Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health issues we experience today. The rates of these disorders have skyrocketed in the last two years. The World Health Organisation estimates that 3.8% of the global population is affected by depression. Mental health and time management have a cyclical relationship: poor time distribution can lead to stress, and high anxiety creates more pressure, thus leading to unmet deadlines and unfinished tasks. If this cycle continues, it may lead to low energy, mood swings, and general dissatisfaction with life, all symptoms of depression in an individual. Simultaneously, the lack of energy and numbness can dull the effects of pressing deadlines and unaccomplished goals, which doesn’t help better our mental health.
The good news is that you can hack this vicious circle by mastering how you handle your time! A recent study showed that time management is linked to higher productivity, life satisfaction, and general well-being. Today, we will share some tried and tested tips to help you better your mental state and get on top of things. These tactics have helped us overcome many difficulties and are part of the reason we created MasterTime – seeing they actually work inspired us to create a tool to help others live the life they dream of.
Read also: How to Live a Fulfiling Life?
Switch Off the Autopilot
You’re basically on autopilot mode if you don’t act according to your crafted plan. Well, this might work as a way to pass the time by. However, as soon as you face a problem – and we all do sooner or later, living your life on autopilot mode creates a domino effect. Problems keep piling up when you are not a master of your own time and actions, so you quickly get overwhelmed. Unfortunately, finding yourself buried with different issues can lead to anxiety, depression, burnout and a general decline in your mental health. Luckily, there is one thing you can do to overturn this situation altogether. Create a vision of the life you dream of. Be thorough and include everything that would make you happy and fulfilled. Having a life vision will help you get in the driver’s seat and take control of everything, including your mental health! We’ve already shared some useful tips on creating the master plan for your life, and if you don’t know where to start, you can check the article What is The Best Way to Create a Vision for Your Life and Stick to It?
Focus on What Matters to You
When you create your life vision, focus on the truly important things to you. A lot of people nowadays are unconsciously dragged by the demands and desires of others and spend much time on things they don’t actually want to do or even enjoy. Assessing your values will help you make better decisions when distributing your time. Even if you are preoccupied, you will find ways to make time for the things that matter to you, which is a real game-changer! You will soon see there’s no point in spending your time with people you don’t enjoy being around or participating in certain activities just to impress other people. Of course, there are some things that you must do – like going to the dentist or the annual safety inspection of your car. However, everything else depends on you and you alone! When you start scheduling your time focused on what brings you joy and satisfaction, your life and well-being improve immensely.
Read also: What Is Time Management and How Can it Help You Achieve Your Life Goals?
Everything Has a Price – Are You Ready to Pay It?
Today, our society is shaped around the idea that you have to do many things and consistently excel at everything. However, this is a risky strategy because when you’re always striving to make everything bigger and better, nothing will ever be enough and you’ll never feel accomplished. Time management will help you feel better about your life because it allows you to schedule your day-to-day around your own values and beliefs, giving you a feeling of self-accomplishment. We all are spending time, and we all have the same 24 hours to make the life we want. If you think of your time as the ultimate currency, you will learn how to invest better. Following our life vision, we know that everything we do, no matter how time-consuming, brings us closer to realising our dreams. Whatever happens, there is only one thing that will never come back – the time you are given to live. So use it wisely, and you will feel better about yourself.
Check also: 7 Strategies to help you use your time wisely and live better
Make Sure to Spend Enough Time on Your Well-being
One of the biggest mistakes people make when planning their day is putting only work-related activities and chores on their list. However, good time management should include other important aspects of your life – family, free time, friends, and not only. Another thing that you should always do is to make time for your health – both mental and physical. If you feel anxious and depressed, it is vital to include mindfulness and exercise in your routine. Whatever you do, don’t start your mornings reading your emails or watching the news. Of course, being informed is essential, but in today’s hectic world, you need to make an effort and set a better mood for your day. Start your day by counting your blessings, keep a journal where you write down your dreams and achievements or meditate. These actions won’t take up too much of your time, but they make a huge difference in your mental state because knowing that you invest your time in your well being will make you feel better. Moreover, journaling is a great way to track what you’ve accomplished and gives you the strength and confidence to keep on track.
Read also: Here Is Why To Take a Real Break This Christmas (and any other time of the year!)
MasterTime as a Tool to Improve Your Well-being
Suppose you don’t like writing or diaries. In that case, other activities can give you exposure and allow you to visualise what you’re spending your time on. МasterTime serves this very purpose. We introduced different basic categories for everyone – health, work, family, sports, etc. But the app allows you to change these categories, add new ones, or remove the ones that aren’t relevant to you. With МasterTime, you can control and make sure that you tick all the boxes on essential life aspects, which helps visualise and stick to your goals. Ever since we created MasterTime, we’ve been using it and making sure we do a little bit of everything we care about every day, and it has helped improve our lives.