Man, where has the day gone? Everyday life often leaves too little room for the things that are important to us. This frees up more space for it again – in four easy steps.
find time
Actually, we all have the same amount of time a day, we can neither “save” nor “invest”. But we can ensure that we experience as much time as meaningful and alive. And that’s where our chance lies. We spend a lot of time doing things that don’t give us anything. And that doesn’t mean the tax return. Biggest time waster: Clearly mobile phone hassle. On average, we look at our smartphones for four hours a day! Especially on Instagram, Tiktok and Pinterest we hang out longer than we think. A trick can help to make the time on the smartphone a good time and to reduce the time on the net in general.
That’s how it’s done:
Ask yourself: Which apps do I really like? Do I like reading the newspaper on my smartphone? Do I like scrolling through photos on Insta? Getting inspired on Pinterest? Do I love the card game in between? Or quick contact with family and friends via WhatsApp?
Take your passions seriously! And make a plan for what time of day you want to pay attention to your favorite apps. 15 minutes in the morning to check the news and say hello? 30 minutes to wind down in the evening? Four times 15 minutes in between? You’ve already halved your cell phone time. Also, make a conscious decision to set cell phone-free times. In the evening from 8.30 p.m.? In the morning before breakfast? Put the smartphone away, if necessary in a drawer.
That’s it:
As soon as you make a more conscious decision, you regain meaning in doing. Because it’s fun to network with friends, watch funny videos or great holiday tips. The time limit brings us back self-determination. The second benefit: free time for other things.
Extra tip
for everyone who reflexively reaches for their cell phone when they are bored: always take a good book with you. Or consciously use waiting times as breaks and observe people.
And: News Diet. Doomscrolling, i.e. obsessively dealing with crisis news, is a black hole in time and also poison for the nerves.
protect time
Interruptions are the second major time waster that secretly nibbles at your sense of purpose. Studies show: If we are interrupted in an activity, it takes us seven minutes to get back in. The same goes for homework. And because we’re constantly being interrupted by something these days, it’s almost logical that there’s always not enough time for everything. After all, we had only planned 30 and not 60 minutes. Time management is the magic word. Stop, don’t just switch off inside. That’s right, we know time management as a method to achieve even faster and more in the job. But you can also use the tools to increase your free time:
That’s how it’s done:
Divide duties, tasks or activities into 20-minute blocks and complete each block without interruption. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a concept, taxes or vacation planning. The method is also known as the salami or tomato technique. And for the small things? Combine tasks of a similar nature and take 15 to 20 minutes to work through them in one go, such as emails, post, callbacks, tidying up, filing… Make a conscious decision to take a short break after the 20 minutes.
That’s it:
The clear structure makes visible what you can do. This is satisfying, gives a sense of purpose and makes it easier to finally put an end to it and devote yourself to a friend or a favorite pastime.
Develop a list of meanings, check values
The tricky thing about time and meaning is: Sometimes we even have a little bit of free time in our schedules – but we don’t know what to do with ourselves. And instead of doing something nice, we start the washing machine at home or stay in the office for an hour. This behavior has to do with our stress levels. When our nerves are already tense, we mainly see the unfinished things – and hey presto we do the next to-do instead of doing something that makes our heart beat faster. In addition, we are often not clear about what our most important values are and what best charges our batteries.
That’s how it’s done:
First, write down at least 25 activities that make you feel good. What activities do you get bogged down in and forget about time? Do you feel connected to yourself? The ideas can be small or big. Browsing through the bookstore? Go to cosmetics? gardening? Hiking tour? World Travel? In the second step, you provide your ideas with a time note. What takes under 15 minutes? What do you need an hour for? What takes more of a day? What takes weeks?
For fine tuning, you can also compare the list of activities with the values that are particularly important to you at the moment, such as adventure, balance, closeness to nature … activities that contribute to this move up the list. Example: When family is very important to me, I like to give my weekend to the family celebration. If freedom is more important to me these days, I would much rather go hiking alone than drink coffee with three generations.
That’s it:
From now on you can always look at your list, no matter how small a time window you have. Also good: you grab your list first thing in the morning and think about which oases of meaning you could head for today. Meaningful moments that need more time: set them in the calendar. You can still push and change. But if you don’t plan for those moments, they never happen. Sometimes you have to get a little creative to compare the values. Do you long for connection, but are you alone in your home office? Make an appointment to walk and talk during the lunch break.
Be a good friend to yourself
It often doesn’t work right away with meaningful action. We find ourselves going back to fulfilling other people’s desires all day or just not having the energy to do something that makes sense to us. “Stay friendly with yourself,” advises coach and business psychologist Julia Breuer. Because: “The lack of ideas is related to the fact that our body and mind are usually overstretched in everyday life.” We need some time to switch. And this in-between time often doesn’t feel good, somehow disoriented. It is precisely in this gap that our old habits jump. We grab our cell phones or ponder job issues to distract ourselves. Happens. The important thing is that we don’t insult each other right away, but simply learn to endure the moment of uncertainty. Otherwise our stress system will be triggered even more.
That’s how it’s done:
We can learn to switch. It is important to bridge the minute in which we are uncertain. Once our inner system has calmed down a bit, we remember the list of meanings or a good idea comes by itself. Small rituals help: open the window and take a deep breath of fresh air. Close your eyes and take five deep breaths. Consciously feel your feet on the ground. Kind words to ourselves. Coach Breuer assures: “Every gesture helps that brings us back into the body and our self-awareness.”
That’s it:
When we approach change with structure and kindness to ourselves, we stick with it. Gradually we experience more depth in our actions, feel meaning and vitality. And finally the things that are really important to us are happening again in our lives.
You can read more about the topic in Carola Kleinschmidt’s new book “Work healthier. Live better: With more joie de vivre and serenity throughout the year” to read.