Making Good Use of Your Time: 3 Simple Tips

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Time flies. Time waits for no man. Time is on my side. Time proves everything. Time after time. What exactly is time? How can you have so much of it, yet not enough of it simultaneously?  How does it move so quickly sometimes yet so slowly at others? When is it your time and when is it someone else’s time? When are you spending time versus wasting time? Why is this four-letter word so complex? Ugh. 

One thing I know for sure is that if you don’t manage your own time, someone will manage it for you.  Don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware that most people (including me) have careers that dictate how a huge chunk of their time will be spent daily.  However, there is a great percentage of time spent outside of work that you do have some control over.  How you choose to spend that time is so important to your overall well being. 

Here are three simple things that you can do right now to make the best use of your time:

Make time to do things that you make happy, regularly. 

This is tough.  Especially for women.  I used to envy women who selflessly did things that made them happy.  That is, until I gave it a try myself.  It is so refreshing to think about what makes you happy and then carve out time to do those things regularly.  Whether it be reading a book, going to the spa, taking a girls trip (or even a trip alone), getting your nails done, hiking, or exercising, find something that you like to do and do it!

Just say no to things that cause undue stress and anxiety.

How many things have you allowed someone else to guilt you into doing over the last few weeks?  Did you go to an event that you really didn’t want to go to?  Did you say yes to a project that you really didn’t have the time to take on?  Did you settle on dining at a restaurant that you really dislike, all for the sake of making everyone else happy?  I know I’ve done all of these things on more than one occasion.  I’m not saying be a diva, but if you find yourself regularly saying yes to things and then later regretting that yes, then it may be time to reevaluate the way you respond. 

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Now, I’m not saying that I have mastered the art of saying no, but I can say without a doubt that I have made a point to no to things that I know are truly going to cause me undue stress and anxiety.  I have to take care of myself.  If this is an area that you need to improve in, I recommend the Boundaries Book Series. It was recommended to me by my therapist (see my blog post about therapy) and has been very instrumental in my ability to determine when saying no is the best choice for me. 

Do Less.

Sometimes, looking at my calendar gives me anxiety.  While I can admit that I love to stay busy, I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that it’s not necessary to have every hour of every day filled with something to do.  I actually got a bit spoiled during the quarantine.  It was nice to be able to have multiple “Closed for Business” days.  I enjoyed the down time and vowed to recommit to taking time for ourselves more often. 

Because of recent tragedies in my life, I now view time as a gift. Time is given to us and it’s up to us what we choose to do with it.  The tricky thing about time is that we don’t know how much of it we have, so we need to use most of it wisely.  Invest your time in things that make you happy.

Take a look at how you are spending your time.