Making the most of your time!

Time. It sometimes feels like there is not enough time, we're constantly rushing to get everything done and we ignore taking a couple of moments to savor what we're experiencing.

It's strange that we don't savor our time, when we all care about is catching the moment on Instagram or Facebook and sharing these joyful, one of a a kind experiences. Yet, how many of those pictures that we post do we remember? We tend to only remember bits and pieces because while taking those pictures, we were also trying to make sure that we didn't forget the million and one things we still had to do.

We are only human and our attention gets pulled into so many different directions at the same time. Now I may not be a parent but as a teacher that has 25-30 kids under my watch at a given time, I can relate to how difficult it can be to ensure a child’s well-being and still get things done.

I remember my first year teaching, I would be one of the first people to arrive on campus and one of the last people to leave and even then, I was unable to manage my time effectively. Not to mention that I was an ELA teacher, which meant that on top of all the grading and lesson prep, I didn't have the time to cover everything that I needed in my class.

This is why I began using planners routinely. If I am being honest I had a difficult time remembering the small things that needed to get done. But, carrying around those bulky planners, was not it. This is where my lovely iPad came in and having a planner on Notability allowed me to still have that traditional feel of a planner.

I had to get smart with my time, staying on campus outside of my work hours prevented me from being able to take care of myself properly. And after Covid hit and I lost my mom, hitting the gym was the only thing that kept me sane and from falling into a deep depression. It shouldn’t have taken such a big event for me to start paying close attention to my health, but it did. And once things returned to “normal” I had to once again figure out how to incorporate my self-care routine. I had to determine what the best plan was for me, I tried going in the afternoon but all that would cause is many nights of tossing and turning. It seems like the adrenaline I got from working out wouldn't allow me to go to sleep. And I had to determine how important hitting the gym was, once I realized how essential it was for me, it was easy to commit to waking up at 4:30 to get my workouts in at 5am. Now this may not work for you, but after analyzing what my goals were, I realized this was the only and best option. If it's important you make time, I sacrifice sleep for my mental health and a year and a half later I can honestly say, that I don't regret it.

This is why I encourage you to plan out your time and be kind to yourself. Give yourself a moment to take care of yourself! Find a planner that will help you map out your goals as well as your day to be as productive as possible. List out everything that you need to complete and focus on the top 3 things, so that you don’t overwhelm yourself. Remember Rome was not built in a day and whatever you’re working on, will take time and consistency.

Use your planner to set a time apart to consistently work on your goals and make sure you think through how to get to those goals. The best way to do that is to work backward and giving yourself small deadlines to get things done. Thinking through all of this will not only help you be more productive, but it will also improve your mood by knowing that you are working on your project every day and that any project or task you have will get finished. Instead of trying to do everything in one day.

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P.S.

Keep on Believing that God will fulfill his promises.