Tools for Forward Movement: Part 1 Time Management

It has taken me a while to figure out how to manage my time. As a recovering perfectionist, I tend to get caught up in the details. I get distracted trying to make sure the outcome is just right and lose track of time. There are 3 things I have done that have really helped me stay on track: mindset, priorities, and energy.

As I’ve talked about before, movement forward requires a change of mindset (checkout https://www.guide2resilience.com/blog/cornucopia-of-wellness-part-3-mindset-for-movement-forward). I changed my mindset from thinking “I do not have enough time and do not have control over my time to get everything done each day” to “I have enough time and have control of my time each day.” 

I realized that my inner struggle of feeling like I am not enough was affecting my time management. By reminding myself daily that I am enough and that I have enough time, I regained a sense of control over my time. I can now approach my daily calendar without feeling a lump in my stomach and defeated before I start my day.

After my mindset changed to having enough time, I looked at my long list of things to get done each day and felt overwhelmed. There were 20 some things on my list, how was I going to get it all done? 

I am not only a list maker but also a categorizer. I divided my do to list into 3 categories based on my top 3 priorities: self-care, career, and personal life. For me, self-care includes sleep, cooking, physical movement, meditation, and medical appointments. Work includes training, emails, phone calls, client appointments, and marketing. Personal life includes social time, husband, family, and other house or creative projects. 

I determine my top priority from each of these 3 categories that I need to get done each day. Picking more than 1 thing from each category I learned drains my energy like a car running out of gas, giving off fumes, then stopping. I would end up stressed out and exhausted. 

My energy with POTS and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is like starting a trip with a limited amount of gas in your car and no gas station in sight. Pushing on the gas pedal too hard by trying to do too many things in a day leaves me stranded on the side of the road, not having completed what I really needed to get done.

To conserve the energy in my tank, I remind myself to stick to my top 3 priorities. Some days when I wake up with less in my tank, I focus on my top 1 priority. I let go of getting everything done just right to keep moving forward. I keep the mindset that I have done enough and I have enough time.

 I remind myself that my top priority is and always should be my well-being.

What tools do you use to help you manage your time?