Psychology Tips for Managing Time, Energy, and Negativity

“HOW WE SPEND OUR TIME IS HOW WE SPEND OUR LIVES.”

In the following videos, I share techniques for enhancing time and energy with mindfulness and positive psychology:

Put a Time Limit on Negativity

TAKEAWAY

Pay attention to how you spend your time and energy today.

Joy needs room to breathe.

And so do you.

Published by Dr. Andrea Dinardo

Dr. Andrea Dinardo is a positive psychology expert, keynote speaker, and leadership trainer who helps people thrive under pressure and cope with stress. She is a psychology professor at St. Clair College of Applied Arts & Science in Windsor Ontario Canada and a retired psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. She is also the author of several psychology articles and textbooks and a TEDx presenter who shared her insights on how to turn stress into strength. She has a popular YouTube channel and a blog where she offers psychology tips and exercises for mental health empowerment and daily resilience. She is passionate about applying positive psychology to facilitate personal growth and transformational change in individuals and organizations.

Health Psychology, Interview, Mental Health Education, Positive Psychology, Stress Management, Time and Energy Management, Video

32 thoughts on “Psychology Tips for Managing Time, Energy, and Negativity”

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  1. This is great advice. I spent a huge amount of time focusing on the negative. It tore my life apart. My life is a lot better now and I do attribute it to not focusing so much on negativity.

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  2. Negativity is to be expected, yes. And how long will we stay there is the question. Your egg timer reminds me of a speaker I once heard, Walter Bond. He tells the story of how he used to respond to negativity/let-downs…go to his room, turn on Lionel Richie’s song “Hello,” and sulk for three days. He says you can play your sad songs on your boombox for three days then decide to be done. Lol. It’s a funny story with a great message. 🙂

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  3. Thanks for the reminder and lift. I also use a timer, especially for the chores I hate. I do a bit, do something else, and do a bit again. Timers are wonderful tools.

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  5. Love this – ‘joy needs room to breathe’ might just become my new mantra. I certainly have to work hard to find the time to just breathe…sad but true 🙂

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  6. Love this idea of using a timer to limit the time we spend worrying, being negative, stressing, etc.

    My daughters and I made a “rule” so that when we talk on the phone in the evenings, we don’t talk about money, finances, bills, cash flow, paychecks, credit card statements . . . lol! You get the idea. Nothing to do with money. If it does come up during the daytime hours, setting a timer would be a good idea!

    Thanks, Dr. Andrea. You are so right: Balance is key. We can’t ignore pressing concerns but we can limit the time we spend worrying or projecting negative thoughts. Brilliant! Thanks!

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    1. Thank you for sharing your family strategy for staying focused on what counts – sharing each other’s health & joy! Otherwise, an hour conversation becomes 55 minutes of “what’s missing” & only 5 minutes of what’s working. I choose joy. And I know that you & your daughters do too!💃🎉

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  10. Andrea, I really appreciate your post! I use the timer all day in my classroom while teaching. I realize how it helps my students and I to smoothly transition without stress. When I started teaching I would lose track of time and the bell would ring before they had put away binders and computers. It would be so chaotic! Having that happen multiple times stressed me out too. Now, the timer rings 5 minutes before the end of each class I have time to end class with kind words or a positive quote. The love it! I guess my timer is giving my students and I room to breathe at the end of each class period. Thanks for highlighting just how significant it is to use the timer.⌛️

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    1. How wonderful Davina! I love how you shared your evolution in the classroom. Such a great example of how timers can help manage student (and teacher) stress and transition time! ⏱📚⌛️

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  11. Andrea, thank you! This is a really valuable post for me. I agree, it’s important to get negativity out, and at some point it becomes counter productive to do so!
    “Joy needs room to breathe.” – I love this!
    You are an inspiration to me. Blessings, 🙂 Debbie

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  12. Timing has always played such a big role in my life and recently I’ve been practicing doing the opposite to this. However I love this too and the negativity timer idea is fantastic. Will incorporate 🙂

    Perhaps there are seasons where we learn both sides of the coin so we can incorporate the values found within each lesson?

    Thanks for sharing!

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  14. I’ve used a timer for many things and this is some great advice. I will certainly give this method a try while i work through a difficult time. Thank you 😀

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    1. Thanks for the feedback on using timers!

      “Negativity Timers” work wonders in life’s daily ups & downs too.

      Especially in marriages. For example, it’s not fair to a spouse to have to listen to chronic venting about a repetitive (mundane) issue..

      Just ask my husband.😉

      We each get “venting time” at the end of a day. Then we can move on to what counts: Our blessings.✨

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