3 Steps To Being More Effective
Raise your hand if you struggle with time management and wish you were more effective! If you're like me, you feel like your to do list keep on growing and your days keep on getting shorter! Add in having the kids home for Summer and it's impossible to get everything done in a day.
If your kids and life derail your whole plan for the day, this post is for you. Here is how I keep myself on track to get things done without sacrificing getting up early (yuck) or staying up way to late!
If you follow this simple plan below, you won't find yourself up until 2am trying to rush and fit an entire day into 3 hours at night.
Step 1 - Take a piece of paper and write everything you need to do at night for the following day. Literally schedule everything! This includes showering, feeding your kids, running to Target etc. You have to list everything because everything needs to have a time slot in your day if you really want to be more effective.
Step 2 - When you have everything listed, it all gets a time slot for the following day. I write them on the proper day in my calendar in chronological order with the times next to them. I first start off by scheduling the item(s) that don't want to do. I am the queen of avoidance, so I find that if I get those challenging tasks done early, they actually get done. Next, prioritize the things that are the most important and fill in the rest of your items accordingly!
Step 3 - As you start to cross items off our list you will find that pockets of time start to open up. Emergencies are inevitable, but do your best to put them off until you have one of those free pockets of time. My kids are often demanding drinks and food and entertainment so I could fill my day with halfway completed tasks if I'm not careful. Through this process, you'll teach your children patience and self reliance. Just be sure that you help them with their needs when you are finished. They will learn to trust you when you ask them to be patent and tell them that you will get to (insert demand here) as soon as you are done with what you are doing.
The key to this technique of time blocking to be more effective is that you have to stick to the schedule. Come hell or high water those items on your list get checked off in order. Nothing else takes priority! Once you see how those free pockets of time pop up, you'll feel less inclined to categorize everything that comes up as an emergency and as a result you will become a production machine...getting things done like a boss!
You'll need a super rad planner for this and I'm in love with my Happy Planner. It's crazy customizable and just the cutest thing out there. All the accessories are so fun and make time management a project you can get behind. Get yours here!
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