Mental Health and Time Management | ProductiveandFree

Do you regularly find yourself saying that there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish what you need to? Missed deadlines, incomplete tasks, and a to-do list that never seems to get done can leave us feeling anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed, and that’s not good for our mental health.

This is where effective time management can make a huge difference.

Using tried and tested tips can help you accomplish what needs to be done, make space for leisure, and support your mental health.

What is Time Management?

First things first. Time management is a structured way of organizing the various tasks and projects in your life and work. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all method; instead, different people use methods that work best for their situations.

Some people prefer to use mobile or desktop apps to prioritize and track their tasks, while others use diaries and calendars. When you know what works best for you, you can break your tasks and projects down into short-term goals, long-term goals, and practicable milestones.

The sense of accomplishment you feel when you accomplish tasks, complete projects, reach milestones, and attain your goals can boost your self-esteem and improve your mental health.

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The Negative Impact of Poor Time Management

Not managing your time well can affect your mental health in various ways. Some of these negative impacts include:

Stress
Anxiety and depression
Burnout
Poor sleep quality

Time Management’s Positive Impact on Mental Health

Just as not managing your time has negative impacts, effective management can make a positive difference to your mental health. Some of the positive impacts include:

Enhanced competency, self-discipline, and self-esteem
Longer periods of rest and to attend to your basic needs
Reduced chances of experiencing burnout
Less stress and anxiety
Boosted productivity
A greater sense of accomplishment and job satisfaction

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6 Top Time Management Tips

Now that you know more about managing your hours and why it’s important, let’s take a look at a few tips to make the most of every minute.

1. CREATE A MORNING ROUTINE

Routines and habitual behaviors are important for our mental health, so it’s a good idea to start by creating a routine that sets you up for a successful day.

Start your day with a quick bath or shower—and if you're brave, make it a cold one for extra health benefits. Then, eat a nutritious breakfast, drink some water, and spend a few quiet moments getting your thoughts together. Doing this will put you in a clear frame of mind to set goals and create a realistic to-do list that will give your hours structure and purpose.

2. USE TIME MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Time management tools are an excellent way to keep track of what you’re doing so you don't get stressed out and forget something important. A few tools to consider include to-do lists, planners, diaries, calendars, timers, and techniques that can help you prioritize your tasks, such as the Eisenhower Matrix or the Pomodoro Technique.

You might need to try a few of these tools for a few days each to find the ones that work best for you.

3. FOCUS ON IMPORTANT TASKS FIRST

Prioritize your tasks so that you can focus your energy on the most important or urgent ones first. This can help you avoid becoming stressed or feeling overwhelmed.

One way to do this so that you can focus on the most important ones is to use the Eisenhower Matrix mentioned above. Using this matrix is an easy way to organize your tasks into four categories:

Urgent and important: High-priority tasks to complete first.
Not urgent and important: Important tasks that you can schedule for a later date.
Urgent and not important: Urgent tasks that you can ask someone else to do instead of doing them yourself.
Not urgent and not important: Usually tasks that you can delete from your list to give you more space to focus on what you need to.

Just remember that the Eisenhower Matrix doesn’t work for everyone. Some people (you might be one of them) find starting with shorter, easier tasks less stressful, and that’s OK.

4. KNOW WHEN TO SAY ‘NO’

If you regularly have more work, tasks, or projects than you can reasonably accomplish, learning how to say no is important.

This is tough because acts of kindness can make us feel good about ourselves and boost our mental health. However, taking on too much can be bad for you. A 2023 report revealed that 65% of employees were experiencing burnout, while 72% said burnout had negatively impacted their performance.

5. AVOID DISTRACTIONS AND MULTITASKING

This probably doesn’t sound like much of a tip, especially if you remember how big the concept of multitasking was in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Back then, multitasking seemed like the answer to every busy person’s prayers. However, research has since found that trying to focus on more than one task at once can decrease your productivity, negatively impact the quality of your work, and increase your stress levels.

Rather than trying to juggle tasks, batch them by blocking out hours without distractions and dedicating them to a specific type of task, such as admin or emails. Then, work until you’re ready to stop or have completed your work.

6. REWARD YOURSELF FOR WORKING HARD

The possibility of a reward motivates people to do what they do every day. However, waiting for someone else to reward you can demotivate you to the point where you find it difficult to manage your time or complete your tasks properly.

The trick is to motivate yourself by rewarding yourself more often. Celebrate large and small achievements by taking some time off, treating yourself to a favorite meal, spending an afternoon with friends, or doing something you love. This can help boost your productivity, increase motivation, and support your mental health.

Time Management is Self-Care

Your mental health is too important to let your daily tasks, chores at home, or workload negatively impact it. Time management is one of the best forms of self-care, as it helps you stay on top of things while ensuring that you have much-needed hours for yourself and what’s important to you. Use our tips for effective management, and you’ll see how much better you feel.