Time management has been a big problem since I’ve been not employed by a regular paycheque. It’s something I’ve struggled a lot with. Trying to accomplish all the things in my head…and believe me it never stops… when I’m clicking along, is great, but then, sometimes its just too overwhelming, and I end up shutting down. Too many feelings of should and I ought to..
Things suffer, meditation, exercise, painting..everything can just get put aside so easily sometimes when I don’t seem to have any focus. So, what am I doing about it?
Well, for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been scheduling the heck out of my calendar. Every little thing. even when I’m checking email (because, let me tell you, for me that can be a REAL time waster. I start out checking email, then the next thing I know, I’m on Pinterest, hen some other site..and boom..its been a couple hours..) So I have set my calendar up to ping in the corner, to signal me it’s time to switch to whatever new task. So far, its been working to keep me focused. I know I have a finite period of time, and when thats done, I move to the next thing. Of course, if I am truly working on an important email, when the timer goes, I will finish it. But I’ve been less likely to steer off course into some cyber Neverland.
It’s generally been working well. In the studio, I need to figure out something to help me know when time is up, since it does ping on my computer, but they are in different rooms, so I may not always hear it. I have time set up for yoga, and meditation, and even for planning the week and reviewing it at the end. It sounds a little obsessive, I know, but so far, its been really helping to keep me on track of my time.
What do you do to keep yourself on track? Do you need the structure of a routine?