A vast majority of us feel like we don’t have enough time. We wake up exhausted, run around all day, go to sleep exhausted, and barely sleep because we are thinking about the next day. We may pride ourselves on getting a lot done but we also berate ourselves about not getting enough done. Stop. Slow down. Let’s review your time management. Time management is not about cramming everything into one day, it’s about making the most of our time. Here are a few tricks I like to use to make sure that my time works for me.
Be Realistic
Like it or not, our time is finite. We have the same amount of hours as anyone else and what we do with it needs to be helpful to us. If you are booking every hour of your day, that is not helping you. It also means you may have to say “no” to a few things. If you are working all day and spending every night volunteering while also cooking dinner for your family and the earliest you get to bed is midnight, it’s time to say “no”. If you have to pass up on family outings or complain that you never get to go to a movie, it’s time to say “no”. You have to have your own time to do things that bring you joy so schedule yourself family time and you time!
Change Your Scheduling Methods
Have you ever double or triple booked yourself for something? I think we all have! To begin with, how are you keeping track of your schedule? I personally use a monthly planner and my phone’s calendar option. Every Sunday, I review the coming week and make sure that both calendars match. If I make an appt with someone, I put it in the monthly planner and my phone calendar. It sounds tedious, but it works for me. My phone alerts me throughout the day of what I need to do and the planner gives me a full view of the entire month so I know when to schedule some things for me. I have a friend that prefers to use just her phone calendar and that works for her. If what you are doing now is not working, change it. Please, don’t rely on memory! Always have a scheduling method.
Schedule My Stuff First
I make a point to schedule things for me first. I put in yoga classes I want to be a part of and I block off the travel time for those classes. I might block out a couple of hours every Sunday for tea with anyone who might be available. Even if they cancel, I still block that time as me time. I can do something else at that time if no one wants tea! This is also a good time to block off time for family dinners, lunch with friends, or even just some reading time so I can decompress.
Scheduling Medical Things Together
When you have more than one child, medical appointments can suddenly become more frequent than you like. I found a solution by scheduling all appointments for my children on the same day. They go to the pediatrician for wellness checkups at the same time (obviously once they reached toddler age!). Routine dentist checkups are also scheduled for the same day. This is especially helpful if you must take off time at work to take your children for their checkups. I also tried to do this with PTA meetings as well. You might think you can’t swing that but teachers are pretty understanding and ours always worked with us.
These are just a few things you can do to make scheduling your day easier. Have you got a tip to add? Comment below and tell us how you manage your time that is helpful!
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