Are you running late for that appointment? Did you get home from work late and order takeaway AGAIN? Did you skip that workout because you missed a deadline? Perhaps you need to update your self-talk for time management and change your relationship with time. You know you need to make a change, perhaps you’ve tried time management techniques, but you couldn’t stick with them. You know that If you keep running out of time to do the things you want, your dreams and fulfilment could slip away, leaving you with a perpetual state of regret. Here are four steps to improve your self-talk for time management.
- Catch your self-talk during busy times
- Ditch the negative
- Replace with the positive
- Practice Daily
Catch your self-talk during busy times
Notice those frantic, stressful times in your life, the school drop-off, getting ready for work, the end of the month or any other time you feel like you are running out of time. Do you notice a pattern? Is it certain events or times of the day? Once you see these events, trace the feeling of stress back to the beginning. Ask yourself, ‘Where did this all begin?” Inevitably it will go back to a decision you made or didn’t make, which triggered the rushing and stress.
Can’t find your little one’s shoe with only five minutes until school starts? If kids need more time to get ready, what can change? Could you put their clothes out the night before? Could you make it a game and start a timer to see who gets dressed first? Did you subconsciously slow things down because you don’t want to go to work because of that annoying co-worker? Do you need to clear the air with them, talk to your manager or quit? Bring awareness to the REASONS you are stretched, and then you can make the required changes. keep track of the times you felt stressed about time and why you were in that position in your journal
Ditch the negative
What we say to ourselves becomes our reality. Our subconscious minds have been programmed with thought patterns from childhood. Unfortunately, MOST of what we learned is negative. The negative words we reserve only for ourselves are counterproductive. Our subconscious minds don’t understand the negative. They don’t get the word ‘no.’ For example, when we say, “I will not waste time scrolling on Facebook today,” the words are understood as, “I will waste time scrolling on Facebook today.” Not only are we confusing ourselves with this negative self-talk, but we are also making our problems worse by putting ourselves down for our time snafus.
Do the statements below sound familiar? Are they positive, or do you put yourself down?
- “I’m not getting out of this chair until this report is DONE – even if it kills me!”
- “I don’t want to do this! I’d love to go for a walk, but since I procrastinated AGAIN – I can’t take a break.”
- “God, why am I so bad with time management — Why can’t I just get it together?”
- “I just don’t have time for this — I never have time for myself!”
- “Everybody was right — I’m always late?”
Our thinking (what we say to ourselves inside our heads) creates our life and defines our relationship with time. For example, if two people were exact in every way, twins had the same upbringing and opportunities, but one twin held the view that there was never enough time and that life was hectic. The other twin believed that time was on their side, and things came to them at the right time. Which twin do you suppose would accomplish more? Which twin would have the capacity to be present and enjoy how life unfolds? If you want to change your view of time, you can start by replacing that negative self-talk with more empowering language.
Replace with positive self-talk for time management
Now that you know your thought patterns and beliefs about time management, you can start to update this self-talk; keep it positive as if you were your cheerleader! Here are a few suggestions.
- “Things are happening at the right time.”
- “I always get the important stuff done.”
- “Time is on my side.”
- “The more I focus on the present moment, the more time I have.”
- “I can enjoy the task at hand because I have all the time I need.”
- “I can handle any challenge that comes my way.”
- “I know what to do and when to do it.”
Practice Daily
Changing self-talk takes practise and self-awareness. Be gentle with yourself as you make these shifts. With repetition, you will start to notice a new sense of space and freedom with your schedule; you’ll be able to appreciate the most important moment, the present. You can watch and understand the timing of your life and how it unfolds naturally. You can also bring awareness to overscheduling your day and make any necessary adjustments.
To Sum It up
Are you withholding precious time from yourself by continuing to beat yourself up about your time management? Being rushed, busy and stressed is a choice. By changing what you say to yourself about time and making your relationship with time a positive one, you may still have busy periods in your life, but you will be able to accept them, learn from them, and move through them rather than letting them frustrate you. Now that is working WITH time instead of against it!
