1) KEEP A SCHEDULE. Having things written out in a day planner so that you can look ahead can help you to organize your days and weeks. You can organize your time and budget it out much like you do your grocery bill. You will know at a glance when you have overextended yourself so that you don’t over-book your precious time. It can also prevent you from forgetting things until the last minute so that you don’t wake up one morning and find yourself racing around the kitchen at five o’clock in the morning making cupcakes for the school bake sale, or spend all night finishing up the project at work that your boss wanted yesterday.
2) ACHIEVE A BALANCE. Think of your life in terms of a giant pie graph. In fact, you might want to make a pie graph that represents your day or your week. Figure out how many hours you need for all the different activities and responsibilities you have: work, children, spouse, housework, errands, sleep, personal hygiene, eating, alone time, etc. Try to keep everything you need to do in perspective and balance out your needs accordingly. By laying it all out, whether mentally or on paper, you will begin to see if any areas are unbalanced, or being squeezed out, so that you can make adjustments.
3) PRIORITIZE YOUR ACTIVITIES. A career, a family, and a house to run are three jobs, and not even Superman could find time to do everything that needs to be done. When you schedule your activities, or make your to-do lists, prioritize the things that need to be done. Put the most important things at the top of the list, and the things that are least important or things that can wait at the bottom. If you get through your whole list, great! If not, at least you’ll have tended to the most vital, pressing items and gotten them out of the way.
4) DELEGATE RESPONSIBILITIES. Don’t try to do everything yourself, at home or at work. Make your spouse and your children a list of chores to take some of the weight off of your own shoulders. At work, if you find yourself swamped, see if a co-worker or secretary can help you with some of the more simple yet time-consuming tasks to lighten your load.
5) PAY FOR SERVICES. Sometimes it actually pays to pay others to do time-consuming things, rather than tackling them ourselves. For example, if you earn $25 an hour doing overtime, wouldn’t you rather do one hour of overtime, then take that $25 and give it to someone else to do some unpleasant task that would take you two, three, four or five hours? Hire a student to clean out your garage, or cut your grass or shovel the snow off your walk. Offer your friendly neighbor some gas money to pick up your kids from school so you don’t have to race out on your lunch hour. Rather than spending a whole Saturday doing laundry, send it out to the laundry mat so you can pick it all up, pressed and folded. Is painting your own bedroom really saving you money if you have to take a day off from work to do it? If not, consider hiring a painter. Sometimes, paying for services can actually save you money.
6) SHOP IN BULK. Save yourself constant trips to the grocery store by stocking up on non-perishable food staples and household supplies. If you have the space for it, consider investing in a freezer so you can stock up on meats and frozen foods. Not only will this way of shopping save you countless trips to the grocery store, but it will probably save you money.
7) COOK IN BULK. Every time you prepare one family meal, you could prepare two or three in the same amount of time. Get a bigger pot and some storage containers so that every time you cook you make an extra meal that can be frozen. If you do this every time you cook, you can cut the time you spend cooking and preparing meals cut in half.
8) MAKE QUALITY TIME FOR YOUR KIDS. Quality time with kids is much more important than the quantity of time you spend with them. 30 minutes of time spent with the TV off and playing cards together is better than if you are both home all day but going about your own business in separate rooms. Treat your children as you would your clients– schedule time with them, do everything you can to be there for that appointment, and give them your undivided attention. Turn off your phone, put away your briefcase, let the dirty dishes sit in the sink, and enjoy each other’s company.
9) MAKE QUALITY TIME FOR YOUR SPOUSE. While two busy, working parents will usually sacrifice time with each other so they can get their work done, keep the house from falling apart and be with their children, it is equally as important that a couple set aside time for each other. Pick at least one night a month in which you will send the kids to sleep over at grandma’s house, or get a sitter and go out alone. It doesn’t matter if you are having dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town, or sipping coffee at a doughnut shop. When rationing out your time, remember that your spouse deserves a piece of the pie.
10) DON’T SKIMP ON YOUR OWN NEEDS. Often busy moms will cut down on sleep in favor of the many other things that need to be done, or give up on leisure time. However, when we are sleep deprived, we don’t operate at our optimal performance levels. Likewise, when we don't get a moment to slow down and enjoy our favorite hobbies or time with friends, the stressors tend to build up and have no release. When rationing out your time, don’t forget that time to rest and play is equally as important as time to work. If you regularly get a good night’s sleep, occasionally pamper yourself and schedule a once in a while much-needed "moms night out" with friends, you will be better equipped to handle anything your normal, busy day can throw at you.
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