You Can Reclaim Your Time Lost

Through the many months in lockdown, and the countless surges of COVID-19 cases, my thoughts of the future is somewhat fading away. In lockdown, the distractions around me are also innumerable. These things caused my time to disappear into thin air.

It's like I'm bobbing afloat on the Doldrums, with endless kilometers of ocean. I wobble from side to side, it feels like I'm travelling forward, but I've actually made little to no progress. This feeling surges when half the day has gone by, but my working day had only just begun.

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Getting Back On Track

Realising

Stop! Drop everything! Look at what you are doing! Ask yourself, "What I am supposed to be doing right now? Is it marked on my calendar or to-do list?"

While we're off the tracks, we normally don't realise that we are procrastinating or getting distracted. However, we must admit to ourselves that we were doing the wrong thing.

When acknowledging, I will always feel guilty and start blaming myself for what I've done and the time I've wasted. However, at the end of the day, I realise that this constant blaming is useless and a waste of time. It doesn't help the situation, wastes an incredible amount of time and makes me feel anxious when I am trying to focus. This is the trap I always fall into, but now, I know that I don't need to fret. As this is the first step to reclaiming my position and stepping between my tasks.

Renewing our brains

Switch a location, drink water, exercise, watch motivational videos or take a shower. Do anything that replenishes and prepares you for tasks you are afraid of, or that motivates you. These steps not only transition you back on track but also stops you from falling back into the old trap. Procrastination.

Hopping on the tracks

Depending on your organisation system, look at the tasks and appointments set and start with your first task. (If you use a calendar, look at the time and do the task set for now. As if you start with the tasks set for the beginning of the day, you'll likely feel uneasy due to the delay and that you have to race with time.) If there is still time, try to complete the tasks you have missed. However, don't add pressure yourself by thinking you must catch up.

Reflect

At the end of the day, reflect on how effective and efficient you utilised your time. Think of the things that caused you to procrastinate, waste time and get distracted. I will also criticise myself to make myself feel guilty and never dare to repeat the day I had before.

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Staying On The Tracks

I know that focusing while being efficient over a long period of time is only an option for the short-term. However, that doesn't give us the excuse to procrastinate. Therefore during my productive times, I will always ask myself the following questions before starting any task.

• What am I doing?

• Does it align with my goals?

• Will it improve or stretch me further? 

The Secret To Self-discipline Lies In The Games You Play With Yourself - To me, self-discipline is fun 

Self-discipline is one of the main components of success. It differentiates each social class and allows dreams to become reality.

I like to have some fun but "tightening" my self-discipline, just like tightening the restrictions due to the pandemic. However, instead of approaching this tightening as restricting my freedom, I would think of it as a challenge. A game that requires you to complete a challenge. Once you've completed it, you'll win! It is also like one of those games that have hundreds of levels. Each level is harder than the one below it. Isn't that fun?

Here is an example of my self-discipline game with YouTube. I first decided to disconnect on YouTube during the weekdays. After a while, it became rather dull and plain as I had become comfortable with it. Therefore, to make it more amusing, I wanted to test myself by disengaging with YouTube for a whole month. Then two months and then three months. The satisfaction and enjoyment I experienced after each challenge encouraged and motivated me to elevate to the next level. 

In the past years, I have set some barriers for myself that are still with me to this day. They have not only created extra time for me to be productive but also allowed me to improve in other areas of my life. Now, I have become accustomed to them and therefore am very comfortable in those limitations.

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Time is possibly one of the most expensive things in the world. Time cannot be purchased with money nor exchanged with goods. The more effective and efficient we spend our time, the brighter our futures will be.