Time Management

Time management strategies
These ideas have worked for both kids (adolescents) and adults where applicable.
1. To avoid over commitment, use the I love that idea, let me get back to you approach. This allows you some time to go back to your schedule and plan accordingly.
This strategy buys you time to accept or decline in a more plan-ful way. It trains your Brian to hit the pause button before making commitments with regards to time hence reducing the impulsivity of an immediate yes or an immediate no answer.
The phrase let me get back to you becomes the trigger to the habit of scheduling thinking time and scheduling response time. The key here is to write down when you’re to get back to them in your day planner and block sometime in your calendar to think about it. This goes without saying, time to use that app that so graciously comes with your smart phones, google calendar is your friend.
2. Time blocking and overestimating. Even if a meeting is scheduled for an hour, it’s important to block off, way more than to ensure you have transition and prep time, and incidental social time, meeting people along the corridor on your way to your next appointment and have to say hi time. I recommend overestimating anytime you have to guess, how long something will take.
You can take the allocated time and multiply it by either 1.5 or 2.5 depending on the extra movements you are foreseeing. This means if a task is estimated to take 30 minutes then 30×1.5=45, 30×2.5=75. The time blocked for the activity will be between 45 to 75 minutes. It might feel like way too much time but it definitely works.
3. Get yourself a reliable and consistent time management sounding board person. Also referred to as an accountability partner.

By Faith Ogega
Hospital Psychologist
Chiromo Hospital Group