How to Make Time For Your Projects When You Have No Time or Energy
We all have something we want to do, whether that’s a new personal project to try, or a goal we want to work towards. Sometimes we don’t know how to make time for personal projects because we feel like we have no time or no energy for them to get started. Or maybe, you started a project, but it’s now incomplete because life got in the way somehow. It’s frustrating and disappointing. It can be difficult to start or restart. But, it doesn’t have to be! Time management skills aren’t exclusive to certain people or a special skill, we all have them. It’s just that we're just not applying them in the right way for these projects. Here’s some time management tips I’ve learned that help improve productivity and help you get things done even when you don’t feel like it.
For our personal project or new goal, we all have said at some point “I don’t have the time or energy” for this. But, really, is that totally true? Is there any way we can make choices to change those feelings we keep telling ourselves? The ones that prevent us from actually doing what we want to do? Usually, there’s a small yes hidden somewhere, even if we don’t always want to admit it.
You make time for what you want.
You are the only one who’s in charge, whether it's excuses or a way to make it happen. So, it’s important to review how your time is being spent. Collectively, we’re dealing with life and what it throws at us. Daily responsibilities, work obligations, meetings, deadlines, surprises, distractions they all mangle together into the blur that becomes our week then our year and then the next. (Don’t remind me the 2010s were a decade ago.)
The truth is, it’s not that we don’t have enough time or need more time, it’s that we could better manage the time we have and we’re not always doing so. Right now, review your day/ week and physically write down your schedule and keep track of your time spent on these daily tasks or weekly items.
Sometimes we don’t realize and see the full picture of what’s going on in our life time wise until we itemize everything out. This review helps you become knowledgeable and more mindful of your time. You now learn how long certain things take and where time is being wasted.
Cut out distractions and schedule your time.
Where is your time being spent? Where are you being distracted? What is the biggest time drain? If it’s unnecessary or time-wasting, can it be eliminated totally or better managed so you can gain back some lost time? Considering questions like these, and answering them when laying out your schedule, lets you see where time for new things can be placed. It also can keep you focused and energized on making progress. In your schedule you now have, block out some time for what you want to do. It doesn’t have to be a big chunk of time, like hours, just something to start. Instead of time, it can also be a specific smaller task from the larger project or goal you’re working towards. You also now have a place where you can add items into your calendar and create new deadlines for yourself to get things done. Self-imposed deadlines are a great way to proactively constrain your timeline so you’re forced to get working and complete something.
Set an easily attainable amount of time and/or action for your task. Then remind yourself of it daily.
When we don’t feel like working on something, or when we think we don’t have energy for it, that’s how the delays creep in. These kinds of thoughts become a key trap to hindering progress, and it’s completely unmotivating. Reframing the thoughts surrounding time and tasks, and how we’re approaching them can help improve productivity and your mind set overall. Deciding to take an action that’s relatively easy lets you start and keep going. Instead of biting off more than you can chew, or the initial burst of energy that fizzles out, this lets you keep going at a consistent pace. In the long run, this pattern is what gets projects done. Also, you always are able to say you did something versus getting disheartened you didn’t spend enough time on the job. Pacing is key.
Create a notification in your phone, put up a sticky note where you’ll see it, or write it down in your planner. Decide whatever way that works as your best reminder method. Put the note there and pay attention to reading it everyday. Commit to making sure that you get that task done for the day/week or however you arranged the time in your schedule. The act of putting the goal down versus stuck in your head, allows you to not forget about it, but ultimately it’s acting to hold yourself accountable to it. Being able to check it off the to do list, when it’s done, is rewarding and motivating. Being able to keep up the habit, and seeing it routinely being checked off documents your progress and can be its own visual reward to inspire you to keep up the trend.
In addition to the written reminders, which I advise you keep because you can then track your task, you can also make sure tools and elements related to the project or goal are also visible to you to serve as additional obvious reminders. Want to read more? Leave the book out where you see it versus stuck on the shelf. Want to keep up running? Keep those shoes out and change into them. Want to work on the project? Keep your materials out in an area you notice, so you can sit down and start working.
5 minutes a day spent working on the project is always better than doing nothing.
I totally understand being stuck with the “I’m tired!” “I have no inspiration!” “I have no motivation!” thoughts. They exist, let them be and try this instead. Set a timer and take a few undistracted minutes to think and work on whatever it is you’re set out to do. No judgment from yourself. If an idea pops into your head related to the project, act on it, or write it down to revisit later. Just deciding to start working allows you to focus. This usually leads to jump starting the energy to continue the task. Then you’re generating some more time on the project and you continue on working. This is only possible if you choose to start working! And if the timer rings, and you’re done, then that’s okay too. You still spent time working on the project today and you can give yourself credit for that. Motivation is always this magical notion we say we need in order to work, but the reality is the only thing that you need is to work.
