I get energized when I am excited about something new I am doing. I can work for hours and the time goes by very fast. I munch less, and I try to get up frequently, especially if at the computer and I'll do house work or run errands or exercise or read or write and often alter my day by taking time for myself.
I think we underestimate the importance of taking that time and doing whatever it is that relaxes you and refreshes you. That might be to read a magazine or a good book you can escape into. You could take a hot soothing bath, or go outside and walk around, have a cup of tea or do some stretches, draw or sculpt or anything that takes you away from hard focus on work. To keep on track though, making up a daily schedule that you can work to become routine is both fun and very helpful to accomplish those dreams you have along with staying healthy and positive.
You can use whatever format you like the most to create a schedule. For example I use a day timer that shows me both the whole month and has individual pages for each day. This works pretty well- although I find it on the monthly planner page the most- and that page lacks details because of its size. To get the full amount of info I might need - I have to write it on the day page and then remember to go there. Some of my friends might say I need to remember to go to the monthly planner page too.
Since I have a busy schedule to begin with and now am adding the writing of a book, I need to go further to make this happen. I need a disciplined approach. A way to do this would be to put it on a dry erase board hung on the wall. (Mine is behind the door to the room doing me no good at all). Another possible solution is a large desk calendar. It can have the whole month shown and the boxes are large enough for the details. When the details are going to be the same nearly every day- you can color code it across the board. Then each time you look at it , it serves not only as an instant reminder of what your day needs to include to accomplish your goals, but it also serves as a motivator.
For others , behind a computer most of the day, you might still prefer to schedule your time on the computer itself. Numerous software applications for this proccedure are available. Many host sites provide one free in their own software. You still need to get up and leave the computer at various times- and being someone who is on the computer a lot; it takes will power to get up and stop sitting in the same position for many hours at a time.
You also need to schedule in free time no matter which method you use to make your schedule and be flexible enough that if other situations have to take precedence over your schedued time, you can, without regret or feeling desperate because you had to make adjustments. By doing this, day by day, time management becomes easier and more fruitful.
One last note-try not to make the making of a schedue a time consuming project. Don't take too much time doing it. Just do what works for you and gets you to actually take action and follow though. This is a great memory boost too for those of you (us) who need it.
