Time management is an incredibly difficult skill to master. If you happen to have mental health challenges it can be even harder. Unfortunately, unless you have access to an assistant who can follow you around 24/7, it’s a skill most of us need to perfect. In fact, figuring out how to manage your time can actually be pretty damned empowering. Of course that doesn’t make it any easier to learn.
Personally speaking, I am the worst at time management. I struggle with it on a daily basis. My work ethic is constantly battling my mental health challenges for control of my time. As a result, if I do not have some type of system in place, I can lose hours of time to rumination, distraction, or other distorted thought patterns. I am also trying to make a go of a freelance career. This makes developing good time management skills pretty crucial. I have tried what feels like a billion methods in an attempt to unlock the magical time management formula for me. In an effort to save you time and frustration, I’ve listed a few of the more successful strategies I’ve found below. Obviously everyone is different, and I gan’t promise any of the following choices will work for you. However, they are each worth a shot. If you’ve found a strategy that I haven’t mentioned, please let us know!
Bullet Journalling
Ashley Perna/Geeks In Art
I’ve written at length about my love of bullet journalling before. My favourite part about it is how customizable it is. You can tailor it to virtually any need. If an hour-by-hour breakdown of your day is helpful, you can do that! If keeping a weekly view of your agenda with daily to-dos is better, you can do that instead! For those who love pen-and-paper organization, bullet journalling might be the key to time management.
Materials Needed: A notebook or journal and pens. You can make your journal as plain or as decorative as you’d like.
Pros: Can be inexpensive, highly customizable, perfect for people who prefer pen-and-paper organization
Cons: Journals can be clunky and hard to carry around, leaving your journal at home can mean you forget to put an important task inside, it does take some time to set up your bullet journal (though some find this to be a self-care strategy)
Habitica
Habitica
Habitica is best described as a time management RPG. If you have an ounce of gamer blood in your body, this could be the app that motivates you best. There is a paid version, which unlocks mostly aesthetic features. The free version gives you everything you need to defeat the monsters/organize your life. Users create an avatar and begin inputting their to do list. Tasks are organized by type (e.g., chore, work, free time), due date, and difficulty. You can also input daily tasks that will repeat every day, and habits you want to encourage. Every time you complete a task or achieve a goal, you get gold and health. Your character will level up the longer you play. Eventually, you can purchase armour and go on quests. You can even hatch adorable pets! I have a purple fox. Her name is Kate. Completing my chores and to-dos on time not only earns me points, but it keeps Kate happy.
Materials Needed: You can download the app, or you can create your account and stay on top of your tasks online
Pros: The free version is effective, it’s engaging and fun, video game-like incentives can be very motivating
Cons: There are consequences to your character’s health and gold if you forget to log on or check your app, there is a time investment involved in setting up your daily tasks and to-do list for the near future
The Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro technique is perfect for just about everyone. It is especially useful for those in the creative arts. You can’t produce a creative work the same way you type a series of letters or organize a file cabinet. Sometimes you spend just as much time thinking about what you are going to do as doing it. This can make it very easy to get distracted. If you’re predisposed to distractibility because of mental illness or other condition, it can make for a very long day. The Pomodoro technique was designed to help you focus in short bursts, followed by a brief break. Most people use a cycle of 20 to 25 minutes of work followed by a 3 to 5 minute break. After 4 rotations, you earn a 5 to 10 minute break. Then you go back to 20 to 25 minute bursts of work. On those days when words just won’t come, knowing you only have 10 minutes until your next break can help you plow through.
Materials Needed: A timer. There are a few apps, both free and paid, but really, all you need is a time-telling device that will alert you when a specified length of time has passed
Pros: Very inexpensive (free if you use the timer on your phone or other time-telling device), can help you focus, provides frequent rewards for hard work
Cons: It can be distracting if you hit a stride right before the timer goes off, getting into the habit of setting the timer can be tricky for some
