to 20 minutes.
Eat With Mood In Your Mind
What you eat affects your mood and overall health. Some food also affects the state of mind.
For example :
Carbohydrates
When you eat carbohydrates, it releases serotonin which is a feel-good hormone.
However, you need to keep it simple as food that includes a lot of sugar and starch, takes a lot of energy and it will crash which makes you feel lethargic.
Choose the complete crabs such as beans, whole grains, and vegetables.
Lean Meat, Dairy And Poultry
Diets like lean meat, legumes, poultry, dairy, etc. are high in protein.
This helps in releasing dopamine and norepinephrine, this helps in boosting the concentrations.
Highly Deep-Fried Foods And Processed
Such food tends to make you feel down and it is not good for your health, so you need to skip these.
Acknowledge What Are Not Happy Moments
With a positive attitude, it’s great to start your day but it’s important that you are aware of bad things which are going on in life. It’s a part of life, so it’s best to acknowledge and not pretend to be happy.
So the best is to let it pass and remember it’s just a situation, and eventually it will end.
Give Compliments
Well, the next habit you can add is to perform the act of kindness which will help you in making you feel more satisfied.
You can give a genuine compliment, this can make someone’s day feel better and boost their happiness.
Breath Deeply
When you are tense, your shoulder begins to feel tight and you start feeling lost. Such a situation requires you to breathe and relax.
With doing deep breathing can help you in exercising can reduce the stress,
For this, you can start with :
- Close your eyes, and try to envision the memories of beautiful places and memories.
- Take a slow and deep depth through the nose.
- You can slowly breathe through your nose and mouth
- Repeat the process until you feel like you are claiming down.
Keep A Journal For Yourself
Journaling is good for organizing thoughts, making plans, and analyzing feelings. It also helps in managing your time well and reducing the chances of failing it.
You can start by simply jotting down the thoughts you have in mind.
Declutter
Well, this one you can do weekly, even though it sounds like a huge project, you can simply get a 20-minute shoulder and get this work one.
Set a time. and you can use the 15 minutes to tidy up the specific place in the room, it can be your closet or drawer.
And use the 5 minutes to simply get things in their place which might be in the path.
Plan Your Week
When you feel like you are failing, you can try sitting down at the end of your week and making a list of what you want to do next week.
Even if you fail to stick with the plan, still you will have an idea of how you want the week to go, and reschedule things as you want it.
Find Your Self Care Ritual
It’s easy to neglect your self-care when you are following everything. But your body carries the spirit, passions, thoughts, and spirit, it needs the time to recover.
Mauve is unwinding the workweek with a hot bath, following the skincare routine, etc.
You can simply set some time for yourself, it can be enjoying the softest jammies and watching the movies.
Here you need to find something that makes you happy and enjoy focusing on the self-care ritual.
More To Explore:
- 25 Effective Calendar & Schedule Management Tips
- Most Effective and Proven Time Management Tips, Techniques & Strategies
- Guide On How To Be Professional In Doing Time Management
- Time Management Tips For Lady Bosses
- Beginner’s Guide For Time Management In 2023
“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