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Posted by
Cheryl Majeski on June 07, 2015 - 12:48pm Edited 6/7 at 12:51pm
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
~ Abraham Lincoln
PLANNING – it’s that simple!
No rocket science, nothing long and drawn out that you have to spend weeks learning – it’s all about planning!
In last week’s post, I encouraged you to take the time and complete a time assessment. If you were honest and put down every little thing you do each day for a week it probably became a real eye opener for you. Additionally, it may have even cast a light on some other areas of your life that need tuning up -- like your health (the meals you’re eating and where some of your hard-earned money goes!) Creating a time management plan for yourself and your family may seem like a daunting task at first but I guarantee you that after the first month, it will become much easier. The benefits you’ll derive from a well thought out plan will help you find those extra minutes to spend elsewhere and also lessen your stress quotient.So let’s take a look at how you can begin planning and organizing your schedule a little better.If you’re a procrastinator like I am, you’re already working with a deficit – putting things off until you actually have to do them. This is some hard behavior to change but like anything else, if it’s important then you have to at least give it the old college try.Here’s a typical morning scenario:5:00 a.m. – the alarm goes off; you snooze it for 15 more glorious minutes and then it’s time to greet the morning (or curse it, if you’re not a morning person!) 5:15 – morning bathroom routine6:00 – make breakfast, get dressed, make lunch, etc.7:00 – out the door 1 hour and 45 minutes between the time you got up and the time you left for work. Was it stressful? Maybe. Could it be less stressful so maybe you’d have time for something else? Probably.Can you think of any ways you can do a couple of things to help the morning go smoother?
Well, here’s a start: do some prep work the night before – figure out what you’re going to wear the next day and get it ready so all you have to do is put it on. Don’t spend time ironing in the a.m. Maybe you could even get a couple of days ahead and iron for two or three days on the weekend so you can spend your precious morning time elsewhere.5:30 p.m. – get home, catch up with family6:30 – eat dinner, clean up, evening routine9:30 – Good Night!From the time you get home from work until you retire for the night, you’ve got “X” amount of hours to cram in any number of things. Some family time for sure, chores and maybe some relaxation. 
Think of ways you can cut your “doing” time down so things run smoother. Warmer weather means more outdoor time so maybe you’re grilling more and living on the porch or patio more – less house clutter.Also, school’s almost out for the summer (Alice Cooper anyone?) so give a little more responsibility to the kids for helping out around the house and yard.Involve the kids in meal planning too! It can even become a family activity you do on the weekend after Saturday morning breakfast. Everyone needs to learn how to budget their time so teaching your kids at an early age will help them too.There’s lots of ways to solve the eating dilemma if you do some planning. On Monday’s and Friday’s, I don’t want to come home and make dinner – I’m tired. So, on Sunday, I’ll cook two meals – one for Sunday and one for Monday so all I’m doing on Monday after work is reheating. Same on Thursday – one meal for Thursday dinner and one for Friday. If I’m eating home more, then maybe Friday becomes take-out night.
If you do eat out a lot, meal planning may really help you curb this. There’s nothing wrong with occasional take out but two things to consider – is your diet and health suffering as a result and also your finances?Basically, the whole trick to finding more time is to figure out where you can trim the minutes. As much as we women want to be superwoman, sometimes you just need to delegate the workload. You can find ways to organize your life better so your time is spent on things you want to do. If everyone pitches in then it’s a win/win. Let’s use the family room as an example. Is it always a mess? Are you always yelling at the kids and telling them to pick up their toys, books, etc.? Are you sick of the clutter? No one’s happy if mom or dad is on the warpath so solve the problem by giving everyone their own plastic crate or basket to put their stuff in before bedtime roles around. Cuts down on time spent picking up.Use these foundational tips to help in everything that you do. Figure out where the time drains are and start unclogging them.
