I HAVE been thinking a lot about how to make the most of my time as I always want to do so much but often struggle to find the time (and sometimes the effort) to get it done. In my last column, I spoke of purpose, but how can we focus on that when we are not sure what is important to focus on at all? The fact is who we are is how we spend our time.

It takes a lot of practice to form habits, which, if healthy, are what guarantee success. However, before I get into habits and their formation (my next column), I think it is beneficial to first acknowledge what we are forming habits around. What are we focusing on, or should we be focusing on? Do we already have habits that are impeding us?
I will give an example of something that may seem like such a trivial thing we may all do, but it has more of an effect on us than some may realise.

I had a habit of catching up with family and friends very early in the morning. It is a great way to start the day, but sometimes, it revolved around topics that did not need discussing at such an early time (or probably ever) as it interrupted my positive mindset almost as soon as I woke. When I realised this, I spent more time reflecting on what I should actually be focusing on.

As always, before change happens, there must be acknowledgement like the above. How are you currently spending your time? Many of us can almost automatically answer with ideas of too much television or social media, but it is also important to analyse the amount of enjoyment or even sense that comes with these activities.

We all have different priorities but based on science, I can tell you what psychologists recommend that we focus on to live our best lives; ourselves, our relationships and our livelihood (work). The truth is, and you will give yourself more grace as you accept it, we will never have the time to do absolutely everything we want to do. Further, we do not simply have the time. We have to make it, so make it for the worthy.

If you map out a typical day, it would look almost the same for most. If you sleep well (6-8 hours) and work a typical 8–10-hour workday, you just have 6-8 hours of time to fill in all the rest. We can assume at least two of those are other chores and obligations, so there are just a few hours in a day to focus on personal care, relationships, passion projects etc. How much of this very limited time is used meaningfully?

I think people have the wrong idea about time management as it is not simply about achieving maximum productivity and having all-to-do lists completed every day. The more we do that and fail (as we will), the worse we will feel. Time management is actually just about using your time intentionally, using it effectively and not just efficiently.

For example, if you are beating yourself up for using social media too much, maybe it is just the way you are doing it, and it is not with intention. Are you just sitting and scrolling through content that is not adding any value to your life or worse, hurting you, or are you using it for heathy communication and inspiration for your own purpose?
That’s the key to healthy time management- intention!

I have a tool that I use very often, which has changed my life in terms of how I use my time and my view of how I have wasted so much in the past.
It is Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle, and it aids everyone in thinking, analysing, and prioritising what is important and separating importance from meaningless distractions. The basis of the principle is to understand the difference between importance and urgency.

He suggests that we put all our activities into four categories for review and prioritisation. These are urgent and important, urgent but not important, important but not urgent and neither urgent nor important.

The first thing is to know the difference between the two. Important activities are identified as those that have a goal-achieving outcome, whereas urgent activities demand immediate attention as there are typically immediate negative consequences if they aren’t prioritised.

So, how do we use this? A good way to start is by making a list of what usually takes up a lot of time, what you do daily, what you would like to get done, etc., to put them into the appropriate categories for a realisation of intent and a diminishment of distraction.

Delving in..
It is important to remember that these look different for everyone as prioritisation is personal and subjective; therefore, the examples I give are based on what I would put in each category.

1. Urgent and Important.

Two types of situations fall into this category: the unforeseen and the procrastinated.
For me, Urgent and Important is the well-being of my family and friends. No matter what is going on, if a friend or family member is in trouble, one would typically drop everything as its both urgent and important.
Regarding procrastination, if there was a work deliverable due tomorrow, nothing other than the unforeseen should take attention away from it.
Having said that, you can eliminate one of the above with more efficient time management; therefore, if one thing comes up, you do not have two urgent and important things.

2. Important but not Urgent
We always tend to believe that because something is important, it needs our attention right away; that’s incorrect and a recipe for unnecessary stress. These are typically personal and professional goals that you want to achieve, which are high on the needs list but do not necessarily need to happen today.
For example, suppose you want to get a proposal out for funding for a passion project and using all time and energy to get it done by the end of the day on Friday. In that case, it is unnecessary stress as most people do not check their emails over the weekend, so a Monday morning submission is also okay and does not take away from the importance of the work.

3. Urgent but not Important
These are usually simpler tasks that can prevent you from achieving your goals, and it is typically recommended to reschedule or delegate these. These also typically involve other people. An example is if someone asks me to proofread a report or help them with a project. It may be urgent to them, but it is not directly important to us, not enough to get in the way of what is urgent and important to us. It’s okay to put yourself first; people grow and build self-confidence when they are forced to solve issues on their own.

4. Neither Urgent nor Important
These are literally just distractions disguised as any of the above, and there are so many examples. I used to believe that keeping up with social media trends, attending obligatory events that served no purpose or knowing how to do certain things that other people found entertaining were important; they aren’t and can and should be avoided completely.

It may seem overwhelming to categorise all things correctly, but the only things to keep in mind are to do it with intention and prioritise what is important for your own time so that other people cannot steal that time and energy from you for things that seem urgent and important to them.