Time cannot be managed. We can only manage ourselves. It's actually about permanently replenishing our own energy stores so that we can tap into our own potential.

We tend to overexert ourselves on a regular basis. This can have fatal consequences in the medium to long term. We need to manage our energy well in order to achieve what we are capable of. Good time management therefore starts long before methods, to-do lists or apps.

Routines work wonders

It starts with a good foundation that ensures we can call on what we are capable of. This includes a good diet. If you want to eat better, feel better and unlock your potential, you need one thing above all: successful routines and habits.

Routines and habits are the most important means of learning better time management. They are also the key to better energy and self-management. And, of course, they are the key to implementing a truly better diet.

Routines and habits are the autopilot. Studies suggest that over 95% of our actions are routine.Otherwise I wouldn't be able to write these words. I would have to consciously think about which muscle I have to move to which key to make the letter appear.

Routines and habits take the pressure off us. We no longer have to think about what comes next. We just do it. Everything we do routinely and therefore automatically hardly costs us any energy.

No time for healthy eating? Change your habits!

Thinking is harmful - here at least. What we do consciously and what we have to think about costs us energy and effort. It also awakens our inner bastard. If we then start to brood, we feed it too. In order to save energy and use routines, we first have to make an effort. Many of our habits have simply crept in and don't help us to strengthen ourselves.

On the contrary, they actually weaken us. For example, we skip breakfast to get to the office earlier, with the result that we don't get our full energy in the morning. Instead, we prefer to drink a few cups of coffee, again with the result that we no longer give our body and mind time to recover. In the evening, we are so exhausted that all we have left is the TV and a few glasses of wine, with the result that we don't actively relax and our quality of sleep is negatively affected.

So a negative spiral begins to turn. Breaking this spiral is not always easy. We have to consciously take countermeasures and consciously doing so takes effort and energy.

Why is it that you don't have time for healthy eating?

Before we can change our habits at all, we need to know where the problem lies: What does your current diet actually look like?

There is a very simple way to find out: simply write a food diary. Record exactly what you eat and when. Or even better: use and take a photo of every meal and snack.

Try the following for the next thirty days:

1. Get up 20 minutes earlier every day.

2. eat a real breakfast that lives up to its name.

With this simple tip alone, you will quickly realize how you have more power and can achieve more.

Here you can find inspiration for a good breakfast:

• Chia-apple-cinnamon muesli
• Mandelade muesli
• Give yourself a boost - effects of the lemon

Big changes always start with small steps. We can't just turn everything upside down overnight. Instead, focus on small steps, as I suggest in this article. You will see: You'll trigger something that can no longer be stopped.

About Ivan Blatter

Ivan Blatter is a productivity coach and speaker from Basel. He helps his clients to improve their time management - true to his motto "simply productive".

On his website ivanblatter.com, he has been running one of the largest and most successful blogs on time management, work organization and work techniques in the German-speaking world for years. In addition to hundreds of free articles, you will also find online products and online seminars on precisely these topics.