This week the ADOFitness trainers will be addressing topics we get asked a lot of questions about. This week coach Meagan Kunisch talks about time management and how it pertains to reaching your personal goals.

In the U.S., stress is at an all-time high as businesses are requiring their employees to work longer hours ON TOP of taking care of their own personal responsibilities outside of work, so how do we find time to reach our own personal goals? How do we find time to get our workout in for the day or find time to meal prep for the week to come? This is where implementing time management comes into play. Time management simply means that you are strategically splitting your time up during the day and prioritizing your tasks properly and efficiently. Let’s take a look at my favorite time management tips.
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1. TIME BLOCK – use the calendar on your phone, computer, or even your planner and assign specific times for all of the tasks you have to take care of every day. For example:
– 7 – 8am: get kids ready for school
– 8 – 8:30am: breakfast
– 8:30 – 9:30am: shower & get ready for work
– 10:00am: leave for work
– 10:30 – 3:30pm: work (30 min break)
– 3:30 – 4:00pm: home from workRemember, we are only listing tasks that you take care of every single day. Once you have done this you can then go through what you have listed and find your “free” or available time that you can dedicate to your workout, meditation or home project. I do want to be realistic in that sometimes you just can’t stick to the time block you have created ( #life ). Whenever something comes up that shifts your day around, don’t stress about this! Re-adjust your schedule and move on with your day.

2. TIME AUDIT – RECORD EVERY ACTIVITY PERFORMED THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE WEEK. In essence, you are going to keep a one-week activity log. At the end of the week you can then look back through everything you recorded and know exactly where your time went.

3. PRIORITIZE – KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT IS URGENT AND WHAT IS IMPORTANT. Make a firm decision on prioritizing your tasks into the ones that absolutely cannot wait to be completed first. Say you only have a couple hours in your day to complete what needs to be done, what tasks will you choose, and which tasks can wait until tomorrow? KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW AND WHAT CAN BE DONE LATER.

4.STAY ORGANIZED – Declutter your work space. Can you imagine walking into your office with only your computer, planner, and a cup of coffee on your desk? Sounds pretty good right? IF YOU’RE ORGANIZED PHYSICALLY (i.e. a clean desk or office) YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BE ORGANIZED MENTALLY.

5. KNOW HOW TO SAY NO – Sometimes responsibilities and goals take higher priority over going out for a few drinks. Know when to say no to activities or tasks that will ultimately take away from what’s urgent. This matters in work situations, as well. Learn to say no to any e-mails that are not urgent and don’t require an immediate response.

6.TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF – On the flip side, learn how to say YES. You need to make time for YOU. If there is a work task that can wait and you absolutely need a mental break … YES, take that break. If you have been grinding out work tasks all day at home, haven’t left the house once and you get invited to go out for dinner … YES! If those tasks aren’t urgent and don’t require immediate action, stop them and do something for you!

WHERE IS YOUR TIME GOING? …. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON EVERY HOUR THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.
Instagram, owned by Facebook, says its users under 25 spend “more than 32 minutes a day on Instagram,” and users 25 and over “spend more than 24 minutes a day” on the app. If you do this daily, that can add up to 224+ minutes spent on social media EVERY SINGLE WEEK. Can you imagine what you can get done in 224+ minutes a week?! By minimizing the time you spend on social media, this opens up time for a couple workouts a week that you originally had zero time for. KNOW WHERE YOUR TIME IS GOING.

In order to reach your goals and find time to do so, you have to be willing to implement these tips and develop new habits that will help you be successful at scheduling your time. To do this, you need to know where your time is going and what you can do to make the most of it