Train Your Mind to Better Manage Your Time

Time is our most precious commodity—as I'm sure all of us know—and what we choose to do with it is equally as important.

While over the years I've been working on my business, I've come to have a grasp for how we can structure our time.

And a lot of it boils down to what's going on inside of our heads.

From my own experiences, I know this.

Whenever I'm dealing with a mentally demanding task, it will completely drain me from doing any kind of work. Even if that work is writing (which I love a lot).

At the same time, finding work I enjoy thoroughly, and that isn't mentally taxing to me is something I can do in excess. There are times where I can hunker down and write thousands of words in a span of four to five hours. It also doesn't even feel like work, despite it being work.

But what's most important is that while these two experiences are on polar ends, there is a distinct connection between them:

My mindset and overall attitude towards not only the work itself, but also of me actually working.

By that logic, it's safe for me to say that our mindsets matter a lot.

It's what can get people to say we need to work excessive hours to achieve our dreams. Even though working excessive hours doesn't make any sense at all.

Now I can't be for certain, after all, this is from my perspective. I don't know your specific issues, or your attitude towards that work. However, if you're spending way too much time on something, or aren't great at managing time, I'd challenge you to look at the work you do and yourself differently.

1. Think about your overall approach and attitude to your work. If you find it draining or outright detest it, find some way to delegate it, or change the work on a mental level.
2. Think about what sort of things you can do to make it energizing for you. Either building up the satisfaction of completing the work, or maybe do energizing things in between or during it.For example, to boost my motivation for client work, I've started to listen to upbeat music. This helps me get into my flow state, and work for a few hours when I first wake up.
3. Consider other strategies for managing your time. One technique I like has been the use of blocks. Basically setting huge chunks of time to a certain activity, and doing nothing but that. Chunks can be as little as an hour to a few hours a day.If you want a similar and simpler technique, you can consider the Pomodoro technique. It's the same structure, but it's in spans of 20 minutes followed by a 10-minute break doing non-mentally straining tasks.
4. Or maybe take some time off and away from your work. Fresh eyes can, and will save you a lot of time. It also gives you the opportunity to experience life and to see new things. Even in the most familiar of places, moving away from your work, and exploring the world can spark new creativity.It goes back to the first point in the sense you are allowing yourself to see something in a different light. Not only just situations and work, but life in general. From the people you interact with to the environments that you're in.

The tools are in our hands to better manage our time. But I feel a lot of it boils down to how we view our time, and the work that we do to ensure we have free time later. Understand and master this, and you'll have a better time dealing with your time.

To your growth!

Eric S Burdon