Avoid time-wasters and make time for what you want

What are some time wasters in your life? Do you spend a lot of time playing on Facebook? Do you drive around town doing chores? Do you watch too much television?

A system to organize your life will help you make the most of the little time your life seems to have. By putting this system into place, you will feel more happy and free. We’ve talked about calendars and time before. Now let’s see if we can put everything together, make your life more organized and free up some time to relax, take a long, hot bath, read a good book or maybe even take a nap.

Take a few minutes to think about what you did today. You probably hoped to perform a series of tasks. Did you finish everything you intended to do? If not, you need some help. Make a schedule. You do not have to mark down every minute of the day, but a general idea of what you have to do. Think about how long it takes to do each task and make time for them all. If you don’t have time to do everything on your list, then be honest with yourself and remove/reschedule the non-essential tasks (you can always have a ‘wish list’ for the non-essentials). Figure out when you need to drive somewhere, eat your meals and walk the family dog. All of those things take time. When you are finished your calendar, you will see what you should accomplish in a week. It might vary from week to week, but one week is a good starting point.

The first thing you will notice is that you get a lot more accomplished than you thought. But, you can do more. Schedule times to do those relaxing things like reading. A few minutes to mentally refuel the tank go a long way toward your peace of mind. Make sure you eat when you should to avoid overeating when you should not. A good breakfast is not just brain food for your kids.

By scheduling time to do certain tasks, they will not snowball and turn into monster-sized jobs. For example, if you do laundry every Monday and Thursday you will never end up with a mountain of laundry. Taking small bites of work is a lot easier than waiting until the task becomes massive. 

Once your schedule is set, give it a try. See how close you are to the schedule for a week. Tweak it if necessary, for the following week. Eventually, you will come up with something that you can live with and help you manage your time more effectively.

Successful Strategies for Starting the School Year

It is already August and the new school year looms overhead. There is no way avoid it. Just take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds and let it out slowly. Ready? 

It’s time to tackle jumping into the back to school madness. Many people put it off until the last minute. I don’t recommended it, because it will add stress to you and your whole family. The kids already have enough anxiety about starting the new school year. You do not want to add any more drama.

Setting up a plan of attack is critical. The school might send a list of suggested supplies, and that is a good starting point. You will undoubtedly have to add things to it and cross off items you already have. What can you salvage from last year? Pens, pencils, paper… And then there is the big money question – are there enough computers in your house? Will everyone be able to do their schoolwork with the number of computers available? 

You will need a notebook or folder for each child. Keeping the kids’ school assignments, class trip release forms and all other school-related papers should be in one location. You should also have a big calendar for everyone to use, coordinating all events. Kids can mark when they have tests, field trips and half days. You can add teacher conference appointments or anything else pertaining to the school year.

Some school supplies can be purchased online. It might save you time to do it that way. There are less distractions for the kids. However, if you are a “hands on” person, you probably want to go to the store, and you will save money on shipping.

One of the biggest chores is dealing with clothing. As kids are growing, last year’s clothes probably do not fit as well as they once did. And, your kids want to wear what all of the other kids are wearing. You should probably have the child try on some things, but go through the clothing and figure out what you have and what you need. Don’t forget shoes. Add everything to your list. Maybe a younger child can use some of the other child’s clothing. If no one can use the items and they are still in good shape, get together a donation for Goodwill, AmVets or another worthwhile charity.

The next chore is the backpack. Some backpacks look bigger than the kids toting them. Try to find an appropriately sized backpack that is big enough to accommodate everything your child will need. You can assign a certain section of the backpack for important papers and go through it each night to make sure you see all papers that are sent home. 

If you have little athletes, you will probably need a doctor’s visit. Medical forms need to be completed before they can play sports. You may need to update sports gear and clothing.

When there are less bathrooms than people – and that is usually the case – a shower schedule might need to be put into play. Some kids like to take a shower the night before, especially those who have a hard time getting up in the morning. 

One of the most difficult things to schedule is the morning exit strategy. If any of the children changed schools this year, it might throw off the last year’s morning routine. Who has to be at school at what time? Do they walk or take the bus? Does a parent drive them? Can you coordinate everyone’s schedule with your own work schedule? What about a carpool? 

After a week or so, this should get easier. You could even attempt a practice run before school starts. Try it during the normal school time so that you get an accurate view of the traffic.

Take the pressure off the whole family and try to complete the back to school chores as early as possible. You will feel like a giant weight has been lifted once you are finished. 

Tips for Timeliness

These days time can be even more valuable than money. Time is finite. There are only so many hours in a day and some of those should be allocated for sleeping. The ability to prioritize is so important, yet many of us struggle with deciding what has to be done verses what we wish we could do. It helps if we can think in terms of the here and now. What is most important for you to do today? What can you put off or simply not do today? 

Using your time wisely is something that can make your day go better. If you get overwhelmed, you might have to say no to some activities. Turning down fun things is not ideal. Saying no to people who you’d like to please is very difficult. If you learn how to prioritize and budget time more effectively, you can learn to make time for the things that are most important to you.

Multitasking is a wonderful thing, however, there are people who try to do too much at once and end up doing a poor job at everything. Tackling one job at a time can often be a better use of time. There was a time when I was proud to be a great multi-tasker. These days it feels more serene to focus on one activity at a time.

Another issue is overbooking and/or overpromising. Even with all the wonderful technological advances, it’s still difficult to be two places at the same time. When we over-commit, someone usually ends up disappointed or angry. Instead, teach yourself (or ask for help in learning how) to better estimate realistic, achievable daily goals. Make sure you assign enough time for each task on your list and remember to add time for travel and any necessary stops along the way.

Waiting in line is something that we have no control over and can eat up a substantial chunk of time. Try to do things like grocery shopping, buying gas, going to the bank and other chores when the businesses are not as crowded. Early mornings can be a good time for grocery shopping. Parking is easier. Lines are shorter. You might not feel like getting up early just to run errands, but you have to think about the reward. You’ll have more free time later in the day!

This might sound simple, but plan ahead. The bank might be on the way to the baseball field where you have to drop your son. Driving somewhere and back home repeatedly instead of doing everything in one trip, can waste time, gas and money. 

Think about what you need to do each day next week. Plan it out. You might say, “Wait a minute, planning out my week is going to take time!” But after you have it planned, you will use your time more efficiently and the planning will get easier week by week.

Most bills can be paid online. Several banks have both direct deposit and online banking. Going to the bank may soon become obsolete. You can digitally set up monthly payments to automatically come out of your account on a certain date. Using online banking features can save time writing out checks every month. Just make sure you keep track of what is going in and out of your account. Most banks have mobile versions of their websites too, making banking very convenient no matter where you are.

Time to get real… Admit that you waste time – everyone does it. Figure out what wastes your time and make an effort to do something constructive instead. Maybe instead of getting lost in Facebook, you can take 5 minutes and unsubscribe from a few junk e-mail lists.  While you are waiting for your daughter at the doctor’s office, you can read over some documents that came in the mail that you haven’t had time to read at home. 

Around the house, tackle the little jobs before they grow into a monster-sized job that will overwhelm you. Doing a load of laundry a couple nights a week instead of waiting until you run out of underwear makes the task seem less daunting. Cleaning the kitchen and bathroom more often will take less time than waiting until the crud has built up everywhere.

Make at least a small effort to improve your time management. If you feel like a big change is too much, remember that each journey starts with a single step. Start with one problem area like excess t.v. viewing, internet surfing, unnecessary phone chatting, wherever you want to start. Try to cut down on that one thing and you will see how much more time you have available to do the pleasurable things in life.