if there’s something you should know about me, it’s that i want to do everything. i want to be a professional ballet dancer (which is time-consuming) but i’m also still working on school (which is time-consuming) and i also love reading (which is time-consuming) and blogging (which is time-consuming. unfortunately, the lack of hours in a day doesn’t make managing all these interests an easy feat. i’m actually awful at managing my time, but here are tips i’ve caught on to make my life SOMEWHAT manageable.
be aware of time
this is something i still struggle with. there are still days when i lay in bed for a few hours and do literally nothing. suddenly the day is half gone and all the productive things i planned are out the door and i begin to feel like the upside-down-smiling-emoji. this is something that can happen really easily especially since i go to an online school. it’s bad. be aware of the passing of time! it’s so easy to get distracted by your phone or a book and hours (literally hours!) could pass by simply scrolling through instagram/twitter/whatever. some productivity apps like forest can be helpful for situations like this.
prioritize
as much as i want to blog or read or simply ~chill~, things need to be finished. i need to study and turn in my assignments. i need to rehearse my solos and stretch. i need to take care of myself and sleep. there are simply things that NEED to be done; know those things. on the flip side, it’s also important to make time for your interests and relax.
set time aside for the “less important” stuff
it’s a given that school and work will always hold the winning hand over books and blogging (unless books/blogging become my full-time job, i will have to admit this unfortunate fact). i recently started planning my blogging/bookstagram schedule weekly. for bookstagram, i’d write out all the photos i hope to take, plan the way it’d look, and keep them in my phone until the day i intended on posting it. this way i wouldn’t need to stress about not having consistent photos or new content or whatever. as for blogging… i’m still working on it. but i HOPE to simply write it all at the beginning of the week and schedule it for the next few days. you could also schedule in your reading, but i have an entire post on how to read when you’re busy.
plan your weeks and days out
this is the part where i say MY BULLET JOURNAL SAVED ME. since i have a very flexible schedule, it’s easy for me to get sidetracked with ~all the things~. did i make sure to ship all the orders? reply to those emails? draft my review? stretch my feet? submit the assignment? take out the trash? cook my meals?? if i didn’t write and plan everything out, i’d get nothing done. my bullet journal post is so outdated that i feel that i need to share another update soon. but regardless of what type of organizer you use, planning your day (with specific time slots or with specific tasks) is an easy way to make sure you’re being productive.
I’m obsessed with my Bullet Journal! I’ve only been using it since November, but it’s literally been what’s keeping me sane. I just love how effective it is compared to so many expensive planners. (For me at least.)
Anyway, I loved this post! I’ve been losing steam as the school year wraps up, and I’m always looking for motivation to keep me going.
Oh these are GLORIOUS tips. I so easily get overwhelmed with all the things I want to squeeze into a day. Gahhhh. The worst is when you have SO much to do that you end up doing nothing. -_- And that definitely makes it worse, hahahah *dies* I think the bullet journal sounds like a fabulous idea! And something I do is focus on different things per day? So I can really work HARD at it and not just try to do little bits and pieces. Like I’ll read a lot for one day (amongst work things) and then the next day I’ll focus more on editing, etc. etc. That probably wouldn’t work for everyone, but it does for me!
Anyway MUCH LOVE for this post!! 😀
This is such a brilliant post! I was actually thinking today how I procrastinate WAY too much. I have a diary where I write down things I need to do but I haven’t been doing that lately and I really must. Sometimes I really wish there was more time in a day though!
i am literally the worst with time management. the actual worst. and once i’ve wasted half my day i’m like ‘meh… might as well watch 10 episodes of jane the virgin’ rather than actually being productive for the rest of the day?! Like…it actually physically pains me to do my uni reading and assignments in time. I guess the real question is HOW DID I MAKE IT THIS FAR IN LIFE. This post is awesome though, and i will TRYYY to implement some of your advice into my daily life. Wa.
Time management is a thing I have never managed to fully grasp, no matter how much I’ve tried. I thought it would be something which would come with age, but I’m 25 and still have no clue how people do it successfully. Your tips are very good, though, they are things we should all try and implement. The one thing I have found best is simply having a list of things I need to get done written down so I can feel a sense of achievement as I mark things off. Also, realising when you’re procrastinating and when you’re taking a break from things is important. I am terrible for procrastinating and trying to justify it as taking a break.
Omg you’re so right when you say HOURS can pass just when you’re scrolling through your instagram or facebook. This has happened to me and it was pretty annoying at the time. I need to sort out my time management as well, this post really helps!
I’ve seen a lot of people talking about their bullet journalling recently. It looks so cool and looks like so much fun. I want to get into it! But then I remember that I’m super tight on time as it is and I don’t have time to set a bullet journal up right now 🙁 It looks so cool though.
I often try and have posts scheduled for at least a month in advance, this way I can spend more time planning out other posts and commenting on other cools blogs as well as interacting with bloggers through social media. I do wish I could stay home all day and blog though…
Awesome post and great tips!
Jordon @ Simply Adrift
Time management is something that I desperately need to work on. I literally didn’t finish even one book this month because I was trying to get so much work done and then just being so tired that I ended up going to sleep at 9 most nights. It wasn’t pretty. I barely had time to interact with my family! I really want to start a bullet journal but I’ve been struggling to find a post that I actually understand fully (they always seem to be so complicated) – I’m off the uni at the end of the summer though so I really should start trying to get more organised.
One thing that helps me with time management is that I schedule certain ‘breaks’ in which I can do whatever I want – productive or not. I find when I schedule like that I spend less time just “wasting” time in general. And then I don’t feel bad about doing nothing/spending an hour just showering and laying around after practice because I know I’ll be productive at all other times.
I absolutely love your tips! I personally am a big fan of the organization one. I like scheduling things to make them happen. That way, I know what timeframe I have to work with, and I’m also aware of any extra pockets of time I can do other things!
Omggg we definitely have the same ambitions with doing everything!! I too want to excel at school, write because I want to be a writer, read many many books, blog, go out with friends, and still have enough time to just chill at home. I always feel like I need more than 24 hours a day 🙁 I got through 3.5years of busy college years by efficiently using my planner to schedule my activities. The thing is, at this moment I finished all my classes and all I have to do before graduating is just finish my essay. Without the responsibility to go into classes every day, I got super easily sidetracked. I could spend hours on instagram and blogs when I really should be working on my essay…. I think the only way to keep myself on track is to really prioritize. If I get my priorities straight, I think I’ll be less easily distracted than I am now… good luck with all your activities! 😀
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Hey, I just wanted to say, as someone with awful time management skills, this post was really helpful and I think I might start a bullet journal to see if it will encourage me to prioritise 🙂