It was this morning while chatting to a friend about goals that I realised there are only four months left till the year ends. 4 months for all the piled up goals, promises, commitments and targets made by ourselves for 2018! Here is a story of how we can still make them happen.

It has been a difficult transition from working freelance to a full-time job, I realised I have less and less time to work on my personal projects with handling full-time work and having employees to manage. There have been days when even though I don’t have my hands full, I do not feel like doing my personal writing projects because the mind is pre-occupied with work stress. Thankfully I am blessed with phenomenal time management skills, and now it is time for me to re-learn my time-management and perhaps share my secrets with you.

We’ve all got goals, whether it is writing a book or spending more time with your kids or committing to working out more. Finding the energy to get up and start something, to get out of home or to do anything productive instead of watching TV on the couch has been the hardest step for me.  

‘Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important’ – Stephen Covey. Having said that, here are a few steps that I follow to effectively manage time:

Maintain a fully functioning mind

Everything you do is based on how well your brain functions, the better it functions, the faster you can perform tasks and the slower you get fatigued. Meditation and exercising are known to keep the brain healthy. Brain snacks like walnuts, dark chocolate should be included in your diet.

Learn to multitask creatively and make use of the “waiting” time

I love traffic, I love waiting, and I love lunch breaks – not because it gives me more time to WhatsApp, Instagram or gossip with friends, but this is when I catch up on my reading or writing, I always go for a walk during lunch breaks or spend time with my grandma. All you need to get your work done is internet connectivity, which is easily available, start making use of the daily work commute hours. Maybe even listen to audio books while doing the dishes or breathing exercises while waiting before a meeting.

Don’t cheat until you have made it your habit

It takes about 60 days to form a new habit, I tried this with a promise to myself to practice yoga each day, every day. If you cheat before it becomes a habit, then you break the routine and you can never set the routine again. Commit to yourself and don’t break the momentum, you will see yourself finding time for things you love.

Plan your day, set your routine down to the minute

Structure your life in such a way that everything you do (at work and outside) is what is most important to you and helps you maximize the sense of meaning and happiness in life. Calculate and schedule time for the smallest of things like shower, meals, drive to bigger things like meetings, lunch dates, singing classes and the like. Analyse what takes more than you would like, for example, try reducing the time you take in the mornings to get ready or shorten your meetings to 20 minutes or wherever you see scope.

Eliminate distractions

Do you spend a lot of time on your mobile phones or planning dinners with friends or deciding what clothes to wear! Take control of your time, every little counts.

Make time for what is important

It is good to have long term goals but the mistake we make is that we forget to live in the present, to feel happy in the present, happiness is not only when you reach your long-term goals, but it is to be aware of the process and finding joy in what is around you now.

Even when your dream seems to be out of reach, do not self-doubt, empower your mind with positivity and see everything falls into place. ‘Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.’ – Zig Ziglar