4 ways to get better at reclaiming ownership of your time

4 ways to get better at reclaiming ownership of your time4 ways to get better at reclaiming ownership of your timeEver since Rep. Maxine Waters proudly declared she wasreclaiming her time, Ive adopted it as a mantra of sorts.Sleeping in an extra five minutes? Reclaiming my time.Continuing to speak when someone attempts to interrupt me? Reclaiming my time.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreTaking mysweettime sipping my grande iced vanilla coffee while I work at Starbucks?Reclaiming my time (and also my space aftertwo Black men were unnecessarily arrestedat the popular coffee chain last year).But taking ownership of your time goes much deeper than that.In a recentMindbodygreeninterview, Lauren Ash, founder ofBlack Girl in Om, a holistic wellness platform for women of color, sharedI set myself up for success by identifying at the top of every daywhat is a priority today. What did I no t get to yesterday? It really allows for ease. So I dont just open up my inbox and respond to people that are trying to demand my time, but Im really taking ownership over my time for me.While I have a pretty consistent morning routine that consists of prayer, journaling, and meditation, I am guilty of checking my inbox as soon as I sit down at my desk and power up my laptop. And I immediately get overwhelmed by all of the inquiries, requests, newsletter subscriptions and reply-all threads where you end up spending more time than youd like trying to figure out exactly whats going on and how/why youre involved.Point is, as soon as I open Gmail, my time is not my own. And if youre anything like most people, youre not alone. So in an effort toreclaim ownership of my time, Im sharing four life hacks to help you do just that.Ask yourself Whos owning this time?Sometimes we can catch ourselves scrolling through Instagram mindlessly because were not asking ourselves an important question Wh o is owning this time?If the answer is Instagram, a Netflix show you dontactuallycare too much about, or something else, then theres room for somere-prioritizationwith your preciousfree time.Sometimes, the answer will have to be my boss or my children or my taxes.But try to find more ways to make that answeryou- maybe that means taking a walk, meditation, or doing something that brings you joy. But dont be too hard on yourself, either- sometimes it feels good to watch 5 episodes ofThe O.C.in a row, and thats OK, too.Transform your to-do listIn the article, Ash talked about bullet journaling as a way to re-think her to-do list. If youre juggling a lot of responsibilities (say, your day job, your side-hustle, your personal brand and/or running a household), it can help to break up your to-do list into categories. Perhaps a bullet journal is more your speed, or you prefer a more high-tech way of organizing your thoughts and tasks, such as Evernote or ToDoist.I, personally, like to set up my to-do list for the day the evening before. This helps me actuallyownmy sleeping time.The point is to dispose of all the randomness running around in your head before bedtime so you cansleep soundlyand without worrying about the 50 million things you need to do the next day. Your brain will thank you for it.Put your phone on DNDIve always been a fan of Apples Do Not Disturb feature. I set mine 30 minutes before my desired bedtime. Recently, I kicked this up a notch by changing the setting to black out my screen so I dont see notifications during (DND).If youreallywant to block out the world, you can put your phone on airplane mode, but I like to leave it on DND in case of emergency. This hack also works for blocks of time when you need to concentrate on a task.Take this a step further and disable notifications that youdontactually need. Youll be surprised how much less you check your phone when it isnt pinging to get your attention every few minutes.Plus, it forces you to be in tentional about which apps youwantto check rather than absentmindedlyreaching for the phoneevery time a banner pops up on your screen. I bet your friends lol so real comment on your latest tweet can wait while you focus on another priority.Take a nap, seriouslyTodays society will have you thinking you have to spend every waking moment being productive, that your self-worth is measured in how much you can produce. But as Tricia Hersey, founder ofThe Nap Ministry, says, rest is a form of resistance.Listen up You are NOT the Energizer Bunny, so dont let anyone fool you into believing you can keep going and going and going.As self-proclaimed Black feminist, lesbian, poet, mother, and warrior Audre Lorde once said Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.So, have a nap. I promise the work andto-do listwill be waiting for you when you wake up.Take ownership of your time and notice what you need. Promise Even if you just rec laim five minutes a day, youll be better for it.This article originally appeared on Shine- a daily self-care meditation app that feels like a pep talk in your pocket. Join 3 million people who start their weekdays with Shines motivational message. Plus Get support with audio challenges developed by self-care experts. After using Shine, 96% of people saw a decrease in anxiety depression.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people