How often have you said to yourself, “I don’t have enough time,” “I’m too busy,” or “I can’t keep up”? When we worry about feeling overwhelmed or lacking the hours in a day to get everything accomplished, we give into time-shrinking thoughts that interfere with our productivity. Today we’re going to identify your limiting beliefs around time in order to take better control of your time once and for all.
Time-Shrinking vs. Time-Expanding Thoughts
At some point, we’ve all been overwhelmed with the amount of tasks on our plate and feeling like there is not enough time in the day to accomplish them all. Of course, you may find yourself busier than normal every so often, but living in a mindset of overwhelm is a sign that you are deep in the busy trap and overdue for a change in your behaviors around time management.
When we worry about lacking the hours in a day to get everything accomplished, we give into time-shrinking thoughts that make it harder to be productive. So, I want you to challenge yourself. Every time that you find yourself fretting in this way, shift your gears and replace those time-shrinking thoughts with time-expanding ones instead.
This could be training yourself to think, “There is always enough time to get this done” instead of “There’s never enough time in the day” or reminding yourself, “I know how to prioritize my time so I can get this done.” Your thoughts and beliefs are a choice–they aren’t facts until we make them so. Shifting your relationship with time will open up the gates to healthier productivity while keeping away all those feelings of overwhelm and negativity.
Train Yourself to Track Your Time
The best way to see how much time you are losing throughout your week is by tracking your time. Spend ten days carrying a log book with you to write down exactly how you are spending your day in 15 minute increments. Code and highlight each with a category and color–this will make you visualize where your time is being spent during the day. You’ll notice the time rabbit holes of social media, instant messaging, email, and more, all showing up. Becoming aware of the unproductive patterns around your time behaviors is the first step to reclaiming hours each week.
And that leads us to time blocking. When you block off time for your creative planning time, your clients, your own recharging time, and so on, you can plan entire weeks, months, and even years, out ahead of the game. When you reflect on how you spend your time while you’re spending it, you become better at discerning what can be delegated or even discarded from your schedule.
We may not be able to manage time itself, but we can manage our behaviors around time. Learning this distinction will put you on the first step to revolutionizing your scheduling and reclaiming your time.
When you’re ready to take your design practice to the next level, explore your expert coaching and training options with Melissa Galt. To catch the entire podcast episode LISTEN HERE.
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