Being Realistic With Time

Notice anything different around these parts? I wish you all could see my face when I think of, mention or look at this design. I can literally feel myself glowing. I love everything about it, it’s all that I wanted and more in a brand refresh. I also updated the sponsor and about the blog pages, and I’ll be revamping my about me page next! My social media profiles will also get revamped to match the blog’s branding, so look out for that too!

I also wanted to say thank you thank you thank you for all of the sweet, heartfelt comments left on Monday’s post. I’m glad that so many of you were able to related to feeling “blog guilt.” Thanks for letting me know that I’m not alone, and that I really have nothing to feel guilty about.

Oh, and to all of you who have taken my ecourse & ebook survey already, you rock! I’m going to keep accepting responses until the end of the week, and then I’ll share the results (and what I plan to do with those results) here on the blog next week!

My post on Monday, and reading through some of your comments, go me to thinking about how realistic we are when it comes to time and time management. Because how many times do you find yourself scrambling to get last minute projects completed, and stopping to ask “I wish there were more than 24 hours in one day.” But there aren’t, we only get 24 hours each day, and we can either use them wisely or waste them big time.

If you’ve spent even 10 minutes on this blog, you know that I’m big on to-do lists and productivity skills. I like mapping out my days, organizing tasks and attacking the day with intention. But still, even when I’ve written out a master plan for the day, I still find myself wishing I could collect an extra hour or two each night.

Sometimes, we aren’t very realistic with the time we have.

We look at the day, and forget about real things that we have to do – having a snack to keep you energized throughout the day, calling home, or even just taking a second to breathe. Oh, and don’t forget sleep – that takes time too. Everything  all requires time, and we have to be real enough with ourself to allocate that time.

Some easy ways to be more realistic about time

01. Stop overcommitting. The notion that we have to do as much in one day as humanly possible is a myth. That isn’t productivity, it’s overwhelm. Take on the things you need to be productive that day, no more. Once those things are done, evaluate how you’d like to spend the rest of your free time.

02. Stop comparing yourself to others. Your lifestyle is as unique are you are. Just because your productive day doesn’t match your best friends doesn’t mean you’ve done any less or that you’re worth any less. Your only job is to evaluate yourself, not the world.

03. Aim for balance. Instead of trying to pack your day full of work items, try to balance those out with zen items. Things that allow you to center yourself, refocus and boost your spirit. For me, that can be grabbing a cup of tea before class, or sharing an idea for a blog post with a friend. Anything to break the monotony. Because when you skip doing these things, you don’t do your tougher tasks well, and it usually takes you longer to complete them.

04. Keep your time distraction free. Instead of approaching the day as a blank sheet that you should just throw paint on as you go, think of it as being broken up in intervals. Place different tasks in different blocks, and give those items your full attention for that time. Step away from the TV, close those 20 tabs in your browser and watch time slow down for you.

Do you find yourself pressed for time? Do you think you’re being real about the amount of time you have to get work done each day?