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Getting enough sleep is crucial for productivity and overall well-being. It's not just about total sleep hours, but also having a consistent sleep schedule. By setting a bedtime, preferably around 10:30 or 11pm, and ensuring you get 7-8 hours of sleep, you can improve your energy levels, mood, and overall time management.
Designate Fridays as a time for weekly planning. This allows you to review your upcoming week, prioritize tasks, and set goals. Planning on Fridays instead of Sunday nights reduces anxiety and helps you start Monday with clarity and purpose. It also gives you the opportunity to communicate with colleagues, schedule meetings, and set the tone for the week ahead.
Incorporate physical activity into your day by ensuring you do at least 10 minutes of exercise or movement by 3pm. Physical activity boosts energy levels, improves mood, and increases productivity. Taking a short walk or engaging in any form of exercise can serve as a reset button and help you stay focused and energized throughout the day.
Many habits don't need to be done daily. Committing to doing something three times a week is often enough to make it a regular part of your routine. Whether it's having family meals, meditating, or practicing a skill, accomplishing the task three times a week can make it a consistent part of your life and contribute to your overall well-being and time management.
Setting reasonable goals for activities, like playing the piano three times a week, can be more motivating and achievable compared to daily goals. When there is flexibility in goal-setting, individuals feel less pressured to perform and are more likely to exceed their initial targets. As a result, intrinsic motivation takes over as they start enjoying the activity and voluntarily engage in it more.
To avoid getting off track when unexpected events occur, it is essential to incorporate backup slots in our schedules. Just like a rain date for outdoor events, backup slots provide a buffer for rescheduling and allow for increased chances of completing important tasks. By planning for contingencies, individuals can maintain their commitment to priorities and ensure that even if plans change, they still have dedicated time set aside for important activities.
So many of us suffer over the issue of time management.
Our guest today approaches the topic from research and personal experience and dives into how we can think more strategically about our time and aspire to build resilient schedules, rather than perfect ones.
Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books. Her latest is Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company. Laura’s TED Talk on “How to Gain Control of Your Free Time” has been viewed more than 12 million times, and she also hosts the podcast Before Breakfast. Her previous books include Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done, I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.
In this episode we talk about:
Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/laura-vanderkam-606
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