Managing your time more effectively can help with a number of things from reducing stress and anxiety to increasing productivity, creativity and happiness, but today I want to focus on depression which is one of the most common metal health problems in Britain!
“1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year” – mentalhealth.org.uk
So how can time management help?
Firstly it is important to understand the reasons behind your depression. Depression can be caused by a number of factors from work/life balance to traumatic events. Spend a little time thinking about what makes you depressed, time management may not be the issue so if this article does not seem to help you we suggest you speak to your GP.
1) Get your priorities right
Cognitive dissonance can be a factor of depression, cognitive dissonance is when a person is in two minds about something, usually people find themselves conflicted between work and life balance which can put a lot of strain on relationships and add heaps of depression.
First thing to do is to think about what you want to achieve in both. When at work concentrate on your work and when you arrive home leave your work at the office!
2) Set boundaries
Once you have set your priorities STICK TO THEM!
A lot of us use calendars of some sort in the office to schedule meetings and projects but we hardly use this process to manage our time out of the office. Block in some home time and social time in your calendars just like you would your work time.
Get in the habit of NOT checking your emails when in your “home block” or “social block”, it’s incredibly frustrating to have a conversation with someone as they check their emails every five minutes, turn it off, emails can wait until your next ‘work block’.
3) Delegate! Delegate! Delegate!
It’s surprising how many people feel they have to do everything. The honest truth is you can’t, and by trying you will actually get less done and the work you will have completed will not be at its highest quality!
Delegating task can ease your workload so why not take advantage!
4) You are special so treat yourself!
It is very important to have some time to yourself, to recharge and refresh. Whether it is taking a long walk, playing golf or simply reading the paper it is vital you relax. Without protecting your personal time it will easily disappear so we recommend blocking it out in your calendar to make sure you take it.