WORK LIFE BALANCE

If you were struggling with money, you might write down all your outgoings to work out where you could make savings – and performing a time audit works in exactly the same way. Start by writing down how you spend your free time over the course of a week and identify the time-wasters: those things you could drop or minimise to free up more time.  

“In this case, awareness is our biggest friend,” says Donna. “Most of us go through our lives on autopilot, but once we spend time actually looking at areas where we’re wasting our time, you can’t unsee them.  

“Realising that you’re in control of your own destiny can be incredibly compelling, and once you’ve performed an audit, you can start restoring the balance when it comes to doing things you enjoy.” 

Once you’ve identified where your time is leaking away, it’s time to plug those gaps. Perhaps you need to cap the time you spend on social media, start meal planning to avoid daily top-up supermarket shops, or remove regular commitments in your calendar that are only there because you felt bad about saying ‘no’. 

“This process is a bit like decluttering your mind, and getting a bit more organised with your time has the added benefit of reducing your mental load,” says Donna. “When you’re not running around thinking, ‘I must remember to buy cheese,’ it reduces the stuff that’s cluttering your mind, and gives you more time to concentrate on other, more fun things.” 

“As grown-ups, we’re used to putting things like dental appointments and meetings in our calendars,” says Donna. “But if you start scheduling in the time you’d like to have to yourself – whether that’s family time, reading or an exercise class – you’re less likely to let them drop off your schedule in favour of a ‘should do’ task.  

“Prioritising joy is always on my to-do list: those things that lift us out of that autopilot and make us feel happy. If anything, these blocks of time should be the first thing to go on your calendar, with everything else revolving around them.” 

BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR SCREEN TIME 

If watching TV is what gives you joy, that’s absolutely fine. But being a bit more intentional about it – for example, by planning a Spielberg movie marathon rather than spending half your evening deciding what to watch – will help you make the most of your screen time.    

“This is about turning passive consumption into a conscious choice,” says Donna. “Even if you decide to stick to streaming a TV show in the evenings, you can add a few bells and whistles to make it more exciting. Get some snacks in, light some candles, and suddenly, you’ve created a moment rather than just letting that time ebb away.” 

Once you’ve clocked off from work, protecting your time is a key way of ensuring you get your work-life balance right. If you find yourself replying to work messages and emails out of hours – or agreeing to commitments in your personal life you don’t really have the space for – it’s time to set some boundaries. 

“A lot of us feel guilty for creating boundaries, and feel like we always have to be available to other people,” says Donna. “In fact, the people with the clearest boundaries tend to be more productive when it’s time to get things done, because they’ve given themselves proper time to rest.” 

TACKLE BIG JOBS FIRST

If there’s a task looming over you that you really don’t want to tackle, it can be tempting to put it off by finding other jobs that ‘need’ to be done first. But if you face your most-dreaded task head-on, you’ll find it easier to switch off once it’s over.   

“When we don’t do that horrible task we’ve got sitting over us, we feel like we’re saving ourselves from doing it – when actually, we’re just elongating the job,” says Donna. “Getting that task out of the way frees up your time, as well as removing the mental load.  

“Try telling yourself you’ll just do five minutes of the task then stop – chances are, once you start, you’ll be tempted to carry on until it’s finished.” 

EMBRACE THE JOY OF DOING NOTHING

If you feel like you’re on a treadmill of productivity, it’s time to let go and enjoy completely unproductive activities, whether that’s taking a walk, reading a book or having a nap.  

The Italians call this ‘la dolce far niente’ – or the joy of doing nothing – and it could be one of the reasons why Italians generally live longer than the rest of us.   

“As human beings, we tend to be outcome-based,” says Donna. “We feel guilty if the thing that we’re doing doesn’t have a specific outcome, but doing things just for their own sake is what makes us human beings and not machines.  

“I like to remind people that when they painted as kids, they probably remember the smell of the paint and what the water looked like when they cleaned their brushes quite vividly – but they probably don’t remember what they actually painted. Being productive doesn’t always have to be your end goal.” 

CUT OUT DISTRACTIONS

A simple way to feel like you’ve really made the most of your free time is to give whatever you’ve chosen to do your full attention. When you take the time to really notice what you’re doing, you’ll get a lot more enjoyment from it – and often, that means putting your phone away.   

“You don’t want to hand the free time you’ve gained from your audit to your phone,” says Donna. “At moments when you’re tempted to mindlessly scroll, putting your phone away (or applying time blocks to your favourite apps) will help you put that time to better use.” 

RECLAIM THE INBETWEEN MOMENTS

Most of us have small pockets of free time scattered throughout our days – a commute, your lunch break or that empty quarter-hour before work. And while these short windows might not feel like an opportunity, it’s surprising what you can squeeze out of them, says Donna. 

“These are what I call our ‘autopilot’ moments, and it’s easy to turn them into opportunities for learning, connection, relaxation or movement,” she explains. 

“In an increasingly online world, we can be mistaken for thinking we’ve caught up with our friends when, in actual fact, we’ve just seen their latest social post. Picking up the phone for a chat or meeting for a quick coffee at lunchtime is one of the best refreshes of self we can do. 

“You could also use those moments to do some stretches, listen to a podcast in the car, or simply take a moment to breathe intentionally. I used to do a half-hour meditation on my train journey to work every morning, when otherwise I’d have been scrolling, and it was game-changing. Those moments can be little gifts – so grab them and use them to their fullest.”