It seems like everyone is always looking for ways to save time. What exactly we are planning to do with all that time, I'm not really sure -- storing it up?!? I think most of us want to save time in order to have that time to do more of the things we WANT to do vs. the things that we MUST (or feel that we must?) do. I am a poor time-manager, unless I have a plan...a written one. Especially since becoming a mom and having so many more distractions, I really function much better if I have a schedule in place and try to stick to it most of the time. This is the explanation for my absence on this blog as of late -- following the schedule hasn't left me a lot of time for blogging...it tends to come down to blogging or reading early in the morning or late at night, and since those often tend to be dangerous, less-than-ideal times for me to blog, it just hasn't happened. BUT, I'm glad to say that things like intentional crafting, creating, teaching times with my daughter HAVE been happening, almost daily...as well as playtime WITH her, reading time for me (I decided I was tired of saying "I don't have time to read."), exercising, and lots of other routine things that should be happening regularly, but in my world, if they are not scheduled, I find myself at the end of the day saying...I meant to do...
I want to share a couple things that have been helpful in this quest if there are others out there like me. (If there aren't any, don't tell me -- ignorance is bliss.) My mom gave me a copy of Emilie Barnes' book Creative Home Organizer for my birthday in November. It's taken me just over 3 months to read it, because it is not written in traditional form. Each chapter has an introduction, followed by pages of bullet points. Yes, there are 334 pages of mostly bullet points! It is an excellent book and I am coming away with many helpful tips, but it is not something to be consumed all at once. It's also probably something that will become a reference book of sorts for me as I go through different seasons of life.
Another thing that has been absolutely fantastic is that I FINALLY put together a home notebook. This is something I have been working on for over 2 years. It took me a long time to figure out what mine should look like, and what would be most helpful for me as a wife, mother, and homemaker. I will confess that Lauren's post about it a few weeks ago gave me the final kick that I needed to get going with it. I discovered some great sites with FREE printables, and a few weekends ago, my husband gave me a few hours to focus on it so I could get it done. It is still a work in progress, but using it has really simplified things for me. I plan to post about that as next week's Tuesday Tip, and I'm thinking of making it a vlog post...........
So enough rambling for today -- I want to share a couple of things from the book I mentioned above, as today's Tuesday Tips.
TOP TIME WASTERS
Trying to do too much at once -- learn to prioritize your tasks.
Failing to plan -- Successful time managers look at the big picture in order to make a plan and set priorities.
Being unable to say no -- Learning to say no (gently and decently, of course) helps you maintain balance among your personal, family, and work time.
Putting things off -- Don't waste time agonizing over an unpleasant chore - either do it right away, hire it done, or forget it.
Doing everything yourself -- You must learn to delegate certain tasks. You can't do it all.
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