Now, just because something is simple does not necessarily mean it is easy. I dare say though, if you persevere until these simple suggestions become easy habit, you will find yourself effectively managing your time and therefore, your life!
#1 You gotta have goals
Everyday have a focus, a vision. When you have a goal in mind for the day you're more likely to be focused (and more likely to achieve it) than if you just go into your day scattered and hoping things will get done. Make sure that these goals are realistic and achievable. Set out a brief plan of action of how to achieve these goals and asses the plan for it's practicality (reality check). Perhaps you might not be able to do an hour and a half workout AND jog for an hour AND loose 10 pounds all in the same day while you do the groceries, supervise homework and bath time and make supper and do the laundry. BUT what you may be able to achieve is to make some wise food choices, a 15 minute walk on your lunch break, 20 minute walk after supper with the kids and a few sit ups and push ups in the bathroom before your shower. See how we can sneak it in there? Without using up a huge slot of time we've at least maintained a semblance of our goal. If we had stuck with our grandiose goal we would have been dissapointed and less likely to even consider fitness in the future. By setting goals we are also sending a message to our subconscious. Our subconscious really, really wants to help us. We simply need to send it clear messages. So set your morning goals. Make them realistic and stick to them. Then you won't just be wafting around in the evening trying to decided or being side tracked into other things and finding at bedtime that you really didn't get anything done.
#2 Plan Ahead
Do today what you CAN do today, to save time tomorrow. This one is pretty obvious but once you make it a habit it will pay off big time. Let's just skip right to some common examples.
Garbage day. Empty the bathroom garbage, the office etc. dead food in the fridge, sort the recycling the night before. Then in the morning you've just to take it to the curb. Better yet, have a system in place for sorting the recycling as you go then you've only to take it out!
Laundry. Separate the laundry as it comes off your back. Even a two compartment (or bag) system will save time. Whites in one, darks/colors in another.
Dishes. Wash them as you make them. Don't sit down to eat until the pots are washed. You'll wash them faster because you're hungry and then you won't dread it afterward.
House work. Break it up. One small thing a day. It takes me 15 minutes to wash the main floor. 30 seconds to wash the bathroom counter. One thing in the morning and one at night takes little time or effort and avoids a big cleaning day. (Therefore freeing up my Sunday for walks in the forest!)
Other tasks? If you know you're making cookies on Saturday make sure to have the recipe printed out and buy the ingredients with the regular groceries to save yourself alot of time and an extra trip to the store.
#3 Git 'er done!
Dad always said, "Don't think about it, just do it". Have you ever noticed how sitting and thinking about a job or task you don't want to do makes it that much harder to find the motivation? The more we think about it, the more our beautiful brains can come up with ways that it will be awful or difficult etc. This leads to procrastination, which in turn leads to a lot of time used up doing nothing or at best doing things that are really not that important to us leaving us with a sense of having wasted our time. The answer? Just do it. Identify those things that just never seem to get done, those things you dread doing. Is it laundry on Saturday morning? Maybe your workout? Or those never ending dishes? Make it a habit to just get it done. Unfinished chores zap our energy because they require attention to keep reminding ourselves that they're not done. One option is to get it done first thing in the morning before you even have time to come up with excuses. Dishes? Do them as you go, immediately. Then you don't have to dread them while you're eating or worse, all day at work. It takes only a few seconds more to wash as you go and will save you that whole experience, not to mention the time, later on.
#4 Never leave a room (or your car) empty handed
This was a tip I learned from my mother. Sometimes it seems like a "stuff" bomb explodes in our house or, yes I will admit, our car. Stuff just seems to collect in all the places except for where it should be. The answer? Never leave a room or your car without bringing something to it's proper place. How does it work? If you're going upstairs, make sure to bring at least one thing with you that should go up there. If you're leaving the living room to go to the kitchen and there is a glass in the living room, take it with you (and even better wash it). Odds and ends can trail all over eventually leading to a big task (which will take up time) of cleaning it up. If you take one thing each time you go it will never amount to the dreaded cleaning session.
#5 Stop "trying"
Last but not least, stop trying. As Yoda said "There is no try. There is do or not do." Trying means that you feel for some reason you should but you really don't want to. You therefore do not have the commitment and emotion behind the task to effectively carry it out and accomplish it. It will suck your energy and waste your time as you procrastinate. You will use a lot of energy and accomplish little. Evaluate those daily goals and tasks. Commit right now to either doing things or not and simply stop trying.
So to sum our new focus for managing our time and cutting out alot of wasted space:
You gotta have goals.
to achieve those goals
You gotta plan ahead
when you plan ahead you'll
Git 'er done!
To git 'er done
Never leave a room empty handed
and for heavens sake
Stop Trying!
to achieve those goals
You gotta plan ahead
when you plan ahead you'll
Git 'er done!
To git 'er done
Never leave a room empty handed
and for heavens sake
Stop Trying!
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