Time management

On this page you will find information on why having good time management is vital for wellbeing. With a self-study module to help you manage your time more effectively.

Remember! Not everything is urgent and important.

Removing this pressure will help you to focus and prioritise properly.

Good time management is vital for our wellbeing

it enables us to:

• realise our goals (how good does it feel to tick something off the checklist?!)
• spend time on more important tasks
• seek other opportunities as we free up our time
• avoid feelings of stress and anxiety because we’re less overwhelmed
• have more free time to spend with others, pursue hobbies or simply switch off and relax.

Improve your time management with this downloadable planner

This short self-study module provides you with different strategies to help you manage your time more effectively.

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Time management

Time management and wellbeing

Good time management is vital for our wellbeing because it enables us to:

Be intentional

Be intentional.

Keeping a to-do list is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to become more productive and efficient with your time. The Eisenhower Matrix is a great tool you can use to prioritise your time by assigning tasks into four categories:
• Urgent and important (do these tasks first)
• Urgent but not important (delegate these tasks to a team member)
• Not urgent but important (schedule time to focus on these tasks)
• Not urgent and not important (eliminate 'time-wasting' tasks from your to-do list)

Be disciplined

Be disciplined.

Despite our best intentions, we all get distracted or put things off. If you are prone to allowing distractions to creep in or procrastination, remember this – it is a learned behaviour so it is possible to change! It takes a conscious effort to unlearn it but the golden rule is to do the thing you least want to do first. Then throughout the day, identify potential distractions and manage them before they arise. Taking these steps reduces stress as it frees up the mind from the nagging knowledge that action needs to be taken.

Be refreshed

Be refreshed.

No matter how much you have to do there is plenty of evidence to suggest that we function better after taking a break. A 30 minute break at lunchtime will increase your performance in the afternoon and allow you to achieve more than if you try and work all day without a break. A series of short breaks throughout the day can help give your brain that well needed rest and improve accuracy.

Be ruthless

Be ruthless.

As important and valuable as emails are, how many of us are weighed down by a bulging inbox and no time to deal with it? Here are a few simple ways to help you win your battle with emails:

• Set yourself specific time each day to deal with emails and be ruthless!
• Unsubscribe from junk emails you never read
• Create a filing system for your emails
• If someone else is better suited to deal with the email, forward it on to them
• Make a folder for ‘info only’ to help you quickly find details at a later date
• Answer and file away or delete!
• Pick up the phone – sometimes it’s more efficient to have the conversation rather than a complicated round of emails.

Be assertive

Be assertive.

Managing your time well isn't so you can take on more (and other people's) work. Saying 'no' is an important part of managing your time. It isn't selfish or rude. It helps manage expectations and is considerate to yourself and your valuable time. If you're uncomfortable saying "no", try phrases like:

If you know you aren't able to commit to something at all, try to avoid using phrases like 'right now', 'at the moment' or 'let me check and get back to you' as these could lead to false hope or being asked again.

• Thank you for considering me, but unfortunately I don’t have the time to do this
• I would love to, but sadly my diary doesn’t allow another item on my calendar
• This sounds like a great opportunity, but I'm afraid I must my prioritise other tasks.

Time for wellbeing

Managing your time is not only about completing all of your tasks, but also making time for you. Looking after your wellbeing is as important as all of the goals you have to achieve. Allowing yourself time to switch off and relax, connect with people, engage in conversation, take notice of the world around you and learn something new can help manage your stress and boost your self-esteem.

Allow time for wellbeing.

Are you looking for free mental health and wellbeing training?

Our Wellbeing Learning Platform is for individual wellbeing learning and training and is available to pharmacists, trainees and students. By signing up to the platform, you can access a range of free online wellbeing workshops such as further Time Management learning and Building Resilience.

Find out more and sign up for free

Other support on managing wellbeing

Wardley Wellbeing Service

Our wellbeing support is here to help you and your team to prioritise your mental, physical and emotional health.

Exploring the five ways to wellbeing

On this page you can find the definition of the five ways to wellbeing. As well as a self-study module with ideas on how you can implement them into your life to help manage your own mental wellbeing.

Mental health and wellbeing

Our mission is to champion the wellbeing of our pharmacy family. On these pages you will find guidance and advice on how you can stay mentally healthy and boost your wellbeing.