“The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.”
-artist and educator, Sister Corita Kent’s Rules
Stop planning and start doing something.
The time management advice or techniques I’ve discussed here and come across in my own online research, aren’t mysterious, complicated, or something you don’t know the basics of already. It’s just the elusive struggle to commit to these routines and actions and maintain consistency in order to achieve the results we’ve intended. As someone who has their fair share of things on the to do list or abandoned ideas, I know the difficulty in getting started, all too well. This trouble goes back to that same thinking pattern that’s apart of the ‘we don’t have the time and energy’ mentality. It, however, becomes a little more complex, because of the underpinning of the psyche mixed in.
It’s that intimidation or fear of doing something new or failing at it, or the self doubt of being “unprepared” or “too novice to start”. Instead, we keep planning. Researching, thinking about things, wondering if we learned or know enough before we start whatever we’ve decided to do. Planning becomes this safety net where we think we’re working but we’re actually not, because we’ve made no progress on our goals. When we’re planning we’re not failing at anything because we haven’t done anything yet to see if it works or not. We can cleanly avoid rejection, or failure, hidden in all the shades of delaying and using planning as a way to stall.
That’s the main idea here to focus on. Even as I wrote this post, the action of physically putting down words and writing is what gets you closer to completing the goal of a new post. Versus thinking about everything inside my head, researching blog ideas, reading writing books, or preparing an outline.
Don’t disregard the importance of planning totally. It definitely has its purpose. Being aware of how our pesky brains can use these same things as a crutch for yourself to never commit to anything or falsely protect you from seeing what happens is important to remember though. As a long time planner, I know the feeling of being safe from failure and whatever could happen in this preparation plateau. The twist here is if you never actually take action and try, then you really aren’t making much progress on these bigger projects and you aren’t learning firsthand. To see if something works, you have to try it. (And if I was still in the planning stage, this post wouldn’t exist, this blog wouldn’t exist, and this whole website still wouldn’t be created or published yet!) There comes a point, where you must make a decision (from your pro/con lists, online research, etc.) and do something. This is a reminder that you can do it.
Be kind to yourself and keep going.
No one is perfect. It’s a well known phrase and I’ve heard it many times and I’m sure you have to. Regardless, I'm saying it again. No, I’m metaphorically yelling it again over that lurking perfectionism, even if it’s hard to take to heart. No one is perfect. Give yourself permission to make mistakes and to fail. It will happen, and that’s okay. Those are signs you’re trying.
When your commitments get messed up, or you fall off track on the project, all that negative self-talk, sitting there and feeling bad about it, isn’t really going to get you anywhere. It doesn’t make you feel better, and it’s not going to help with your projects either. Accept what happened, pick yourself up, and take action again. Carry on.
You’re human. Don’t forget to rest, and take breaks. Laying out tasks to be manageable creates attainable consistency versus the disappointment from intense burnout. Scheduling time keeps this structure clear and allows you to have that time to recharge without getting overwhelmed. You can find tasks related to your project that mirror your current level of energy too. Remember that something is better than nothing. Seek balance so you continue to succeed instead of deciding to quit.
Reflect on your successes and your reasons for doing this.
During this whole process, current or future, we can get caught up in making sure we’re doing everything. Stuck in our own pressures to keep up and get to the next thing on the to do list. Remember to pause and reflect on what you’ve done. Celebrate your small and big wins during your efforts. Reward yourself for doing well. This periodic review reminds you of the work you’ve put in. In the times when that inner critic or perfectionism tries to step in, you can focus on what you’ve accomplished so far and use that as motivation to move forward.
When you’re stuck, another aspect to reflect on about your project and goals is to ask yourself: Why are you doing this? How is this adding value to your life? What will this achievement bring you?
Some things might not feel like things you want to do in the moment, especially when the feel good distractions are around to choose instead. So ask yourself how does this choice I’m making help me achieve what I want? How will this help me in the future? What’s one thing I do right now that would make me proud? How about, in a year from now? Thinking of your future self lets you have a constant reference for support and a way to cheer yourself on during this journey. After choosing the things you thought you couldn't or didn’t feel like doing, you’ll be proud you started and took action on your project / goal when they’re done.
I admit this post definitely serves as a reminder for myself too when I want to get unstuck from feeling like I don’t know how to keep up my projects. I sincerely hope that this blog post can offer some insight and help to anyone looking for support and guidance on time management for personal projects, be it DIY, creative ones, or anything else. I know you’re fully capable of completing them, so start the work and see what happens. Keep creating.