Balancing Recovery: A Time Audit for Concussion Healing

Managing a concussion and conducting a time audit are two separate yet important practices that contribute to improving both your physical health and time management. A concussion, a mild form of brain injury, can impact your ability to focus, concentrate, and manage tasks effectively. Symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and sensitivity to light can make it challenging to perform daily activities, especially when it comes to staying on top of tasks, schoolwork, or work responsibilities.

A time audit, on the other hand, is a tool to help you track how you spend your time throughout the day. By understanding where your time goes, you can make more informed decisions about how to balance your recovery with daily tasks. If you’re recovering from a concussion, a time audit can help you identify when you need more rest and when you might be overloading yourself. Together, these practices can support you in managing your recovery while maintaining control over your daily routine in a way that promotes healing and avoids overexertion.

Step 1: Prepare Your Tools

Before you start tracking your time, you need to choose a way to record it. You can use:

• Paper notebook: A simple notebook where you can jot down the times and activities.

• Digital tools: Apps like Google Calendar, a note-taking app, or a time-tracking app like Toggl or Clockify can help you log your time.

• Planner: If you like using a planner, you can make time logs in it.

  
  

Step 2: Create Your “Ideal” Daily Schedule

At the start of the day, write down a rough schedule for your day. This helps you know what you intend to do. It’s important to include:

• Your school or work schedule

• Meals and breaks

• Personal time (like fun activities, hobbies, or rest)

For example:

• 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM: Wake up, breakfast, and get ready

• 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Study or work

• 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM: School/work (online classes, homework, meetings)

• 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Lunch

• 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: More studying or work

• 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Free time or exercise

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Finish schoolwork, chores, or hobbies

• 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Dinner and relax

• 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Evening activities (more studying, TV, social media)

• 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Wind down, get ready for bed

This schedule is just an example, so adjust it to your day-to-day activities.

Step 3: Track What You Actually Do

As you go through the day, track how you actually spend your time. You can use your phone, a timer, or simply write down the activity and time in your notebook. If you're using an app, just log the start and end times of each task.

Example of what you might log:

• 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM: Breakfast and getting ready (check)

• 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Start schoolwork (check)

• 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Watch TV instead of doing work (note that)

• 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Continue schoolwork (check)

  
  

Step 4: Notice the Gaps and Distractions

Keep a note of times when you’re not working on what you planned, like:

• Distractions: Social media, TV, or chatting with friends.

• Unexpected tasks: Doing chores or getting sidetracked by other things.

Write down what distracted you and how much time you spent on it. This helps you see patterns in how you spend time.

Step 5: Review Your Day

At the end of the day, go over your notes. Ask yourself:

• Did I stick to my schedule?

• How much time did I spend on things I didn’t plan?

• Did I get enough rest and breaks?

• What went well, and what didn’t?

For example, maybe you planned to study for 2 hours but got distracted by social media for 30 minutes. You can see how much time you “lost” and how it affected your other activities.

Step 6: Analyze Your Time and Look for Patterns

Look for patterns in how you’re spending time. Some things to pay attention to:

• Time wasters: Are there certain activities that take up more time than expected? For example, scrolling through your phone or watching TV can eat up a lot of time without you noticing.

• Busy but unproductive moments: Are you keeping busy but not actually getting things done? For example, maybe you were “working” but spent too much time on unimportant tasks.

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Step 7: Make Adjustments for Tomorrow

Once you’ve figured out how your time was spent, make some changes:

• Cut down on distractions: If you noticed you spent too much time on social media, set specific limits for how long you’ll be on it.

• Reorganize your day: Maybe you need to switch around activities. If you got distracted in the morning, consider doing your hardest tasks earlier when you’re more focused.

• Schedule breaks: If you didn’t take enough breaks or didn’t feel refreshed, plan short breaks in your next day to avoid burnout.

You can also make your schedule more realistic if you find that you were too ambitious in your planning.

Step 8: Repeat the Audit Daily

It’s important to repeat the time audit every day or every few days to keep track of your progress. Over time, you'll get better at managing your time because you’ll understand where you need to focus and where you’re losing time.

By doing this audit regularly, you’ll start to improve how you spend your time and feel more in control of your day!

The therapists at Engage Therapy are experienced in working with people with concussion and can help you return to doing the things you love. Call our office at 315-810-2423 or email us at info@brainbodybetter.com with questions.