Time Management
Studies show that improving the management of time and day-to-day activities can help:
- Reduce stress levels.
- Improve sense of self-efficacy.
Being organised can benefit a person’s mental health by giving them a sense of control over their routine. Practice and consistency with time management skills can help reduce depression.
Ways to improve time management:
- Prepare a list of things that you would like to accomplish for the week.
- Keep track of appointments and activities on your phone or datebook.
- Set realistic goals around what can be accomplished in a day.
- Create time limits for activities and stick within those limits when possible.
- Be aware of feelings and situations that trigger symptoms of depression.
- Celebrate successes along your journey.
- Remember this is a process. Be patient.
- When you feel overwhelmed, try coping strategies such as physical activity or breathing exercises.
- Reach out for help when you need it from family, friends, social workers, or therapists.
- Improving time management and organizational skills can help individuals cope with challenges that arise.
Tips for Planning
Identify what your life values and goals are. To help prioritize daily activities, divide them into areas of importance before setting up a weekly and/or daily To-Do List.
1. Urgent and important
- Crises
- Pressing problems
- Deadline dependent projects
2. Important but not urgent
- Prevention and personal care
- Relationship building
- Recognising new opportunities
- Planning and recreation
3. Urgent but not important
- Interruptions
- E-Mails and phone calls
- Meetings
- Immediate issues
- Popular activities
4. Not urgent and not important
- Things of little importance or value
- Junk email and phone calls
- Time wasters
Quadrant 2 identifies items that are ‘important but not urgent’. This quadrant requires a focus on relationships, personal care, identifying new opportunities, planning for daily activities and recreation. The focus is centered on preventing situations from becoming urgent and stressful. Take time to reflect on how much time may be currently wasted on other quadrants which are not in line with your values and priorities.
People and relationships may affect schedules, so being flexible with time management is also important.
Reference
Wang, P., & Wang, X. (2018). Effect of time management training on anxiety, depression, and sleep quality. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 47(12), 1822-1831.
Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people: restoring the character ethic. Free Press.
Veny, M. (2019, August 8). How to Manage Time With Depression. HealthCentral. Retrieved from https://www.healthcentral.com/article/how-to-manage-time-with-depression.
