I always thought I was a pretty good manager of time. I was rarely late to places and I always got assignments done. I didn’t have to write things down, because I always remembered what needed to be finished, but as more kids came along, and work life got more hectic, I realized that I was constantly stressed and some tasks were accidentally being dropped.
Maybe you can relate?
Do you constantly feel like you are running around like a chicken with its head cut off?
Are you always saying, “I don’t’ have enough time for that?”
Do you find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day?
Are you continually getting things done at the very last minute?
I’ve been there. Actually, sometimes I still feel like that, but I find that I am having this type of reaction and feeling, less and less in life and as I’m feeling less stressed about time, I am experiencing more in life. How is that? It is because I have learned how to manage my time. I no longer let time manage me.
Okay. I’m not perfect at this. There are days when I go back to the old me, and those are the days when I feel as though I am stretched too thin and I’m about to break.
BUT, when I do manage my time. I’m a Rockstar.
So, I’m here to share 3 easy steps you can take to help you become a Rockstar at managing your time, and ultimately your life.
1. Decide What Your Priorities Are
First, you have to learn to decide what your priorities are for that week. We are constantly trying to juggle a million different things. What we really need is to do get focused and clear on what is truly important that week. In order to get a bit more clarity, I ask myself two questions:
- What business, family, relationship goals do I have?
- What tasks are going to help me get closer to reaching those goals?
As I am asking myself these questions I picture each of these tasks as balls that I am juggling. Which one do I NOT want to drop? Would it be detrimental to drop one of them or is there one that I can drop for a time and pick back up again later? This helps me shift my focus back to what is important, doing this exercise helps me know right away what really needs to be done. Then my mind starts forming a plan, for how it will happen.
2. Write it Down
After you’ve decided what your priorities are, you must designate a time for that priority to get done.
Every Sunday evening, I sit down at my desk, pull out my planner and map out my week. I used to think that in order to use a planner effectively, I had to map out every 30 minutes of my life. Ultimately, this left me feeling like I had NO free time at all. So, I quickly gave up planning, and just flew by the seat of my pants, until I learned the concept of Time Blocking.
Do you know what time blocking is?
Well, let me show you.
This is a picture of my planner. Just an FYI…mine is called The Passion Planner and its hands down, my favorite planner yet. I’ve tried going digital and using just my computer and phone for planning, but it doesn’t work for my brain. I have to physically write it down. It sticks much better that way.
Do you see the “blocks” I’ve made? Those are Time Blocks that I’ve given to each task. I have a specific color of pen for each category. For example, blue is work, purple is all about me, green is family, pink is Homeschool and orange is meals/chores around home. Your planner doesn’t have to look like mine. I have friends and associates that make their planner super cute and creative. They use different washi tapes to block off each day, or they write in a different font. Basically, it doesn’t matter, as long as you can see the planner and know right away what is happening that day/week.
As I plan, I think about my priorities. I know I have to make time for work and for homeschool, so when will that happen? How about marketing for my business? When will I get my blog posts written? What about doctor’s appointments or games for my kids? When will my mentoring meetings be? What are we going to eat? What about my own self-care, when will that happen?
One tip that helps make time blocking even more effective is to try to keep tasks around the same time/day. For example, marketing is always on Monday afternoons. We do homeschool 4 days a week and it is typically in the morning. My Facebook live videos are on Wednesdays, so I find a good time each Wednesday for it. You’ll see that I even write down my meals. I’ve found that if I plan our meals, ahead of time, then I’m not looking at the clock at 5pm and realizing I have no idea what to cook. It helps us save money, by not eating out as much and it lessens the stress of mealtime, plus I know what I need to buy when I go grocery shopping.
So, figure out what is REALLY important, and then designate time to get it done.
3. Focus
So many times, we set aside time to work or get things done and then before we know it, that designated time has passed and we have nothing to show for it, because we gave in to distractions. So, ask yourself, “What are my distractions?” Mine is typically Facebook, or other social media outlets. I hop on to answer a few questions and before I know it, I’m scrolling through the feed and I’m wasting time. To avoid this, I set a timer. I tell myself that I have 15 minutes to interact with people on my social media accounts, and then I have to resume work. I turn off the notifications on my computer and phone so I don’t hear that “ding” and wonder who said something on a post. I’ve realized that even when the notifications are off, the world still goes on and I can see what I missed, later on.
There you have it! Those are 3 Easy Steps you can take to help manage your time more wisely. I promise that if you implement these simple steps, you’ll find yourself getting more things done, and having more fun in life too. If there is anything else you’d like to share, that helps you manage time easier, I’d love to hear it! Drop it in the comments below.
Thanks for joining me today!
XOXO-
Charlsye (CHAR-L-SEE) Miller will inspire and empower you to overcome the overwhelm that life can bring and create true peace that we all seek. She brings her experience to us of several years of mentoring women, in groups and individually. She has lead women entrepreneurs to greater achievements and has benefited from mentors herself. Her clients have learned to embrace who they truly are and how to love themselves fully, while they transform their life’s passions into reality. She is a wife and homeschool mom to her 5 children and she resides in Northern Arizona. She is the creator of www.realliferealmom.com where she teaches women to flourish and let their light shine. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Comments
I really enjoyed this post. I have to be in a quiet room with no phones or television if I want to get anything done.