Life is crazy.
No matter what stage of life we find ourselves {working, stay at home mom, retired, single, married…} there are always things that should be done, things that have to be done, and things we want to get done.
The difficult thing is that we only have 24 hours in a day and some of those need to be spent sleeping. No matter what we do we can not increase the time we have been given. So how does it all get done? Should we give up and just focus on surviving? Should we wait for the next season of life and hope it gets better?
Unfortunately, we aren’t promised life will ever slow down. More likely our to-do list will only grow longer. I am by no means the expert on time management but I have found four things that help me and maybe it will encourage you to consider your schedule.
Know what’s coming
On Sunday evening I look at the calendar for the next week and see if there’s anything special or different I need to remember. Parties, appointments, play dates, events. Anything that is different from our usual week I make note of.
Know what always needs to be done
People have different thoughts on doing laundry. Some prefer to do a load a day. I like getting it all done in one day — Monday. I also try to grocery shop on the same day each week. We homeschool and try to get finished by noon each Monday-Friday. My daughter has piano lessons the same day and time each week. Knowing this shows me what time is taken and what time I have to get the extra things done.
Know what extra needs to be done
If I’m teaching a lesson for something at church or I need to buy a gift for a party, I write a to-do list and prioritize. Going off of what I know has to be done (laundry, meals, school, etc) I plan when I’m going to do those extras. If I need a present by Friday afternoon, I see when I’m already going to be out of the house before Friday and write to buy a present then. If I have an article due on Saturday, I make time on Monday and Tuesday so any sudden disruptions {sick kids, unexpected meetings} don’t throw off my ability to turn in the article on time. Now this sometimes means I have to choose to do one thing that HAS to get done over something I would LIKE to get done. Like not reading as much one week so I can make party decorations that are needed by Friday.
Know what would be nice to get done
The list of ‘I wants’ is probably the longest list I have. Home projects, books to read, words to write, crafts to tackle, organizing, coffee dates…I want to do a lot! The key is to not expect to get it all done now {Rome wasn’t built in a day} and to decide how to prioritize those desires into manageable chunks. When I know my kids will be somewhere else or busy with a play date, I try to get done projects that take all my attention, that are better done in a large chunk of time, or involve messes I don’t want them wandering into. When they are playing outside and could come running in at any minute, I use that time to read, research homeschool materials, things that I can easily pick up again if interrupted for a few minutes. I usually don’t have the ability to plan when I’ll get to my ‘nice to get done list’ but when unscheduled time pops up and my other things are finished, I have a list I can quickly jump into.
So much of time management and the struggle to get things done comes down to our discipline. Are we wasting time scrolling through everyone else’s feeds but never living our own lives? Do we take advantage of the moments we have?
Photo by Plush Design Studio