Reclaim your time! (5 min read)
“I don’t have enough time!”
Have you said this phrase to someone before?
Do you think about the way you spend your time?
This article is inspired by my own personal experience with the demon of time. I hope to provide you with some food for thought.
Of course, not all of your time is within your control, but perhaps this will help you think about the time that you do have control over 😊.
Without further ado -> here’s 3 ways to reclaim your time!
1. Plan!
Responsibility is a fact of life. As commitments increase, how can we juggle everything and maintain a sense of wellbeing?
Make a plan!
It may seem like a lot of effort, but an hour today will mean hours tomorrow.
How?
Use a calendar tool to plan out your time.
Input your rota, family commitments (mealtimes, bedtimes, weekly farm visit etc.) and then see what is left. You will find golden pockets of time which you can use.
Follow these golden rules to make the most of your plan:-
1. Be accurate – does it really take 30 mins to get dinner on the table?
2. Be realistic – are you going to do revision on a Saturday night when your flatmates is having a house party?
3. Be prepared to change the plan – put a weekly review in the calendar as a recurring task so you can change things. Life has a habit of straying from the plan.
Remember – a plan is a framework for you to get where you want to be.
It’s your roadmap to success.
2. Group tasks together
Ever have a list of errands that seem to take forever?
If there are tasks that share features, group them together!
You probably already do this with errands. Take going to the bank, picking up bread and filling petrol in the car. Instead of leaving the house 3 times, these can all be completed in one outing, increasing overall time efficiency.
This concept can be applied to all tasks – you just need to figure out what the common factor is e.g. completing a logbook, sending out assessments and answering emails. All 3 require a computer and not much critical thinking, so they can be grouped.
The more you group things, the easier it becomes to reclaim your time.
3. Be aware of your “time sinks”
Social media and television are wonderful inventions which have opened up a wealth of ideas and a variety of ways to interact with each other.
I am thankful to YouTube everyday for teaching me how to check different anaesthetic machines, understanding how to get the perfect “in plane view” for regional anaesthesia and how to stop my cannulas from failing.
However, it has its draw backs.
Ever wondered how you start watching something about direct laryngoscopy and ended up 2 hours later watching a Ted X talk about the master procrastinator? (fun fact – there are 1000s of staff actively working on how to make us stay on their sites for as long as possible :O)
Good news is, you aren’t alone.
In 2020, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 145 minutes per day. In the same year, UK adults spent an average of over 5 hours watching TV and online video content (including gaming and youtube).
That means, most of us have a few hours to spare.
“But this is crucial to my happiness/ I love to binge watch”
A quick google helped me to find 2 interesting studies on the matter.
Study 1 was a prospective survey in 2015 on 316 18 – 29 year olds on their TV viewing habits, feelings of loneliness and depression and how often they binge-watched TV.
Binge watching was defined as watching 2 – 6 episodes of a TV show.
The study found that higher incidences of binge watching were associated with higher levels of loneliness and depression, with the aim of distracting away from negative feelings.
Binge watching was also high in individuals lacking in the ability to control themselves in spite of having other tasks to complete.
Study 2 was a prospective 25 year study published in 2016, which used 3247 18-30 year olds. They looked at tv watching time, activity levels and cognition. What they found was that high television viewing and low physical activity in early adulthood were associated with worse midlife executive function and processing speed.
In summary - 25 years down the line, TV watching may be slowing down your cognition and binge watching might be making your mood worse.
Now I’m not saying stop all social media/TV watching. I’m suggesting to be more mindful of your habits.
The ways I keep myself in check
A. Have designated break times to enjoy TV/social media/gaming
B. Choose short 20 -30 minute shows (more efficient and just as enjoyable!)
C. Use app timers to put a cap on your social media time.
Conclusion
So there you have it - my 3 easy ways to make time work for you, NOW.
Remember, preparation for an exam is a marathon, and so you want to be doing a little, often.
Time is a gift – treat it wisely!
References to all articles and studies below 😊 Comment below with your thoughts!
