HELPFUL HABITS THAT MAKE YOU GAIN TIME

Are you under permament stress and do you feel like you haven't done anything useful even after a hard day? Is the to-do list getting longer and longer and you don't know where to start? This article will introduce you to some easy yet effective habits that will help you feel more satisfied with yourself at the end of the day...

It's not easy to always do everything right. There is so many things we should do that will help us have a better life. More sport, healthier food, volunteer work... When I was young, I repeatedly created lists and schedules of when to eat my handful of nuts and what kind of sport to do each day a week. I loved those lists as much as I hated them. Because as beautiful as they were, I could never manage to follow them to the full extend.

YOU WERE BORN TO BE REAL, NOT TO BE PERFECT!

So first of all, we have to let go of the thought that at some point our to-do list will be completely empty. When we finish a task, a new one will come up. That's perfectly normal and no reason to freak out. What we can do though is to improve our way of looking at and dealing with our "daily life workload". The first and most important step to do so is to RELAX! You will manage to finish every single thing eventually - may this be tomorrow or in two weeks. The following five tips can be an additional motivation to simply get started. Let's go!

1) Stop watching TV

Believe me when I say it is not easy to only reduce your consumption of TV and series. If you really want to feel better, you have to stop it. Not completely, not forever, not necessarily every day. But as soon as there's so many things to do so that you should better waste no time, this tempting big screen with its distracting contents is a real productivity killer.

I've read a post on one of the social networks recently which said something like "If we would only work when we felt like it, we wouldn't get far". That's so simple, but so true! Just observe yourself for one week or so - when you get home and you just want to relax, what is the first thing you do? How many hours per week do you actually spend in front of the screen (may this be watching TV, playing games or watching videos online)? I'm sure that if you would work on your favorite project, do sport or clean the flat in the same time period, you wouldn't only get way more stuff done than expected, you would also be a lot happier with yourself and your life.

2) Start a task

You have to leave the house soon - no time to do the dishes. Food will be ready in 15 minutes - not long enough to call a friend. Really? Sometimes it's surprising how much we can do in a seemingly short amount of time and you will be amazed by the satisfaction those "quickies" can bring. Of course this doesn't mean that we should rearrange our wardrobe while the cake is burning in the oven. Start with something easy, such as folding the laundry while your partner is taking a shower, and let the result impress you.

Another important word in this case is "procrastination" - the tendency to postpone things until the very limit. I know it's hard to hoover the flat after coming back from work. But if you don't bring yourself to do some small stuff during the week, it will all backfire on the weekend. Which is sad, because in the worst case you're about to lose half of your Saturday. At this point I would like to quote a friend of mine who once said "Your future self will thank you for it". No further comments.

3) It's the mix that makes it work

The to-do list reaches to the moon and back and you have absolutely no idea how to get all this stuff done in only one lifetime? Calm down, take a deep breath and take a closer look. Usually, it's not our laziness that keeps us from starting, it's simply an overload of tasks and the lack of structure and overview. Try to sort the tasks according to their size and priority. And then simply start. BUT: Make sure you don't get lost in a single task. It's always good to focus, but our brain also needs regular change. The best way is to pick one of the bigger tasks (for example writing a book or taking a distance learning course) as the main project. Since you can not finish such a big thing in one go anyway, you can fill the breaks with small stuff (such as calling the doctor, your mum or a friend, cleaning the bathroom or watering the plants). Like that, you can already tick off several points on your to-do list at the end of the day - and that feels incredibly good!

4) Prepare a schedule

In most of the cases, it's not the task itself that's an insurmountable obstacle - it is the well-known "first step". Because as soon as you cross the threshold, the rest usually works almost automatically. Unfortunately, it often takes a lot of effort to take this first step. Be it because of laziness, because of anxiety, or because we think we need more time for the task anyway, so we'd better start another time ... I have good news for you: There is a very simple way to help you get started.

Let's go back to high school. At that time, did you ever wonder when to get to the analysis of Shakespeare's poems or how to squeeze the math task into your full schedule? I'm pretty sure the answer is no. Because you had a timetable that showed you where to be and what to do at what time. This inconspicuous, magical tool can still be of great help today, especially on those Sundays where you have nothing planned and don't really know what to start with. It's like a contract with yourself to visualize your tasks and to help you get on your feet and actually do stuff. So take a pen, write down what you really want to get done and plan your day step by step!

5) Get out of bed

I am definitely not a morning person, but every now and then I put my alarm one hour before I really have to wake up. I assure you, it's pure magic! It is impressive how many things you can get done in the early morning, when there is no one else and your mind is still fresh. Going for a run for example wakes you up and gives you power for the day to come. Or you take the newly acquired "me-time" to start the day calmly with some yoga or meditation. You can also use the peace of the early morning to finally sort the pile of papers that has built up over the past months. It doesn't matter if you create your own, personal morning routine or if you only wake up a bit earlier when you have the feeling that you can't get everything done otherwise. All I want is that you try this little trick - in any case, it will give you a bit more time in the day that you can use to enjoy life.