I can’t really think back to a time in my schooling career
when I haven’t been juggling more than one thing. In elementary and
intermediate school I played club soccer where we would travel each weekend for
tournaments. If I was lucky enough to have an off weekend, chances were we were
traveling to a tournament for my brother’s team. Once I got to middle school it
was juggling sports and school yet again but on a daily basis. High school was
a lot of the same and then college took it to a whole new level.
While I’ve
always been jealous that school and learning comes so naturally to my brother,
having to learn to juggle a number of different things while trying to make
good grades taught me some valuable time management tips at an early age. Just
this past weekend, Nell and I were on the phone laughing about our original
facebook messages to one another when deciding to be roommate and got on a
tangent about how much free time we had freshman year and how we definitely
didn’t take advantage of it like we should have. While I did learn some
valuable time management tips then I think that in high school and the later
years of college were the main periods where I really started to understand how
to better manage my time.
Even now
that I’ve graduated I haven’t exactly learned to take less on. Juggling
teaching with grad school and blogging and now a social media position isn’t
always the most relaxing thing. I find myself getting overwhelmed on occasion
and often have to take a step back and remind myself of why I’ve chosen to do
these different things. Now more than ever time management has been absolutely
crucial. While I am no pro at balancing it all (if it looks like I’ve got it
together in one area of my life then I am definitely struggling in another) I
thought it may be helpful for some of you to share the time management tips
that have made the biggest impact for me so far.
Utilize a Planner
& Make To-Do Lists
One of my most used words on the
blog has got to be planner. I’m not sure how to look this up to confirm it but
I’m convinced it would be. My life would be so chaotic if I didn’t have some
sort of planner (or three…oops) to get things organized. My Day Designer is my
favorite since I can lay out my day hour by hour which better allows me to find
time for everything. The fact that each page has a to-do list is also crucial
for me. You’d think I was writing a memoir with how much can be written on a
single page but it’s what works for me. One of the things I’ve had to learn
over time when it comes to planning is to build in a bit of time for
flexibility and down time. When I forget to do that is usually when I become
overwhelmed with managing my time. If you’d like to see exactly how I organize
my Day Designer be sure to check out this post.
Prioritize & Be
Decisive
I feel like these kind of go
along with using a planner and making a to-do list but they are more of a
mindset than an action. If you ask me where I want to go for dinner there is no
doubt that I’ll be difficult and ask for options. I have plenty of people who
can vouch for this. I am so indecisive when it comes to things of that nature
but my to do list is a different story. Prioritizing the tasks that need to be
accomplished first and being decisive with those choices are important. When
your to-do list is a mile-long dilly dallying when deciding what you need to do
is pointless. I’m not decisive with a lot of things.
Set a Timer &
Eliminate Distractions
Nothing is worse than finally
deciding to start working and getting distracted. With phones and the internet
at our finger tips it really isn’t surprising that this happens. Setting a
timer and forcing myself to work for that set amount of time. I’ll put my phone
on airplane mode and use the app “self control” on my computer to force myself
to focus. Working in short chunks of time allows me to go uninterrupted and in
turn causes me to be more productive.
Become a Morning
Person
If it
weren’t for the time I allow myself in the morning to be productive I would
have to eliminate one or two of my activities. I am so much more productive in
the morning post one cup of coffee than I am in the afternoon or evening. With
that knowledge, I have to make sure that each morning I allow myself some time
to accomplish a few tasks. This motivates me for the rest of the day and since
I can check things off I start to feel less overwhelmed. The transition into
becoming a morning person can be challenging if that’s not your nature, but
getting a lot done before lunch time and allowing yourself more early morning
hours can definitely impact your productivity.
Say No
I really shouldn’t be giving
this advice since I struggle to say no most of the time. But, if you’re looking
to better manage your time, don’t say yes to everything. Prioritize which
things make you happy to do and just do those. If you don’t have the time
saying yes is only going to stress you out. Avoid that reality by
unapologetically saying no.
Prep the Night Before
I
understand, mornings can be hard. I genuinely don’t understand how teachers
with kids do it. Getting myself dressed and out the door with a lunch packed
and no coffee spills can be hard enough on occasion so I am very impressed by
teachers or anyone for that matter who repeats that process with their kids
each day. The best advice I have for making mornings go smoother and better
managing the time you do have would be to get yourself organized the night
before. Lay out your clothes, pack your bag, and have everything ready to go
for your lunch and breakfast before even thinking about getting in bed. By
doing this, you’ll hopefully have a less stressful morning and more time to
tackle other tasks too.
I'd love to hear any tips you may have that have helped you to better manage your time!
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