Stress and Time Management go together quite frequently. They come with an inverse relationship. The more you manage your time well, the less stress you have. The less you manage your time well, the more stress. Of course, managing time is not the only answer to stress, but sure can help. I can personally attest to that. The better I get at managing my time, the less stress I have in general. Life is never so easy to be stress free, but on the bright side, there will always be a challenge and therefore a drive towards getting better. That is what makes time management interesting to me. I can work on it my entire life and always improve and find a solution to something.
We are all well aware of the negative effects of stress. However, having too little stress is not good either because then there is no drive to improve. How to avoid getting overwhelmed is an art and takes practice. Here is a three step process that could be applied to reduce time related stress.
First, write out a to do list or use an app. Personally, much of the stress is knowing I have a lot to do but not seeing it written out before me. The only thing in my head is "I am so overwhelmed and do not know where to begin." It is valuable to actually know what is ahead and have it mapped out. What works extremely well for me is a good to do list app. Personally, I use Nozbe (one of the most amazing apps of all time) to track everything I need to do and I get tremendous satisfaction of checking things off. I also enjoy knowing what needs to be done. This works really well for me and keeps me on track.
Secondly, keep a schedule. This can be in conjunction with the to do list. The to do list will tell you what you need to do and your schedule will tell you when.
One last thing to add to the mix is the time budget because this will tell you how much time you have. Finding an effective way to integrate the to do list, schedule, and time budget is essential.
This is the process that I use and it helps me maximize efficiency. Again, whatever works for you is the best. My to do list is very detailed and so is my schedule and time budget, but maybe less detailed will work better for you. This is still a work in progress for me as I write this, and I haven’t perfected it. I probably never will. I will always keep improving. This will be the same for you as well. One thing I can say for sure is that there is less stress as I continually improve my processes.