Manage Time I’m writing this at 4:12 p.m. on a Thursday and i just closed my laptop for the day. that sentence felt illegal to type. six months ago i would’ve laughed-coughed blood at the idea.
How to Manage Your Time Without Burning Out, here’s the stuff that actually keeps me from combusting in 2025.
- the sacred 4 p.m. rule new task after 4 p.m.? i ask: “will someone die?” no. it waits. heart rate drops.
- one-task fridays friday i pick the worst task. i finish before 4 p.m. weekend starts early. i feel like a thief.
- fake commute Manage (don’t judge me) i put on shoes. i walk one block. i come home “from work.” brain buys it.
- Manage block life before work i schedule dinner and nothing time first. work gets leftovers. still get paid.
- the 80% rule i ship at 80%. last 20% never matters. nobody notices.
- energy-based scheduling (not time-based) mornings = hard stuff 2-4 p.m. = easy junk after 4 p.m. = be human
- the “burnout early warning” checklist every sunday i ask myself three dumb questions:
- did i eat a vegetable this week that wasn’t a potato?
- have i spoken out loud to another human who isn’t on a screen?
- when’s the last time i saw daylight that wasn’t through a window? two “no” answers = mandatory half-day off on monday. no exceptions.
permission to be Manage mediocre sometimes some weeks i do 60%. some days i nap. i call it survival.
i still mess up. last week i worked till 1 a.m. but only once a month now.
you’re reading this too late. close everything. try the 4 p.m. rule tomorrow. you deserve to breathe.
