Time management is important. It is also a skill that has been lost on a lot of people.
My boyfriend used to tell me that I try to fit too many things into one day. On these days, I would set myself up for disappointment when I didn’t accomplish everything I set out to do.
This is something that I have gotten much better at. I admit though, I’m good at fitting a lot into a small space or timeframe.
Partly, I attribute this habit to the hours and hours I spent on putting together puzzles when I was younger. I learned to fit things together, to patiently problem solve and make things work. I have to thank my mom for that. She’s a queen at making things work and accomplishing very much with very little.
Time management is one of my strong points. I have been asked many times: How do you DO what you do and still manage to do what you love? (i.e. paint, write a novel, play guitar, workout, etc.)
1. USE A CLOCK, A TIMER, SET ALARMS
From day one, I had my babies on a schedule, a very, very tight schedule. The schedule was by the clock, on the dot, daily, predictable and rigid. The days were habit forming and routine dependent.
Not only does this benefit you, but also a schedule is a must for young ones. Having a set schedule is the only way you can stay sane as a parent. Children need regularity and need to know what is expected of them as early as birth. On the plus side, this allows guilt-free time for mom (or dad) to have “me time”.
2. DO PUZZLES AND LEARN TO PROBLEM SOLVE
I know this may seem weird, but I’m telling you, spend about an hour on an old fashioned, cardboard puzzle. Before you know it, you’ll be trying to do that with your time. When I’m loading my dishwasher I will sit there for 5 minutes rearranging until that last dish or two has a spot.
Problem solving is how we identify a problem, develop possible solutions, and take the appropriate course of action. Good problem solving skills are necessary for maximizing your time and figuring out how much you can actually fit into the time that you have. It also helps you identify when you can be doing more than one thing at a time.
3. TIME MANAGEMENT WITH MULTITASKING
Not everyone is good at multitasking, but everybody can multitask, man and woman alike.
It is possible to fit your day together with multitasking, and therefore it’s possible to accomplish fantastic time management skills.
When I was a stay at home mom, I had days where I would set out to accomplish a whole lot.
For example: laundry, workout, mow the grass, make bread, make granola, go grocery shopping, pay some bills and if I got lucky, work on writing my book and go tanning, too.
You’re probably thinking this is impossible, especially since in the beginning, I had 4 sometimes 5 kids all under the age of 7.
The trick to multitasking is to identify the task that can be started, and continue running, behind the second task you set out to do. (i.e. throwing in a load of laundry quick before taking a shower).
4. PRIORITIZE
It’s all about setting up your day for success. Prioritizing.
When you’re in bed (or sometime shortly after you get up) and your day hasn’t started yet, make a mental run through of all the things you want to do.
Put the most important task at the top.
For me, I knew that if I wanted to make bread and do laundry, these two things take the longest amount of time, but work almost on their own. (As mentioned above with multitasking). So before I did anything else, I would throw a batch of bread in (I have a bread machine), and a load of laundry. After this, then I’d go about getting my day “started”. This way, once I finished breakfast and had my shower, I could switch laundry and I already accomplished several things with little effort by prioritizing and multitasking.
The key is knowing where to fit things in and when. It’s like a puzzle. If you piece together your day just right, you can really cut down on time. You can maximize the amount of things you’re able to get done in a short period of time, simply by prioritizing.
5. PLAN AND MAKE LISTS
This can be a simple plan that is only in your head, or a physical list on paper. When my day looks crazy, I’ll scribble out my list on paper. Otherwise I usually just piece it together in my head as I go, with a general direction at the beginning.
If you’ve got a very specific plan, or a loose plan, either way, this helps when you’re going about your day.
6. TIME MANAGEMENT WITH FOCUS
Staying focused on the task at hand really cuts down on a lot of time.
Silence your phone; turn off the TV; close a door; go somewhere quiet… Grocery shopping? Skip Wal-Mart. (Yeah, I just dropped the WM bomb). Do whatever it takes to focus on the task at hand.
7. SQUEEZE IT IN AND ARRIVE FASHIONABLY ON TIME
Some people are extra sensitive about their time so much so that they create large empty gaps in their day. These folks will arrive an hour or so before they’re actually supposed to be somewhere. These people struggle with multitasking and time management out of fear that it will make them late. They also tend to only accomplish one single task in a day.
If you’re this type of person, use your timer or watch, make a plan, get out of your comfort zone. Understand that there are little things that can be done in the time that you otherwise may just be sitting doing nothing. And if you arrive exactly on time, it’s okay.
8. LOOK FOR HOLES
While you make your list or plan, look for places where you might have “holes” in your schedule or day. Utilize these tiny gaps in your day by filling them with smaller things on your to-do list.
Fill waiting periods with short to-do’s instead of waisting that time on social media.
9. ACCEPT THAT YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO GET IT ALL IN, AND ELIMINATE
It’s important to remember that some things, though you want to accomplish them, may not be that important and worth the exhaustion.
At the end of the day, focus on what you have accomplished instead of what you haven’t accomplished. It’s okay to leave some things for another day.
TIME MANAGEMENT BONUS POINT
One of the top number one time management skills I have found that works is early to bed, early to rise.
When you get up even just an hour earlier than usual, you’ll be surprised at how accomplished you feel during the rest of your day. Your day will feel so much more put together when you wake up at home instead of in traffic and at the office.
Now it’s your turn to tell me what you do to mange your time and get everything done. I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.