Time is a precious gift and we need to use the time we have to live the life we want.
Do you ever feel like there is never enough time in the day to get everything done! If you said yes, you are not alone!
Ever wonder why some people seem like they accomplish so much in the day but you feel like you are on the treadmill of life and you are constantly spinning your wheels? Playing catch up just to stay afloat. If you said yes, keep reading!
What if I could share with you some tips/strategies that would allow you to create embrace the gift of time in your day to do more of what YOU love? Sounds crazy, I now right, where are you are you ever going to find extra time. But yes, there are a few things that you can do to create some new habits that can facilitate some life changing impacts.
Three things that can sabotage your day!
Today, we are going to talk about three time wasters that can derail your day. As a busy working mom myself, I understand how precious time is. Our day can become a bit of a strategic dance when you are having to balance your personal and professional life. What if you could shift your lens from saying “I ONLY have 24 hours in a day” to “I HAVE 24 hours in the day”?
I use to feel like there was never enough time in my day to get everything done. Do you know why? Well, I didn’t really have a system that I could use to help me be better with my time. Why a system? Well, I don’t care how good your memory is or your ability to juggle many tasks at once, but you are more likely to miss something if you don’t have a system or lose “precious” time. Learning to prioritize your tasks based on daily, weekly and monthly goals are key. Lastly, deadlines are key. You need to create a beginning and an end for your tasks.
Let’s dig a bit deeper into these three things that can literally sabotage your day!
Three main ways people waste time:
- You have no system.
- You do not prioritize your tasks.
- You have not created timelines to complete tasks.
I don’t need a system. I can organize it in my head—-said no busy mom ever?
Trust me, as a busy working mom, we are juggling our personal and professional life every day of the week. Ladies, if you do not have a system, you need to STOP!
What if I told you that I had a strategy that would help you feel that productive, efficient and you were able to be more intentional with your day! What if we could create a system that would allow us to tackle that ever growing to-do list? What would you say? YESSS!!!
As a busy working mom, we need one system that is simple and easy to sustain and that will help us keep everything organized. Now, I know that there are people who LOVE to create systems. They even color code activities and events–I LOVE those people; however, that my friend is not me!
This summer I binge watched “Good Girls” (one of the many Netflix series I watched over the summer) and one of the moms on the show had a crazy system of time management. She created a color coded system that worked for her and she had mapped out all of her family commitments!
As a busy working mom, I need simple and efficient, I am someone who loves lists and being able to cross things off my list– I understand the VALUE of creating a list. For me, I personally use “The Ultimate Planner” which is a 90 Day Reusable Planner that you can find on my website. It is the perfect system to help me stay organized.
Learn to Prioritize
Sometimes I love lists so much that my To-Do list becomes so massive and I was not sure how I was going to fit everything in. We all know that there is only 24 hours in a day. How many times have you said, “I don’t have time for that!” or “I wish there was more time in the day”?
What is your strategy to set priorities? Do you prioritize your to-do list? When you think about your to-do list, how do you determine which things are urgent, nonurgent, important and not important. Also, how do you delegate the tasks that you are not able to do. Yes–the dreaded “D” word – delegate. As a busy working mom, you can not do it all. We talked about having the TYPE E personality in my blog, Dear Mom, You Can’t Pour From An Empty Cup. Ask for help!! If you are married, ask your partner but don’t forget to ask your kids as well. It is good to start having kids take an active roll at home. Whether it is vacuuming, folding the laundry and even helping to prepare supper! These are great life skills….
Oops…went on a little bit of a tangent there!!! Let’s refocus! What if you shifted the way you looked at time in your day? How could that be helpful and allow you to be more intentional in the way that you get things done? How can we pivot our current strategy and move towards a more manageable strategy to help us get things done?
So, how do we begin? Make a list!!! What is the psychology behind making a list? For me, a list can do two things. First, it helps me get a sense of what I need to accomplish so that I can check it off my list (did I tell you how much I like checking things off my list—LOVE IT!!). Secondly, it allows me to begin to prioritize my day to have a more productive and fulfilling life. Instead of ending the day feeling exhausted, I actually feel that I have accomplished a lot.
Where do you begin? What you need to do is take a look at your To-do list and then rank the items into Urgent, Pressing, and Have Time. From there you determine what are quick activities, and less quick as well as non-negotiables. For example, if I need to make a doctor’s appointment for my daughter, the call goes on my to- do list and it is a non-negotiable for the day. Any activities for my daughter get scheduled into my list as non-negotiables as well.
Here is the crucial part of prioritizing: When you look at the task, schedule it right away into your day. SO SIMPLE!!!! If it doesn’t work into your schedule then you may need to delegate it out.
You can begin to use this strategy in your personal life to help you gain the balance you are looking for. Who do we delegate out to? Our family, of course. Are there tasks that you can get your family to help with? Maybe instead of you or your partner mowing the lawn, you could get one of your children to do it. What about garbage day? Could you get help from your children to be responsible for putting this out at the curb. There are so many opportunities for us to help teach our children life skills.
Timelines Are Key
The last step is to create specific deadlines. Have you ever been given a task to do but there isn’t really a deadline. What happens? I know for me, I may tend to push it aside and deal with other things. Set specific deadlines for tasks by implement time blocking into your schedule. Decide how long the task will take you and make sure to create breaks in your day if the task is going to take you a long time. For me, when I can create breaks in the day, I am much more productive. Try it and see how you feel!!
Now What?
I believe that if you begin to implement these strategies into your life by creating a system, prioritize tasks and setting deadlines, you will begin to see some definite life changes.
My favorite time management tool is The Ultimate Planner which I developed and you can find on my website. This is the perfect tool to help me stay organized, identify my non-negotiables for the day using the To-Do list and feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. Instead of feeling that there is not enough time in the day, you can begin to recognize all of the things that you have been able to do and it is an AMAZING Feeling.
Life is too short to feel that you are constantly on the go. It can create undue stress and anxiety when we start our day off on the wrong foot. When we TAKE ACTION we begin to live a more INTENTIONAL life. What is holding you back?
You got this girl!