Do you ever find yourself rushing from task to task and project to project and wondering how you can possibly get everything done? Maybe you’ve even found yourself in the especially counterproductive position of having so much to do, and feeling so overwhelmed, that you end up doing something completely unproductive instead — procrastinating as an alternative to doing the things that you feel you don’t have enough time to do.
Today there are many people who find themselves feeling chronically overwhelmed in this manner, and parents in particular are likely to find that time management is a major hurdle. It might be that you need to attend to family obligations, to do your work for the day, and to try and dedicate some time to a course such as those offered by STL Training.
Ultimately, no matter who you are, finding ways to get the most out of your time each day is likely to be a welcome development. Here are a few suggestions on that front.
Work on being as mindfully present and engaged as you can, each day
“Mindfulness” is a term that’s been gaining a lot of traction in recent years, and it is often used to refer to meditation practises that are based on focusing on the breath while ignoring outside distractions.
In a more general and everyday sense, though, mindfulness is really about cultivating a sense of presence in your own life, instead of being totally caught up in, and distracted by, other thoughts, concerns, projects or situations.
The more you can be mindfully present in each moment, the more productive and effective you are likely to be, and the less stressed and distracted you are likely to be.
Try developing the skill of focusing on just one task, activity, or thing at a time, and consider taking up practises such as meditation that may help to nurture greater mindfulness.
Structure your days around consistent and wellness-supporting routines
When push comes to shove, no one is going to be in a position to make the best possible use of their time, or to get things done quickly and effectively, if they are chronically exhausted, hungry and irritable.
Sometimes in life, these kinds of situations are difficult to avoid. For the most part, though, anything you can do to structure your days around consistent and wellness-supporting routines — such as set mealtimes — is likely to be very beneficial.
Shape your environment to be as harmonious as possible
Our environments and immediate surroundings have the potential to influence and shape us a lot more than we might assume.
It’s naturally going to be easier for most people to have a productive work day when working in a tidy and professional office setting, than when trying to get work done from their living room sofa, for example.
Ultimately, shaping your environment to be as harmonious as possible is a great idea whenever you are striving to reduce friction in your day-to-day life, and to ensure that you can use your time as effectively as possible.
Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England. Click here.
Note: This is a collaborative article. Updated 2026.
