We can’t always have our schedules figured out. But with the daily realities of life of a cramped schedule and deadlines to beat, it may not be easy to be available on time for everything. Sometimes it feels like we should be added more hours to our days. That statement is enough to let you know that you are not finding a balance between your schedules or that you may be overstretching to tick something off your to-do list. The feeling of being busy may be satisfactory, especially if you are achieving your goals, but sometimes we may be throwing away our mental wellness. Therefore, it is essential to manage your time in a way that you have time to catch up with your hobbies or relax amidst a busy schedule.
Being busy constantly can also be a way of masking stress, anger, and sadness. Covering such emotions with productivity gives one an escape route from facing their problems directly. Constant busyness is emotionally taxing and may lead to poor sleep and improper diet. It’s time to learn some time management skills!
What Is Time Management?
Managing time involves putting up a structure to help you organise various duties and projects in your life. We all have unique ways of developing a time management structure depending on our daily routines. To take charge of your time, you have to break down your goals into short-term and long-term objectives to ensure you do not overstretch yourself trying to achieve your goals. The inability to fulfil all your dreams at once may lower your self-esteem hence the need to break them down.
To help set your expectations without being overwhelmed by feelings of having to accomplish everything at once, you can:
- Prioritise your duties
- Be pragmatic about the timelines you set for yourself
- Make plans for the future
How To Rate Your Time Management Skills
We have unique ways of managing time since we have different routines. So the best way to determine whether you are good at using your time well is through some questions that can give insight into how well you distribute your activities throughout the day. Some of the questions include:
- Do you lack enough time to indulge in your hobbies?
- Do you attend official and casual meetings late?
- Are you battling with tension and impatience?
- Are you always sleeping late because of work?
A yes answer to all these questions means you do not get some free time to rest. Once you interfere with your sleep, you may have trouble with anxiety, which lowers your productivity level. Poor time management will always have a boomerang effect on your mental wellness. Therefore, you may need to make selfish decisions to prioritise your self-care needs.
Impact Of Poor Time Management On Your Mental Wellness
With less time to handle essential tasks, the stress of completing them can lead to anxiety. Moreover, if you do not manage to accomplish tasks, you can slip into depression due to self-doubt. Work burnout is a challenge most employees face due to the pressure of the need to overachieve. We often forget to stop and breathe amidst the pressure to perform. Holding yourself in high regard may see you overworking to achieve the endless goals you have set for yourself. Therefore, with poor time management, you may not know when to stop and take a break from all the hassles. Additionally, you may not notice when you are approaching the breaking point since when your mind is clouded by the pressure to perform, it becomes hard to see when you lose your sanity.
It is essential to get your job done, but you also need time for introspection and social hangouts. Therefore, your ability to compartmentalise your tasks and manage your time can save you from anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Disadvantages Of Poor Time Management
Poor time management can become a costly habit. The consequences of poor sleeping habits and diets can be much more of a problem than you initially figured. Some of the effects of poor time management include the following.
Poor Sleep Quality
Most organisations allow their employees to work remotely, enabling flexibility and convenience. It means you can work any time, eliminating the need to stick to a particular schedule. The disadvantage to this is that you can compromise your sleeping hours. You might find yourself doing other things during the day and sacrificing your sleep time to work. It results in reduced sleeping hours or irregular sleep, which can easily affect your mental wellness.
Fatigue
Many people suffer from fatigue due to poor lifestyle choices. Being busy is often seen as a badge of honour and a direct indication of success. However, tight schedules can leave you emotionally, mentally, and physically drained. Consequently, your productivity becomes negatively impacted as fatigue slows down your thinking and reduces concentration.
Fatigue can cause a wide range of physical and mental health issues, including:
- Mood swings and irritability
- Hallucinations
- Lack of motivation
- Short-term memory issues
- Headaches
The main problem with fatigue is that it may be hard to diagnose at the beginning since one may think it is just laziness to take on the day’s activities. So when you start experiencing these fatigue symptoms, it would be time to reevaluate your time management skills.
Falling Behind
Not sure if you have poor time management skills? Ask yourself to remember how many times you have missed a hangout with friends or postponed meetings. If your answer is many times, then you are falling behind. Poor time management means you have to constantly play catch up with friends or other activities you have postponed. Also, tight schedules may hinder your opportunity to make healthy relationships.
Less Time For Self-Care
When you are busy stressing over deadlines and work objectives, you may fall into an unfortunate state of failing to schedule time for relaxation and re-energise. Poor time management means you will not have extra time for yourself, yet you may need time for simple activities such as stretching, going out with friends, attending family events, cleaning, and organising your room. Therefore, you should create time for these simple activities to ensure you keep your mind sane.
Once you set aside time for yourself, you will start to feel good about yourself, starting with good time management. In addition, you can achieve self-care through simple things such as meditation, working out, or going for a drive to clear your mind off daily life stressors.
Closing Remarks
A tight schedule may boost your self-esteem since you will achieve most of your goals. However, it can negatively impact your mental wellness if you can’t spare some time to take care of yourself or spend time with family and friends. Being overbooked may not have an immediately noticeable effect, but your body may accumulate all the stress, and the breaking point may cost you your mental wellness.
With the majority of working class people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders, we need to prioritize our mental wellbeing. Changing priorities or taking time away from work to pursue social life may feel like you’re deviating from your goals, but it’s worth it.
Trying to find a psychologist that will really help you for introspection, self-care and will improve your mental health and quality of life.