Time Management Tips for Disabled People

Time flies, and it's easy to look back on the past year and wonder where it all went. You have things you want to accomplish, and life doesn't wait around. So how do you get ahold of time and make it work for you, especially when you might have limited energy?

I do it every Sunday night. Many people have some kind of day planner, but it becomes a glorified to-do list, a maelstrom of tasks and appointments with little rhyme or reason. Here's how to put some order into it.

First take a look at your week and map out which days and times you have commitments. Around those commitments you (hopefully) have blocks of free time.

Next make a list of five areas of your life that are most important to you and/or you want to improve. This might include: financial, family, career, home, and fitness. Next to each of these categories write down the activities you need to do to support those areas. For instance, by financial you might write down "go over budget with spouse" and "research mutual funds". List action steps for each of your areas of your life, and write down approximately how much time each activity will take.

Then plug those activities into your calendar. Some people like to color-code types of activities. Here's an important tip: once the spots are filled up, they're filled up. In other words, your time is finite so you may need to prioritize what's really important. It may be tough to decide what's really important. That's why you're doing this on a Sunday night, rather than during the week when you're more rushed. It can always be tweaked mid-week.

Try to space out tasks that will be the most physically exhausting, rather than tackle them all in one day. Block out ample time for rest after activities that tend to be especially tiring.

While making out those lists, see which activities can be delegated to other people. Sometimes people want to help but they don't know how, or they forget you need them. Ask and see what they're able to do.

Do block in time to relax as needed. It is easy to see an expanse of free time and plug twenty tasks into it, but that may cause you to become overwhelmed and do nothing at all.

People with health problems may feel differently not only from one day to the next, but from one minute to the next.

Weekly scheduling is a good way to really nail down what's important to you and make sure it gets a spot in your busy week. You can also use it to make sure you don't overschedule yourself. If you have a day where not everything is accomplished, you can simply cross it off and write it down for another day. You are still farther ahead than if you had done no planning at all.

Remember that your schedule has been designed by you to work for you. By putting some thought into your goals and thinking of action steps, you can build a week that works for you. By keeping your expectations reasonable, you can be effective without doing too much.