Time Management: Make the MOST of your 24 Hours!

    Time management is an area that I find myself and many others working towards improving each and every day. With so many distractions such as social media, technology, family, friends, and life in general, we often feel rushed with limited time to do what it is we truly want to do. The interesting thing is, we all have the SAME amount of time in a day -- 24 hours. So, why is it that some people seem to be able to get more done with plates filled to the brim, while others tend to shy away from adding tasks to their daily To-Do lists?

The answer to this is simple. Procrastination and poor time management skills are contributing to the inability to have a productive 24 hour day. We need to create new habits in order to see the success we are all capable of reaching!

Here are some tips and tricks to help improve your time management and reduce procrastination!

1. READ! Yes, I know... You are busy. We are all busy! But, grab a book about habits and read 10 pages a day or listen to the audio format. The two books below are short and sweet with lots of tangible ways on how to improve or create habits in order to make the most out of the 24 hours you have!

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• The Compound Effect by Darron Hardy

2. PLAN! Having the next day planned out before you hit the hay is a great way to make sure you are using your time wisely, prioritizing your tasks, and staying focused. We often spend a lot of time THINKING of what we should do instead of DOING it! So, every night before I go to bed, I check my daily planner to see what is on the agenda for the next day and make sure it is mapped out. I carve out time for almost everything in my day! When we physically write in our tasks, they are more likely to happen!! Below are some great planners that can be customized for your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly needs and goals! I love my Plum Planner!!

• Plum Planners
• Passion Planner
• Erin Condren

3. GET UP & GOING! Those that take advantage of the morning hours are often more successful. I know that not everyone is a morning person, but improving your morning routine will help you get the necessities done. Don't hit that snooze button! Those extra 10 minutes will not help you with your sleep cycle, so you might as well get up and going! Here are a few suggestions to help you resist the SNOOOOOOZE!

• Alarmy: This app is obnoxious! That's why it works! Create your alarm, select a task to do, and a ringtone. Until you complete the task that you select, the alarm will not go off! No way to snooze!
• Remove your phone from the bed! Place it on the other side of the room, so when your alarm goes off, you have to physically get up to get it! This action will awaken your muscles and brain to start working, making it harder to go back to bed!
• Inspire yourself! Place something by your bedside that you can see when you roll over and you're tempted to hit the snooze button. This could be your vision board, a picture of a goal you are working towards, your gym bag, etc. This will help push you towards the 

Having that extra 10-15 minutes each morning will make a significant impact on your overall day and allow you to complete some tasks earlier, creating a sense of accomplishment! As you feel more accomplished, it will be easier to continue to knock off your daily dues!

Remember, these are all habits that take time to create and maintain. A habit takes at least 21 days of active practice before we start to do it on the regular. So, give yourself grace as you start to alter your current habits and create new ones that will lead you towards success!

What's next?! 

I'll be tackling procrastination more in-depth with tools and tips to reduce task avoidance!

Until next time -- Be well and let's make impact!