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5 helpful time management tips
Ahh, time management. Something I am good at, but not so good at.
It’s no secret I am a busy mama. From working a full-time job, doing several side hustles, baseball games, being a mommy and wife, and taking care of my grandparents, I am always on the go. My friends ask me how I do it. Honestly, sometimes I don’t know. This is what is currently on my plate:
- working as a project manager 40 hours a week
- serving on the board of the Georgia DHI (Door & Hardware Institute)
- making custom decals and shirts
- making custom birthday invitations and party favors
- running this blog (about 10 hours a week)
- taking care of my grandparents & their finances
Truth be told, I take on more than I really should. Sometimes I just wish I was a normal mama – a stay at home mama who is wonder woman and can raise her sweet family. Okay, back to the real world… Truth of the matter is, I have to work to help support our family. With our insane medical bills from my husbands motorcycle wreck, there is no way I can be a SAH mama no matter how hard I dream at this point. Actually my dream is to own my own farm one day but that’s LONG way off 🙂
Anyways, back to time management – I have to schedule things out in order to get anything done. Of course my job is a 7:30-4:00 so no room there. Baseball is also scheduled 4 days a week around an hour each time and  40 minutes – 1-1/2 hours of driving time. If I have orders for decals and/or shirts, I pick one day a week to work on them. That way I am not spending 1 hour on the computer just to create the decal and, then going back another day to cut it out. I also do my grandparents finances once a week. I pick a day I can devote 2 hours solely to them and manage anything they need during this time.
So basically I have to space everything out and keep it separate in my mind. For instance, this week Wednesday was my only day free since we’re taking a mini-vacation this weekend. Wednesday I worked on my blog, managed my grandparents finances, and made a couple decals.
Every situation is different. The best way to manage your time more proficiently is write it out. Make a mini schedule of your duties you typically perform each week. Excel has a downloadable calendar you can type your own information in each week to have a visual. See mine here.
Another tip you can remember is not to take on more than you can handle. When I was nominated to sign up and become part of the board for our local door and hardware chapter, there was not a lot of commitment. I spend probably 1-2 hours a month coordinating and working. If there’s a meeting I have to spend a little more time, but it’s not a huge commitment. On the other hand, if this were a 2 hour a week commitment, there is no way I could possibly fit another 2 hours in my busy schedule and still have time to spend with my family (which is a high priority for me).
You also need to make time for yourself! For instance, my time for myself is my bible study and worshiping God! I usually do my bible studies on my break at work or at night at home. Faith feeds my soul and keeps me going. Also another down time for myself is my blog. I get to sit down and write content for you amazing viewers and that satisfies me! For you, this could be a simple pedicure or a ladies night out or simply reading a book… Just do something you LOVE.
Another time management tip I use is I don’t watch TV. Yes, you read that right, I don’t watch TV. Currently we have Netflix, which is great but I don’t want to spend 45 minutes – 2 hours sitting down watching a show. I just can’t. It drives me crazy! If my husband or my son asks me to watch an episode of something with them, that’s different. That’s spending quality time with your family and that should be above all (other than worshiping God). But, this is maybe a once a week occurrence for me.
I also use a cleaning plan that helps me. I’ll post that in another blog post but basically I have my little guy, Hunter, who does chores, and I do certain chores every day of the week to lessen the time spent on cleaning.
So if you’re like me and you have a super busy life, I hope these tips have helped lessen your load. Here’s a recap of time management tips I use:
- Make a schedule start with your commitments and move around your more “flexible” tasks.
- Learn to say “no” when you can’t schedule out the time.
- Spend some “me” time!
- Spend less time watching TV and movies
- Develop a cleaning plan
Please let me know if you have other time management tips you use to stay sane 🙂 I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
You do have a busy life! I think you manage it well!
Thanks!!