Time Management Tools for Nurses

What feeling or word comes up for you when you think about your time or schedule? 

Overwhelmed due to a never ending to-do list that feels impossible to tackle? Frustrated that you never seem to have enough time?  Do the cold sweats immediately start?

It can be very difficult to know where to begin with managing your time. As nurses, we know that our profession can add additional disruption to our daily lives and schedules.

For instance, night shift brings its own challenges on top of “normal” day-to-day life. Add in working 12 hour shifts, working several days in a row, working weekends and having to adjust to different routines. This shift work lifestyle can really impact our schedule and create feelings of overwhelm.

Here are four steps you can implement right now to begin managing your time more effectively.

It’s not only important to take action, but to begin reshaping your mindset around time. The sweet spot, we believe, is in doing both; shifting your mindset while also taking action.

Instead of trying to find the time, the mindset shift we offer is to see yourself as the maker and controller of your time. Time isn’t something we find. It’s something we make happen. 

Action along with mindset is important because when we take action, we show our brain evidence that this mindset shift is possible and  true.  

1. Journal & Reflect

We have to know what we want in order to get there. Therefore, journal and reflect on these prompts and give your brain a target. What we focus on, we find.

• What are your priorities right now? 

• Pick 3 that would be your most important ones for this particular moment in time

• What in your schedule right now does not align or match with these top 3 priorities? 

If you’re unsure of what your top priorities are, begin asking yourself how you want to feel and see if these feelings can lead you to better understanding where your priorities lie. 

• How do you want to feel during your shifts? 

• How do you want to feel in between shifts?

• How do you want to feel when you open up your planner and see your week ahead?

• How do you want your bank account or time off to feel?

2. Time Audit 

Begin with auditing your time over the next 2 weeks with a tool we’ve created. What gets measured gets managed, and it’s very hard to ignore what is actually happening when you’ve tracked it over a period of time. Be honest with yourself and write down where your time is going each day. 

3. Take Action

Once you have become a bit more clear on your priorities and taken the time to document where your time is going, begin asking yourself where your priorities and time audit do not align.

Is there a disconnect between what you want and where you are spending your time? Finding this disconnect will provide you the information you need to now take action on your time management. For instance, if one of your top priorities is spending time with family, yet over the course of your two week audit you have no family time listed, that is where we suggest you begin taking action. 

Commit to taking two actions right now to improve your time based on what your priorities are and where you’re spending your time. This will look different for everyone.

1. The first action I’m taking to be in control of my time is____________________.

2. The second action I’m taking to be in control of my time is _________________.

Feeling stuck on what actions to take? A few things to consider: 

Do you need to decrease or increase an activity in your schedule? Do you need to ask for more support? Does something you're consistently doing not align with one of your top priorities? Do you need to set a boundary at work or home? 

4. Adjust

Once you’ve taken action, ask yourself how are you feeling now? Is your schedule better or worse? You may need to go back to your reflection questions and your time audit to see what’s not lining up for you. Remember, we’re all a work in progress and no one is perfect. You may need to repeat these steps a few times through, over the course of 3-6 months to feel good about your schedule.

TIME AUDIT TOOL

There’s a saying that what we track naturally improves. We encourage you to spend one week tracking where you spend your time. If a week feels overwhelming, it’s ok to do just one day. With that in mind, we know nursing schedules vary, so we encourage you to track at least one day off and one day working. 

1. Use any calendar, paper planner, a notes app on your phone, whatever works best for you. Track how many minutes and/or hours you spent in each of these categories. 

• Sleep

• Commute

• Work

• Family

• Errands

• Eating/meal prepping/cooking

• Social media & screen time

• Hobbies/working out

• Anywhere else you spend your time

2. Be objective. Don’t change what you’re going to do just because you have to write it down.

3. After you have completed the audit take some time to journal on these questions.

• What did I notice about where I was spending my time?

• Is there anything I want to do differently based on this audit?

4. What is one action you can take to better manage your time? How are you going to implement that action?

It’s important to note that our lives are always adapting and evolving. A time audit is a great tool to utilize whenever your life changes. Some examples of these changes include starting a new job, entering a new relationship, moving, health changes, rotating shifts, or anything else where you notice you’re acting in a different way. It’s always so easy to notice things in our friends or partners because we’re looking from the outside. Auditing yourself is a great tool to help you gain that outside perspective on your own.