Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFigure Out Where You Really Spend Your TimeCreate a Schedule That You Think You Can Actually HandleStart Tracking Your MoodConsider Seeking Mental Health Help

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Figure Out Where You Really Spend Your Time

Create a Schedule That You Think You Can Actually Handle

Start Tracking Your Mood

Consider Seeking Mental Health Help

Close

A therapist answers a reader’s question about feeling restless and unproductive. Here a four therapist-approved tips that you can try ASAP!

Our Reader Asks

Therapist’s AnswerI can imagine it’s frustrating to feel like you’re just passing time instead of getting anything done. Fortunately, you can use the following strategies to identify any issues and take charge of your time so you can feel better and be more productive.

Therapist’s Answer

I can imagine it’s frustrating to feel like you’re just passing time instead of getting anything done. Fortunately, you can use the following strategies to identify any issues and take charge of your time so you can feel better and be more productive.

The first step to take is to figure out where your time actually goes. So, for one week, maintain a log of what you’re doing all day, every day.

You might be on your phone way more often than you thought.

Track Your Time in 30-Minute Chunks

You might also discover that you have several free hours every day without anything to do—and that’s why you sort of walk around aimlessly.

Managing your timecan help you start to become more mindful of how you spend each precious minute of your day.

This is the most important part, aim to make a realistic schedule. If you’re too strict, you risk getting overwhelmed and falling off track. But if you’re not restrictive enough, you won’t make much progress.

Figure Out How You Want to Spend Your Time

It’s time to think abouthowyou want to spend your time. Ask yourself these questions to help you get started:

Determine how you’ll spend your day based on 30-minute increments. This can help you introduce more structure into your life.

Of course, you won’t be able to stick to your schedule completely. You might take a call from your friend during the time you expected to be doing chores or you might end up stuck in traffic so errands take longer than you expect.

You’ll likely find that you underestimate how long some activities will take and overestimate how much time other activities require. That’s OK. You can make whatever adjustments you need to and perhaps plan a little differently for next week.

If you keep doing this exercise week after week you’ll get better at estimating how long certain tasks actually take.

Or, when you’re scrolling through social media, what are you feeling?

For example, if you’re using social media to escape the distress you feel over your financial situation, scrolling through Instagram might just be helping youavoidthe problem—rather than facing yourbudget crisishead-on.

Take This Quiz to Find Out Your Most Dominant Emotion!

Taking control of your schedule may help you overcome boredom, restlessness, anxiety, and frustration overlack of productivity.

If, after trying these strategies, you’re still struggling to take control of your time, consider talking to amental health professional.

Underlying issues, like depression, anxiety, or even ADHD, may be factors that make it difficult to feel productive. A licensed mental health professional can assess your needs and help you develop a plan that will help you feel better.

12 Ways to Deal With Chronic Procrastination

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