How to Better Manage Your Time to Improve Your Bhakti Life?

If you’re struggling to find time for your spiritual practices amidst the busyness of daily life, these 10 time management tips can help you carve out more space for Krishna consciousness.

1. Improve Your Time Management Skills: Have a fixed daily routine with set times for activities like chanting. Use alarms to stay on track. Practice the “first things first” approach by prioritizing your rounds before other tasks. Block out specific times solely dedicated to spiritual activities.
2. Read for Inspiration: When you feel uninspired, turn to Srila Prabhupada’s books like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, or short reads like “Second Chance” to reignite your enthusiasm for Krishna consciousness. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
3. Rise Early: Going to bed early (by 9:30pm after an 8pm dinner) allows you to wake up around 4am with two peaceful morning hours perfectly suited for chanting and spiritual activities before the day’s distractions begin.
4. Utilize Waiting Times: Take advantage of periods spent commuting, waiting in lines, etc. to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra rather than wasting time on fruitless diversions.
5. Limit Work Hours: Don’t overextend yourself at your job. Working more than 8 focused hours per day (and on weekends) leaves little time for Krishna consciousness. As the Gita instructs, do your duty but always remember Krishna.
6. Live Near the ISKCON: Temple Living within 2 km of your local temple provides easy access to the spiritual inspiration and association found there. If that’s not possible, live close to work to minimize draining commute times.
7. Discuss Challenges With Mentors: Don’t struggle alone – open up to senior devotees about your time management difficulties. Their wisdom from walking the same path can illuminate solutions.
8. Visit the Temple On Sundays: Make a weekly trip to the temple, especially on Sundays when temples often host longer programs perfect for getting recharged with devotional association.
9. Involve Your Family: Rather than pursuing Krishna consciousness individually, guide your whole family onto the spiritual path through simple practices done together like chanting, reading scripture, having kirtan, or visiting the temple.
10. Find an Accountability Group: Having friends on the same journey helps sustain momentum. Join or start a local or online group to read, chant, and discuss challenges together.

By applying these tips to streamline your routine and priorities, you can release yourself from the shackles of poor time management and taste the unlimited nectar of Krishna consciousness.