Time Strategies

Hey y'all! This week's topic was convicting let me tell you! It was all about time management and boy do I struggle with this one! I am the queen of always being busy! I got to pick two articles about this topic and I wanted to share my thoughts here!

The Myth of Too Busy. In this particular article by Tim Grahl, he shared how our generation is running on empty and how we need to remove the word "busy" from our vocabulary. We as humans are choosing things in our life to make us busy instead of prioritizing our time with things that are actually important. This was so convicting because like I mentioned earlier, I am the queen of being busy! I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to get everything done. In reality, I am not prioritizing my time. Instead, I am staying up late watching Tik Tok, scrolling hours on Instagram, binge watching Netflix, or spending time with my boyfriend. Grahl says we need to "ruthlessly cut unnecessary stuff out of our lives." He then follows up with four ways on how to do just that and I loved them so much I wanted to include them.

1. Decide now that you are in control of your schedule

2. Set your priorities

3. Plan ahead

4. Change the way you describe your time

The Psychology of Checklists. I really loved this article because I am a HUGE fan of checklists. I love the satisfaction of checking something off a list and I am so glad there is actual science to back up that amazing feeling I get. Apparently, the brain releases dopamine when we are motivated and when we check items off our checklist, small amounts of dopamine are released! Cool right? Also, there are so many cool online programs that can formulate the perfect checklist for any occassion. The only catch is for checklists to be successful, is they have to have a combination of short and long term goals. Goals need to be smartly set and bite-sized. Small goals often get overshadowed, but they are so important. They go hand-in-hand with SMART goals which are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Time-bound

Overall, I really enjoyed learning about a few different time management techniques and how to implement them into my daily life! I already utilize checklists, but incorporating them into my planner takes it one step further. Also, not packing my lists too much is important. I need to learn to prioritize my time and pick activities that will get me closer to my goal!

(Bart Simpson checklist meme: makeameme)