We all have our good skills and our not so good ones. I feel that everyone should have goals or projects on correcting these not so good ones. Right now my project is trying to get organized and become better with managing my time. The priorities have to come first, but how do you list your priorities when they are all important?
Since this is a project in the works, I am using this blog to get myself on the right track. First you want to keep your own blog or diary of what you do each day and how much time you spend on it. After I did this first step I was shocked! How could I have spent this much time on things that I never stressed about! I spent three hours just on my flower garden, which was needed, but not priority. I could have broke that three hours into half hour increments and got it done over the week, while I was catching up on school or work stresses. Making this list can really help you understand how much time everything else takes. I’m always feeling behind when it comes to school work. I realized that I need 2 to 3 hours to do the reading and notes of my weekly assignments. Imagine that… the time that I spent on my garden was exactly the amount of time I needed to do my reading assignment for the week. Time to get organized!
So, we know what we need to do and how much time it takes. The next step is trying to line everything up to fit in a day, week or month. The biggest part of this is making your schedule so that you spend more time on the priorities then on the hobbies. For example, my new schedule is school in the morning and work in the afternoon. This works for me because I can move my schedule around since I work and have school from home. I’m a stay at home mom also, so I have to make time for breakfast and lunch with my daughter. Set up your calendar for each day how it works for you. If you plan your day, every day, you will know what is going to get done and what has to wait. Also, give yourself a catch up day however often you need it. I have my Sundays for that. I need it once a week because of the family life, but some people may only need it once a month or so. The important part is to give yourself that day. If you don’t have any catching up to do, then you get a day to yourself! Work on some hobbies, spend time with your kids, or whatever you want to do. If you stay on your schedule you won’t have to worry about stressing!
When I write my schedule for the week I also put in my dinners. This is the biggest meal in my house and is hard to plan on how much time I will have compared to how much time it will take to make. Why do you think everyone thinks their mom can do it all! We plan on doing it all!
For other tips check out http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/time-management/WL00048
