6 Ways To Find More Time for Yourself

Imagine having all the time you need to get everything done. How good would that be? Well, I’m here to tell you that it can be done! Because I did it myself and free’d up so much time and I want you too, to experience the feeling of always having enough time. Sound good? Read on…

When you prioritise time to do the things for yourself it will not only make you feel more energised and keep you motivated, but it will make you more efficient even when you take on the not-so-fun aspects of your to-do list.

One thing I had to shift was my mindset.

If you keep telling yourself you have no time, I can guarantee you will attract and manifest more busyness and have no time for yourself.

You must change your thoughts. Focus on what is important in the present moment and learn to prioritise. Here are some ways that I found helped me manage my time better.

1. Ask yourself, “WHY?”
Why do you need more free time? 
What are you missing in your life right now?
Are you spending time on the right things? 
What is all of your ‘busyness’ making you miss out on? 
What do you do with your time?

If you have no idea what you do with your time or where it goes, do this today:

Write out everything you did last Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. From the minute you woke up, including times, until the minute you fell asleep. eg. Wake up 6am, Facebook 6am-6:30am, Breakfast 6:30am, Train to work 7am, Facebook & Instagram 7am-8am, Buy coffee 8:15am, Work 9am-5pm, Lunchtime, sit at desk on internet 1pm-2pm, Train home 5pm, Check emails and social media on train, Shower 6pm, Dinner 6:30pm, TV 7pm – 9:30pm, Sleep 10pm

Is there an area where you can spend less time?
Is there an area where you can complete a task instead eg. Go to the gym at 6am for 30min instead of wasting time on Facebook or meal prepping at 7pm instead of watching TV.

Does that make sense? Swapping a non-productive task for a productive one!

I created a time management calendar many years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. I even scheduled in time to see my boyfriend at the time ( LOL ). Schedule in everything at the start until you get the hang of handling your time better.

I literally just created a word document with a weekly table with the days of the week on the top header row and I put times on the left hand border, printed it out and took it with me everywhere I went to make sure I stayed on track.

 

2. Find Your Ritual
Take time for you, every single day. Wether it’s 5 minutes or 1 hour. This includes exercise, reading, meditating, power nap, stretching, going for a walk, creating your to-do list for the day. I encourage you to find any time you can for yourself and start creating your very own ritual.

For example, Saturday or Sunday night I plan my upcoming week in my diary. I’m old school and love having a diary to write in.

And, everyday I get up an hour earlier than I need to to have ‘my time’. It’s my favourite time..  Each morning I go through my diary and prepare for the day ahead, I read, I say what I am grateful for, I make my super coffee and I basically put myself in the best mindset for the upcoming day! When I do this daily I feel motivated, energised and am productive and eat better. If I miss this part of my day, my day feels rushed and disorganised. It’s as simple as going to bed early, setting my phone to ‘Bedtime’ mode so I don’t hear any notifications and making my daily ‘hour’ my priority. I’ve made it my ritual. Find your daily ritual and stick to it!

 

3. Find Your Routine
With no structure or organisation we become distracted and procrastinate and we become busy with things that don’t mean much to our purpose or goals. This triggers anxiety, depression, stress and overthinking. Yuck!

Keep a routine with work and lifestyle and your days will become more peaceful. My weekly routine is planned out on Saturday or Sunday nights. Most of the year, unless I am away, it pretty much stays the same.

To begin your time management calendar, start with the non-negotiables and work your schedule around them eg. 8 hrs sleep, hour ritual each morning, 4 hrs of exercise per week, work schedule, time with kids etc. set up all non-negotiables and then add in all the negotiables! If you have 3 social events planned, pick one and move the other two to the following weeks. You don’t have to say yes to everything!

Have a to-do list each day that is realistic and carry it with you. Tick your tasks as you go, there is such a great feeling that comes along with this sense of accomplishment.
Also, if you are constantly busy, assess your list and ask, is there an item here that doesn’t really matter much to me today? If so, cross it out and do it another day.

Another handy tip I learnt from Tim Ferriss is to put a post-it note up on your wall saying “Are you inventing things to do to avoid whats important?” Such a great tip. Hold yourself accountable!

4. Delegate
We can’t do everything! So what can you let go of and/or give someone else to do? It could be as simple as having your family do the washing or buying the groceries. You could hire someone to mow your lawn or someone to clean your home.

This is also great for your work/business life. Just try it. Especially if you’re one of those people that have no time to do anything! Delegate tasks.

You may even find things that can be done less often! For those things, set a schedule on your calendar. eg. wiping down the inside of your kitchen cupboards.

 

5. Tech-Free Time
Are you constantly online or on social media? Can you possibly try to turn your phone off for 1hr per day? If that’s scary try 30 minutes! Have a phone detox session and play with your kids, have your ‘me time’ or connect with your partner instead.

Can you check your emails less? Can you watch less TV? Find out how much time you allocate to these things and assess if it is serving you or not. I try and watch no more than 60 minutes of TV a day. The day I began to reduce my TV hours my life changed. I have so much time on my hands. I want you to be able to say that too!

 

6. Think Positive
When you catch yourself saying something negative like “I am too busy to workout”, rephrase that thought into something more empowering like “I do have time to be healthy” or “I choose to make myself a priority” and stop going backwards! Remember your reason WHY you need more time, from Step 1.

In time, the positive thoughts will get rid of the negative ones which will help you to see your available choices a lot clearer.

Create a system that works for you because without balance, everything spirals out of control. And remember, the more time you make for yourself the happier you’ll be!

If you’d like daily health, fitness and mindset motivation follow my instagram: @hol_health