The Importance of Time Management to Create Habits

By completing the first month of the new year, many of us have seen our positive new years resolutions dissipate into goodwill, good intentions and high hopes. Unlike some individuals, most of us have let it slip away and try again the upcoming year to be better and break the vicious circle. In fact, this morning I heard on the radio that 92%(!) fail to comply to the resolutions that were set on the 1st of January, according to a British research bureau. The majority of people blame the lack of time they have or prioritize other activities. Although, deep down they understand that they should stick to their newly found ideas to improve, develop, and prosper in new skills and habits that are evident for personal growth. Favorably in the physical, mental, spiritual, and/or the social dimensions. And there is one simple trick to persevere, hold on to these intentions, and optimize results: Time Management.

Creating good habits is not something that happens in a flash but requires a plan, commitment, and daily exercise. It can be quite difficult when you don't know what you're doing. Some of this difficulty arises through the different sorts of activity that you want to build into your routine. At the same time, the process has to be enjoyable and satisfactory, making it easier to establish such a habit. Weekly planning is therefore crucial in getting work done and achieving these goals. The strength of planning weekly is that there is some flexibility as opposed to daily planning. When another event occurs that messes up your schedule there is still the option to delay it to a day later in the week while this does not work for planning daily. In this sense, weekly management of time is a solution that follows a certain order while still being flexible, allowing to keep up with your weekly work and activities.

A weekly habit I've created over time that is positioned in the physical dimension is my gym routine in which I attend the gym four times a week. Preferably, I would like to work out on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday immediately after I finish work at the office. In reality that doesn't happen often due to meetings, events, and other obligations. However, since I'm already aware on what days I cannot go to the gym, I move my weekly schedule around to make my workouts fit and maintain my habit that satisfies me and allows me to improve myself.

A daily habit that I currently try to create is reading books. Last year, I sporadically opened a book and read a couple chapters. Progress was low paced since I didn't read that much and I'm also a slow reader while there are so many interesting books out there that I would like to read. The solution is to get reading into my system by doing it daily. This helps in absorbing all kinds of knowledge, develops my reading speed and intensity, while also enjoying it more. Although, sometimes I still find it hard to start reading, but what I've learned is that when you start, it becomes interesting and you keep reading. This action leads to motivation that results in more action. And this circle is applied in many more facets of life. Not every time I open the book, I read for a long time. One time you read for a long time and the next time will be shorter. This depends on the mood, focus, and many more aspects. The important part is that you still do it. Decrease the scope but still do the activity to create the habit and make it a routine. That is by far the most important aspect of creating (daily) habits: consistency.

Consistency is paired with the time management. To be consistent it is helpful to allocate a certain time or connect an activity to the habit you want to develop. For example, to keep my habit of reading, I'll try to read before I'm going to sleep (activity) or around 10pm (time). The weekly gym habit that I do four times a week is mostly related to the activity of leaving the office and driving home with the gym as a stop in between (activity). It becomes easier when you relate the habit to a specific time or activity to create a routine. This wires the brain to execute the habit, keep you accountable to carry out the activity, and cultivates the effort to create that new habit you want to implement for such a long time.