How to manage your time during resettlement
Category: Tips and Advice
Publish date: 07/11/2023
This month, we want to talk about how you can better manage your time during your transition from the military.
We all know that certain aspects of a career transition can take up a lot of your time. Updating and editing your CV, market research, job applications, interview preparation - when you put it all together, your resettlement becomes a temporary job in itself. Which is why time management is one of the most useful and important skills you can have during change.
Set SMART goals If you don't set your goals the right way, you'll lack tangible targets to strive for throughout your resettlement, making it very easy to lose heart and become demotivated. But what do we mean when we say, "the right way"? The SMART goal setting method is a great way to set goals that are both meaningful and achievable - providing you with a sense of ongoing success throughout your journey.
Find a good time management system One of the best tips for managing your time is to find the right system to actually do it. The quadrant time management system is probably the most effective as it splits your activities into four quadrants: urgent, important, both, and neither. Anything classified as neither urgent nor important should be avoided, while tasks deemed non-urgent but important should be tracked carefully to ensure they don't fall by the wayside. Utilising a time management system is a very simple yet effective way of prioritising your workload.
Audit your time Across the space of a week, perhaps as you begin your resettlement process, spend some time at the end of each day reflecting on and assessing how you spent your time. What did you get done? Was it time wasted? Was it well spent? If you use the quadrant system, circle or log the quadrant that each activity was associated with. This is an extremely effective way to identify any fruitless tasks that are dominating too much of your time, thus helping you to avoid them in future.
Take frequent breaks Once we become absorbed into something, it's very easy to lose track of time and forget to take a break. However, without taking time out throughout the day, you'll start to feel burnt out and stressed very quickly, meaning your mental and emotional states will take a hit. Remember, we do our best when we feel our best - so allow yourself time to take a break, relax and prioritise your wellbeing at regular intervals throughout the day - it'll pay dividends in the end.
Time management is a skill you’ll all be familiar with, having served in the Armed Forces – so you’ll likely be well positioned to take these tips on board and begin implementing them very quickly.
That being said, if you’re struggling to manage your resettlement activities, remember to make use of your myActionPlan on the CTP website. You can use it to keep track of all your tasks and adjust timelines as appropriate – ensuring you stay on track throughout the resettlement process.