Time Management for Beginners

It's funny that, at 24, I am still learning time management skills. But life is forever changing. Each day I wake up a little different.

Time management is often something that needs to be RE-learned.

Because, life happens. You get busy and unmotivated. You start bad habits, like gorging on tv shows, or spending too much time on websites like tumblr. It happens to everyone. All you can do is start taking steps to move in the right direction.

That's how I began relearning time management: baby steps. It wasn't an explicit New Year's resolution, but it has become a necessary skill in order to succeed at my resolutions.

Some things that have worked for me:

1. Set monthly goals. 
Ask yourself what is truly important to you in the long run, and form a list of things that you want to do for the month, and post it somewhere you can see it and be held accountable. Try to make it concrete and measurable, e.i. work on project for x hours. Then work towards them slowly, keeping them in mind when you set daily goals.

2. Three things.
In the morning or the night before, I write down the things that I want to accomplish for the day. Three is turning out to be a great number for me. (As I was born on the 3rd of the 9th month, this makes perfect sense). Once something is accomplished I get the satisfaction of crossing it out. Some ideas for coming up with 3 things:

• What is the most important thing you can do today? Maybe it's writing, or working on a creative project. List it first, and try to get it done first.
• Make your health and wellness a priority! Exercise or meditation is great. I have been sick with a cold, and one that I have been listing is 'make ginger tea'. This is a perfect way to relax and rebuild my weak immune system. 
• Often one will include an errand or a chore (laundry, going to cvs, cleaning the bathroom sink). A word of caution, though: some days, all I get done are these kinds of things. They can become a way to procrastinate on real work. So make sure these don't take over your list.
• Another goal I usually list is to read. As a writer, reading is crucial. As it happens, I love reading, so this is a fun goal. Not all goals have to be difficult!
• For the weekends, I make a list of things to do over the course of the two days. Often I'll be busy on one day, so I can get everything done on the other day. I use the weekends to relax, cook, run some errands.

3. Use a timer. 

Timers are wonderful! When I need to do something, I set my cell phone's timer for a half hour or an hour. I work on the activity for at least that long. Then I can take a break and re-evaluate. Do I want to keep going, or switch to something else?

4. Use rewards. 
Yes, if there's one thing I've learned from Psych 101, it's that you can train yourself! After you get everything done allow yourself to watch a tv show, or do something else you really want to. Or give yourself a little treat (candy, sticker, whatever this is for you) after you accomplished something. Positive feedback really works, plus it makes life a little sweeter.

5. IDoneThis.com.
This website sends you an email at the end of the day that simply asks you: What did you get done today? You type your reply, and get a checkmark. That's it. Then you can look back and see your accomplishments. This has been beneficial for me in several ways:

• I feel that I need to do something worthy to get the check mark. So I make sure I get at least something done. And as the days go by, I am doing more and more to get that little check.
•  I am, generally, too hard on myself. The truth is that I am doing very well, and being able to look back and be reminded of everything I have accomplished has made me feel better about myself.

6. Forgive yourself.
This is probably the most important one. You are not perfect and do not have to be. Some days, you'll fall off the wagon, and time will slip by. That's okay! Don't berate yourself. Instead of feeling bad about it, think about what you can do NOW. Get up, shower, cook something, write something. And love and forgive yourself no matter what happens. Remember that tomorrow is a new chance to make the most of your time.

I have been noticing a big difference now. I used to put off things for weeks until they never got done and I felt increasingly overwhelmed. Now I am crossing things off and feeling less stressed as a result!

What works best often changes person to person. What are some time management techniques that work especially well for you?