In my line of work as a Wellness Educator, Yoga Instructor, Independent Lead Beauty Ecologist with Pangea Organics, and as a marketing consultant for yoga studio owners, I get a lot of feedback about time management.
There is always so much to do – how do you manage it all?
People ask me for my time management tips all the time because they’re looking for ways to limit the stress levels in their busy lives. While I do have systems that I follow, learning how to manage your time isn’t what you really need to learn.
Learning how to prioritize your health, your projects, your work, your hobbies, and your life is what you really need to learn. In fact, one of the best things you can do for your health is prioritize it.
The Difference Between Time Management and Life Prioritization
First of all, would’t you rather spend hours prioritizing your life than managing your time. Life prioritization sounds way more fun than time management. So what’s the difference between time management and prioritization? Managing time is about how to use time more efficiently. Learning how to prioritize in knowing how to make the right decisions at the right time. The thing is, if you make a good decision to begin with, you’ll already be using your time more efficiently.
For example, I may work on my Pangea Organics business for one hour, my marketing business for six hours, and Ashley Josephine Wellness for one hour. If I fall into the trap of thinking I need better time management, I’ll just stress about how to spend less time on my marketing business and more time on Pangea Organics and Ashley Josephine Wellness. But there are better questions I can ask: 1) What type of work do I enjoy doing most and want to spend more time doing? 2) Which type of work will help me pay the bills? 3) How much time do I really need to spend on each type of work to achieve my goals?
Turns out, when you choose to focus on the stuff that really matters in your life (thanks for this lesson Charlie Gilkey), you automatically eliminate the distractions that are causing you stress, overwhelm, anxiety, and health issues in the first place.
That isn’t to say that health/work/life/project prioritization is any easier than time management. It’s hard to make decisions about what is most important to us in any given moment, especially when each component has its merits. Plus, making a decision about one inevitably means giving up (albeit momentarily) something else. Most people dislike “letting go” because it’s so difficult to do. The next lesson I’ll share with you is how to “let go”…of projects, people, guilt, negativity, etc. Brace yourselves.
How to Prioritize
Sit down for five minutes and list out all the stuff going on in your work/life/projects right now. Just writing it all out on paper can be a stress-relief exercise in and of itself. From there, ask yourself some important questions:
- What is most meaningful to you right now?
- What do you feel compelled to work on most?
- What is the most timely and/or relevant?
- What is going to help you solve your current problems or meet your current needs (think income, freedom, health, time)
- Why do you feel like you need to get this particular thing accomplished right now?
These are general questions, and you might add others depending on what your health/work/life/projects comprise of.
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll start to see a clearer picture about what you need to prioritize. You can only have one top priority. Only one second. Only one third, and so on.
After you’ve made your decision, stick to it and trust yourself. You know you’re making the decision for the right reasons if you take the time to think it through.
The Secret Ingredient Inherent in Prioritization
Baked into this process is the quiet space and time most of us need to think straight. This alone can be the solution to all your “time management” worries. It sounds ironic, but the more time you give yourself to reflect on what matters, the less time you’ll spend wasting time on stuff that doesn’t matter.
The most important thing to remember is that our lives change on a day-to-day basis and our priorities can as well. If a big project at work is your number one priority, but your kid gets sick, then the game changes. If your family is the most important thing in your life, all the sudden taking care of your kid will become priority number one. You can decrease the amount of stress you feel if you just commit to your values and stand by your decisions. This brings up a whole ‘nother topic about understanding your values. For the sake of clarity, we’ll stick to priorities for now.
You’re not a bad person for sticking to what matters to you most. The real question is, are you dedicating time to what matters to you most on a day-to-day basis?
When you have your priorities straight, you won’t have to worry about managing your time. That will take care of itself.
Try it Out
Does that make sense? Now it’s your turn. Sit down right now and list out all your projects, commitments, etc. Now prioritize. How do you feel knowing that one project you’ve been spending a lot of time on isn’t really a top priority now. You’re off the hook dedicating any more time to it right now. Give yourself that permission. Take a breath, and plan the rest of your day, week, month, around the stuff you really need and want to attend to. Good luck!
