GSD 226: How Time Management Reduces Stress

Welcome to today’s GSD Daily.

Today, what we’re going to talk about is how time management reduces stress, and it’s a big one. So, two things. One, Chelsea shared with me a TikTok that was talking about… It was this influencer with over 2 million followers on TikTok, and she’s a teacher. And she was talking about how at beginning of every year she gives her students the syllabus for the entire year, due dates and all, so that they don’t have anxiety about tests and around when things are due. They are able… The ones who choose to can proactively plan their time in the coming school year so that they can get the work done that they need to. And of course, it differs by kid and all that other stuff, and that her job as an educator, one of her primary responsibilities is not to teach reading or math or science, but to teach time management because a kid that can manage their time can do anything in this world.

So, I thought that was interesting and inspired a little bit of this time management thing. Also, either last week I talked about using motion, which has helped me quite a bit from a scheduling standpoint for myself. So, I figured this was a good one to get into. This isn’t going to be a long one.

So, a couple of years ago, or about a year ago, maybe not even that long, six months ago, I don’t know. Time has a way of compressing. I put together a GSD planner. So, this is going to… This has been the basis of my time management ritual for a while. So, I just want to kick through it real quick. Just show you some of how I use it and why it’s in the manual.

There are sections in here that I have that have made a big difference for me, but they might not necessarily be for you. So, I’m just going to pull a couple of things out. The same features are in a lot of different planners, but this is the way that I have used and then, built my planner, and my journal over the last four years, and has worked well for me, so hence, the GSD planner.

So, in getting started with the planner, this SWOT analysis, is strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. What it does is it allows you to list your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and it lets you know how to improve them. Then, you have some notes down below. Then, you have your vision board. What do you want to accomplish from a family, relationship, health, finance, career, knowledge, lifestyle, and personal standpoint? All of those boxes are a little bit different, and you have your routines.

So, for me, my morning routine is to wake up at 4:30 every morning, read for 30 minutes, read a book for 30 minutes, read the news for 15 minutes, workout, journal, and all of that stuff before, usually before 7:30. So, sometimes they bleed over into other things. Then an evening routine and a healthy routine. So, the health routine is the workout piece. Then, you have your goals, long-term goals, short-term goals, and individual goal trackers. So, there are multiple goal trackers in this. And what the idea is to break a goal down into a personal goal so that you can track it. What roadblock came up, what are your primary objectives, and what is your progress? Include dates and notes.

When I got started with this particular tracking utility, I started writing down all the books that I read. So, my goal was to read a book a week. So, I would write down every book that I read, and then the date I finished it so that I could keep track and count, and this is useful for that. Another one was one of my goals, my habit was to talk to somebody new every day. So, every day that I talked to somebody new, I would write down the date and the person who I talked to so that I could keep them. Just a track of them. Same with the gratitude journal.

So, we have some individual goal trackers, and then, we get into the actual time management page, right? So, got goal trackers, and habit trackers which are good for creating new habits. And then, we have some of the macro level tracking, monthly breakdown, and month at a glance. And what I try to do here is every month, I try to have one primary objective, and then, I break that primary objective down into weekly tasks. So, what am I going to be doing Monday through Sunday, that gets me moving closer to the mountain? What can I do on Monday that will help me get where I’m going? And then, the daily logs are ultimately where it all happens.

So, all that other stuff is planning, but here is where I actually employ time management to get shit done. So, at the beginning of every day, I fill out my top priorities, and then, I fill out my schedule. And this is all the stuff when I look at my calendar in the morning and I say, “This is all the stuff that I have to do.” So, this is all the stuff. This is my meeting at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00, and then, in any of the open spaces, I will put a task that helps me move closer to what I’m looking to do. So, something that comes from these priority tasks.

Then, I have my non-critical to-dos, and I usually have this as a holding tank. This right here is where I put my inbox items. So, things that aren’t necessarily priorities, not necessarily trackable, but I still want to keep top of mind.

I rewrite my goals every day. I rewrite my weekly habits, and then, at the end of every day, I catalog my wins. What are my wins for the day? What are my daily scores, and then, what are my daily checks? So, this is how I manage my time.

Everything breaks down from a long-term goal back here, it breaks down from something that I’m looking to do, some goal, and it ends up filtering down to my top priorities which influences my schedule. Then at the end of every day, all I have to do is check, check, check, check, check all of this stuff off, so it makes it very easy to know whether I’m doing the right thing or not.

So, that’s how I manage my time. That’s how I reduce my stress with time management by knowing what I’m going to be doing, and what I’m doing right now is moving me closer to a goal or moving closer to the mountain that I’m trying to get to. That’s ultimately how it ends up working out.

So, if you like this video, make sure to like it, share it, and comment below it. I’m happy to give any help or advice I can through the comments, and I’ll talk to you soon, all right?

Thanks. Bye.