How to Manage a Busy Life

Since I was young, I have always been someone who moves quickly, works quickly and gets as much done in a small amount of time as possible. When I was in school, I never understood how it took people so long to complete certain assignments. My thought was just get it done already. I am what you can call a very ‘task-oriented person.’

I am going to give you a few tips on how to manage a busy life and not feel like everything is crumbling around you. I have definitely felt like this. Feeling like there is so much to do, and not enough time to do it. I often will say “I wish I had more hours in the day, or days in the week.” The truth is, even if I did, I will just fill my schedule with even more commitments and responsibility. You will never have enough time. It is about managing the time that you do have.

Plan Your Days Ahead of Time

I do not do this for every day, but I do for many, especially my weekends. I work fulltime, so that is a given part of my day. I do not always write my plan down, but mentally I am always thinking ‘what will my day look like tomorrow?’ If I know I have a lot to do that week, then I put specific tasks on specific evenings/days. That way, I know they will get done, and I have blocked out time for them.

I do not mean that you need to be rigid and only go by what is on your plan for that day, but it means that you need to get those tasks done before anything else. It helps you stay committed when they have been scheduled in. It is like working out. Trust me; this will only make your life easier and also more efficient.

Scattered Squirrel offers several free personal planners that are pretty and practical.
Bloom daily planners are nice, as well. They offer many different designs to suit your personality.

Learn How to Prioritize

We live in a society that glorifies busyness. Everyone needs to have 100 commitments, and if you do not, people almost look down on you. I, for one, think this is ridiculous. Do not get me wrong, I love being busy. I love to be involved, have commitments, and always be on the go. However, your life needs to be filled with the important things and not just the obligatory things.

To effectively manage your time AND your life, write everything down. Figure out exactly what you are responsible for, what your commitments are, and put them in order or most to least important. Now, start thinking seriously about which ones could stay and which ones could go.

This could actually save your life, and make it 100 times better. It will make you feel like you actually have more time for the really important things when you are not filling all your time with things you simply do because you feel like you have too. Try it – you may be amazed of what it will do!

Go to Bed Early and Wake Up Early

This may seem crazy but it is actually so important to a busy lifestyle and schedule. Waking up early, even as early as 5:30 or 6am can actually make your day so much more productive. I definitely do not always do this, but I do try as often as possible.

When I go to bed, I am literally thinking of all the things I have to do the next day. It excites me the thought of being productive and getting a lot done. Sometimes it actually prevents me from sleeping – very frustrating. I am learning to write it down, and forget about it.

You can get so much done before lunch time if you just get up early feeling refreshed. Sleeping will help you maximize your time, because you won’t spend half your day thinking of how tired you are and dragging your feet behind you. At first, your body may need to catch up, but once you are used to it, you will start feeling much more energized and alert during the day.

Go Be Productive!

So those are a few tips to help manage a busy schedule. They are very practical, but very useful. I have implemented them into my life and definitely noticed a difference. There was a time that I was busy every evening, and weekends as well. It was crazy – I felt like I had zero time to function.

Once I started prioritizing and getting rid of commitments that were not as important I was able to maximize my time and effectiveness in a huge way. Although, I am still relatively busy, I am more productive. I feel a lot better and have more to give to each commitment, rather than giving only part of myself to everything and everyone around me.