Time Management - Day in the Life of Me

Time management is one area many people struggle with for many reasons. Some of us are very go, go,go; overbook ourselves, run late, forget appointments, etc just because we are overconfident and/or overwhelmed. Especially when you add kids into the mix, time seems like a luxury you simply don't have. There is also another kind of person where maybe you do have time you just don't know how to effectively use it to get things done. It seems like you start something and three hours later you never finished anything that you intended to and are frustrated. Maybe you're a combination of both, or a whole different shade of grey, either way, time management is something everyone can usually benefit from in one way or another. Many people ask me how I do it all. ( Run my own business, host and clean our airbnb cabin, homeschool our kids, have a social life and take care of the house and take care of the family. For each of these categories I changed the font color for easier browse reading.) When I look at it all written out like that it does sound like a lot, and it is in many ways. I don't have much downtime but I am a person that is about results and productivity, it's just sort of in my nature so I'm a little more driven than the average Jane. I couldn't quite find an answer to how I do it so I decided to write down what I did at any given moment in a day so I could see it better and show you.

Everyday obviously varies, but this is what I did on this specific day.

8:00am

- Woke Up

- Made the bed

- Brushed teeth, emptied bathroom trash

- Wiped down bathroom sink

- Open all windows in house to let fresh air in.

- Get dressed.

9:00am

- Kids and husband are Skyping with the in laws so I pick things up around the house for a few minutes.

- I eat breakfast while reading a book I plan to write a review on and am taking notes on it.

- I help my 4yr old son make his bed and pick up toys in his room.

- Kids start to ride their little ride on cars around the house and I feed them their leftover bites of breakfast as they ride around and play.

- I add items to the to do list on the fridge as I think of them so I can let them go.

- My kids ask me to play with their bikes now so I tell them I will get their bikes only after they put away the cars they are riding so my two and four year old both put away their respective rides they were using and now I get them their bikes to play on.

- Lecture my boys on why we don't hide under beds for any reason and then helped him find other hiding spots. Had kids put away bikes away and helped them set up train tracks for them to now play with.

- I begin replacing back up batteries in my home security base and kids start arguing about a toy. I set a timer for the 2yr old to have a turn but he doesn't want to wait so he throws a tantrum and I sit him on the kitchen counter until the timer rings and it's turn to to play with the toy. Now I can finish replacing the batteries.

9:30am

- Empty dishwasher while watching a show I like on the computer and kids play in their room.

- Dishes get interrupted because air bnb guest 's kid is in my yard on the playground and my kids want to go play with that kid outside so I help get them ready and go out there and chat with that guest.

10:00am

- Set up snack time for the kids and have phone call with client.

10:30am

- Read stories with kids, put toddler down for nap.

- Set up older kid with some homeschooling projects.

- Clean cabin for new air bnb guest while little ones sleeps, big one does some homeschooling stuff.

11:00am

- Leave to see client and work with them 12-3. It doesn't take me an hour to get there, usually only 30min but I leave early so I have plenty of time to arrive, not rush, allow for traffic, detours, etc. While I drive I chat with a friend on the phone then listen to a podcast.

3:30pm

- Arrive home, greet family, lay on the bed for ten minutes, change into comfy clothes and then pick up things around the house.

4:00pm

- Me and the husband half play with kids in their room, half talk to each other about our day.

5:00pm

- I start making dinner, call and chat with my friend while husband brings the kids outside.

5:30pm

- Eat dinner together, talk about our favorite parts of our day, bad parts etc.

6:00pm

- Kids run around the house while husband prepares to give both boys a bath.

- While kids are having the bath I am putting away leftovers from dinner, sweeping the floor, doing dishes and talking on the phone with my aunt.

6:30pm

- Boys are done with bath, me and husband read stories to kids and put them down to bed.

7:00pm

- Adult energy crash. We sit on the back porch and watch the sunset then veg out on our media devices for awhile, he's playing video and I'm on Pinterest.

8:00pm

- Now that me and husband are a little relaxed we contemplate maybe watching a movie, playing chess, listening to a podcast while coloring, but decide to just work on our businesses a little bit until bedtime.

I end up working on a blog post, he updates his website.

9:00pm

- Wind down time, husband and I brush teeth, get interrupted by crying son so go give him a drink of water, then we both read in bed until lights out.

9:45pm

- Lights out.

Things to Notice:

1) I'm almost always doing something. I am not usually just sitting wasting time on Facebook, napping or watching TV. Ex: When I was watching a show I was also doing dishes, when eating breakfast, also reading a book.

2) I sneak in social time while doing things. Its easy to make a phone call and catch up with friends and loved ones while sweeping a floor or picking up the house.

3) Multitasking isn't really more than two things at once. If I'm eating breakfast I'm also reading a book while I eat but not eating, reading a book, and playing with kids or something, multitasking for me stops at usually two things at once because doing more than that usually doesn't produce the best results and stresses me out in general.

4) Pick up often. It's easy for a house to get out of control, especially with kids when you don't pick things up until last minute. Ideally you put things away when you're done with them but that doesn't always happen. The key is to pick up often while the clutter is small, quick and easy That's why it's important to every few hours just pick up the general area so it doesn't reach critical level of chaos.

5) Wind down time and decent bedtime. In order for you to be in a half way decent mood, feel any version of productive and generally have a healthy lifestyle, it's crucial to get proper sleep. If your schedule doesn't allow for it, find ways to make it happen because sleep is not a luxury it's a necessity.

So I hope this little preview into one of my days has been helpful and I know everyone's days vary and lifestyles, etc so if you would have any questions about how to help improve your schedule feel free to contact me and I would love to help !