Time management is a struggle for many individuals. Fortunately, like any healthy habit, time management skills can be learned.
Developing time management skills can increase success in recovery, school, work, and many other aspects of your life. Working to attain these skills is not always easy. Effective time management takes practice and patience to achieve. However, it is worth it.
Time Management Resources
There are various resources you can utilize to help you with time management through recovery. While each method may not align with your needs, trying each of them can help you discover the organizational methods that work best for you.
Planners
Using a planner is a great way to keep track of your day-to-day responsibilities and to-do lists. If you tend to forget the times for meetings or other commitments you have made, a planner is a great way to take note of these details. It is important to observe your priorities before beginning to make your daily plan.
With a planner, there are sections for each day. You can write down your commitments and view your plan for the day each morning. Planning your schedule a week at a time often is useful to help remind you what your upcoming week looks like.
Digital Organization Tools
Some individuals find it difficult to check a physical planner throughout their day. If physical tools are not as efficient for you, consider using your phone or another electronic device to organize your schedule. Various planner apps will remind you of your commitments during the day. A digital calendar is another great resource that can be used to keep track of your commitments throughout the week.
Habit Trackers
Using a habit tracker is a great way to establish sustainable habits. This can be extremely useful if you are trying to refrain from some of the habits you have obtained through your substance disorder. Having a habit tracker can be an extra form of accountability for you to engage in your new desired habits and track your success with implementing them.
Skills for Time Management
It is important to be aware of how your time is spent through your recovery to ensure you are managing your time efficiently. One of the best ways to improve your time management is to make use of your downtime. It can be easy to sit down and spend your day playing a video game, watching TV, or scrolling through social media. Use this time to implement practices that positively influence your recovery rather than just pass the time.
Mindfulness
Try to engage in acts of meditation that promote mindfulness. Mindfulness can have many benefits on recovery and abilities to maintain resilience. Implementing meditation practices in your downtime is a great way to reinforce the state of mindfulness. This can help to improve your comfort in reaching this state during moments of high stress.
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to get exercise and calm your mind as well. Instead of watching an extra episode of your favorite TV show, take a half hour to follow a yoga video. There are various free resources to watch on your mobile device at home through YouTube or different app services.
Engaging in these practices during your downtime helps you make the best out of your day. It also ensures you are implementing self-care into your time management commitments.
Spiritual Practice
Another common thing that is forgotten about in recovery is to engage in some form of spiritual practice. This may be included in the use of meditation or yoga for some people. For others, it may require specific religious engagements or acts of prayer.
Whatever you choose to engage in spiritually, your chosen practices can be added to your daily schedule to create a sense of balance. These practices will likely differ drastically between individuals, as they need to be specific to your spiritual needs and desires.
Benefits of Time Management
By improving your time management skills, you will be able to fit more into your day and retain productivity. The high emotions that arise through the recovery journey can often cause individuals to feel depleted and unmotivated to engage in alternative responsibilities. Improving your time management skills can help you to overcome this.
Time management is also a great way to create a sense of balance within your life. As you begin to set up a schedule for yourself to follow each day, you can ensure you are blocking out time for your recovery responsibilities, other adulthood commitments, social obligations, scheduled meetings, and self-care practices, along with any other addition you need to create balance within your life.
Feel free to play around with these suggestions or implement practices of your own to help make the most of your time in recovery. This is a great opportunity to establish new routines and further your developmental organization skills. The skills and habits gained from these practices can influence you throughout the rest of your life.
Time management may not be the first thing that comes to mind in your recovery journey. However, time management skills are essential to develop for lifelong success. These skills can help you maintain balance within your life and establish a sense of organization through your recovery journey. While these skills come more naturally to some than others, they can be learned. It may take time and patience to notice the positive effects of the use of these skills. Adjust your schedule and the methods you choose to engage in to manage your time to best suit your needs. To learn more about how to improve your time management, reach out to Dream Recovery at (657) 216-7218.