Ask any busy mom what her most precious commodity is and she'll answer you with one word: TIME. Everyday I hear moms lament "I don't have enough time to do all that I need to."
Moms juggle so many hats, from career woman to cook, chief bottle washer to friend, wife, lover and mother.
So just how do you get the most out of your allotted twenty-four hours. There's only one way and that's time management.
Before you groan and stop reading, realize that time management isn't one more thing to add to your to do list. Time management is life management. Being in control of your time is being in control of your life.
What can you do to regain control over your time and ultimately, your life?
As a busy work at home mom myself, I have found that implementing these four guiding principles have helped me to gain control over Father Time.
- Focus only on accomplishing what is absolutely necessary. Wipe everything else off your to-do list. This will free up some 'me time' for you - time where you are free to do what you want to do. For example, when the President of the PTA asks you to bake cookies for the annual bake sale and you're already overwhelmed, politely decline by saying something like "You know, I'd love to, but at the moment my schedule is full"
- Start fewer projects, but complete them. A few years ago I was the Queen of uncompleted projects. I would start dozens of projects, but hardly completed any of them. My productivity skyrocketed when I started focusing on completing 3-4 jobs rather than starting 10 and completing none.
- Set priorities. What are the top 5 goals you need to accomplish in the next 3 months. Write them down. The next time you want to do something ask yourself "Does this help me to accomplish one of my top 5 goals?" If the task doesn't, then don't do it.
- Be flexible. No schedule is written in stone. Have a Plan B & C, so that if Plan A goes awry, then all isn't lost.
