Time, as the old song says, keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future. And much of the time, we don’t think that much about passage of time—other than to see if we are running late or to wonder if the meeting we are in will ever end.
But how you spend your time matters in all kinds of ways. It can even have an ongoing impact on your overall mental health.
So, in this blog post, we are going to consider time from two angles—and make some suggestions for how you can turn time into a friend rather than a foe of your mental health.
Good Time Management Can Lower Your Stress
Do you find yourself flitting from task to task at work or at home? Do you struggle to regain your momentum if you get interrupted while working on something? Do you feel like you are constantly behind with little to no chance of ever catching up? Do you sometimes experience task paralysis—a moment when you have so much to do, you can’t seem to actually do anything at all?
You are far from alone. Indeed, many, many folks struggle with time management for any of a number of reasons and in a variety of ways.
By developing strategies for better time management you will likely find that you are more productive. But we would argue that is just a secondary benefit. The primary benefit would be a reduction in your stress levels, which can, in turn, reduce the symptoms of mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.
We considered one approach to time management known as the Pomodoro Technique in a previous blog post. It is certainly not the only effective approach (in fact, it may be too rigid for many people), but learning more about it can help you think through ways you might better manage your time, which, as we have noted, means you will be better at managing your mental health.
Less Screen Time Can Lead to Improved Mental Health
One way a lot of us spend our time—often without even really realizing we are doing it—is scrolling through social media or the news or what have you on our phones. It can seem like a harmless way to spend a few minutes between tasks or to wind down late in the day.
In reality, however, spending time on your phone can be problematic for your mental health in a number of ways. First, even (or perhaps especially) those who spend a lot of time on social media are likely to understand that it is not always good for their mental health. There are the dangers of comparing yourself to others who seem to be getting more out of life. There are the dangers of getting into political arguments with your online “friends” and even with total strangers. And there are the dangers of getting riled up about information you see in your feed that may or may not be true.
Meanwhile, doomscrolling—that is, scrolling through a never-ending river of bad news on your phone—can also be harmful to your mental health. It is a good idea to stay informed about the world, but it is a bad idea to spend your time immersed in the onslaught of news that never seems to stop coming. Setting some boundaries for yourself around news consumption can be a helpful way to protect your mental well-being.
Finally, using your screens too close to bedtime can disrupt your sleep, which means it is a better idea to power down your devices as part of your healthy sleep routine.
We spent some time exploring the dangers of screen time in this previous blog post.
Keep Mindfulness in Mind
Mindfulness practice—which encourages you to stay focused on the present moment rather than ruminating about the past or worrying about the present—can help you work toward better time management. When you are present with whatever is happening in this moment, it can be easier to stay focused, be less reactive to setbacks, and to lose less time to activities like mindless scrolling online. You can read more about mindfulness in this previous blog post.
The Time to Get Help with Your Mental Health is Now
At Peak View Behavioral Health—located in Colorado Springs, Colorado—we offer personalized mental health treatment for individuals struggling with one of the various kinds of depression, a panic or anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more. Sometimes, it can be tempting to convince yourself that the symptoms of a mental health disorder will dissipate with time as a strategy to put off getting assistance. It is a far better idea to seek out treatment sooner rather than later so that you can improve your mental health, maintain those improvements over time, and enjoy a better quality of life.
When you are ready to get started, we are, too.
