TIME-A Valuable Asset

Time Management: Making Time

What does that really mean? Especially when you are a busy mom. It seems like time just slips away. The best gift I gave myself when my kids were young was a little break away from them. At that point in my life that was going to the gym. Sometimes I'd go to the gym just to slowly walk on the treadmill to get away from the daily mommy tasks that were always there and would never go away. I was ok with that. I didn't need to break a sweat, I just needed to not be needed. The time spent "away" from the kids helped me to spend the rest of the day focused on tasks and not resenting that I didn't ever have any time to myself.

I still say to myself on a daily basis that I don't seem to have enough time in the day. The days that I have a plan and a schedule that I actually write down I find myself to be the most productive. Even if there are unannounced interruptions. We all know that when your kids are young there are always distractions. You start to have mental chatter that you can't seem to complete anything. Before you know it that thought becomes what you think is reality.

I've been committed to working on ridding myself of this mental chatter by focusing on creating new thoughts in my head. Every feeling comes from a thought in our mind. Not the other way around. Every great thing that we have in this human world ALL came from a THOUGHT. Think about it... The cell phone was only a thought at the beginning. Electricity was only a thought in its beginning. The reason I'm explaining this is because I want you to think differently about time. When you think you don't have enough time over and over that thought will perpetuate your actions which will then give the result of not getting things done-which will ultimately confirm your initial thought of "I don't have enough time". That my friend, it how procrastination begins.

How do we rethink our time?

The first thing you must do is sit down and write what you did in the last 24 hours. Every little detail. For example, cleaning, showering, dressing, social media, cooking, playing with kids, driving, etc. You might be surprised by how some of your decisions on how you use your time is not time used wisely.

Here are some ideas about how to make the most of your time:

1. Make a decision- the back and forth of indecision is a big time suck! It is always faster to just make a decision!

2. Plan- put down on paper all of your to-do's. Arrange the to-do's by priority.

3. Say no- you probably waste a lot of time doing the things you don't want to do. You probably waste time thinking/complaining about the things your don't want to do.

4. Complete Tasks- we start tasks and don't finish them all of the time. Completing a task adds to the momentum of doing which begets more doing.

5. Delegate- don't do things you are not good at. Spend your time on your unique abilities.

6. Make routines- ultimately this is the best for avoiding mommy burn out.

7. Avoid Social Media- or at least limit your time on it every day.

8. Stop Multi-tasking- you can only do one thing good at one time.

9. Stop Judging Yourself- you are doing the best that you can at this time in your life. The mental chatter of judgement just slows us down.

10. Stop Worrying- You were not put on this Earth to waste away your time worrying! A life time spent in worry is a wasted life!

As Always,

Keep it Sweet and Neat,

Stephanie