Blog 35:  Time management:  When there just doesn’t seem to be enough time and there is plenty to juggle.  PART 5:  Making sure you make space for the ‘not important’ in a balanced life

Time management matrix with quadrant 4 focus
©Week Plan

This is the last of series of five blogs on time management and again the focus is on your personal life.  This blog may seem counter intuitive.  All of the blogs in this series have been encouraging you to live in Quadrant 2 by reducing the non-important items that consume your time.  However, this blog encourages you to have enough space in your life to enjoy some Quadrant 4 time . . . because we were built to be human beings not human doings . . . and margins are important.  If you can find the healthy balance of maintaining margins, you will benefit from being more effective in getting those important things done.  This series is not just about getting more ‘stuff’ done.  It’s about living a good life that makes a difference. 

Here’s a couple of items to get you thinking of Quadrant 4 (not important and not urgent time) . . . which really is important!

1. Personal pursuits – hobbies and pastimes

Hobbies are a great way to escape.  You can lose yourself in something you enjoy and don’t need to prove yourself.  It can be something for pure enjoyment that fills your emotional tank.  And it’s good for your mental health.  A hobby is a great foil to your work life.  Just keep it in check.  It’s easy for a hobby to get away from you, consume your time and  . . . then you’re not operating in Quadrant 2.  There are infinite ideas for hobbies and pastimes out there.  Find one that suits you.  Give yourself a margin for hobbies.

make time for yourself
©Pinterest

2. Protect your mental health

How can you protect your mental health?  Enjoy that mini-series, go for that bush walk, take that holiday.  Again, you are human being, don’t get caught always ‘doing’.  Smell the roses.  Find that unhurried life.

Blog 28 and 29 on work-life balance highlighted the need to protect your mental health and a growth mindset.  Apply yourself to this space and you will find your mind will be clearer and sharper when you turn your attention to your professional and life tasks. 

You need to find the time to sharpen the axe.  Living a life without protecting your mental health is like chopping with a blunt axe.  An axe that has become worn and blunted from continual work.  That means you need to stop and invest in you. 

So now we’ve got to get you to this spot . . .

©bubbles organic skincare

. . . and to do that you need to be proactive when you don’t work.  It’s all about maintaining a tension.  Plan your margins and find that hobby. 

To finish this series, let’s refer you back to other blogs that might help you focus on what is most important for you:

  • Blog 21:  Juggling tips . . . for those who are trying to study, build their career & maintain a quality of life
  • Blog 22:  It’s time to talk margins . . . a blog for those who are feeling squeezed
  • The work-life balance series (Blogs 28, 29 and 30)

In summary, the key to time management lies in planning and compartmentalizing.  Achieving requires focus on what is important and reducing the non-important and urgent.  But achieving also requires finding time for the non-important activities that will fill your emotional tank so you can be more productive and enjoy life. 

i hope you find that balance.

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