It’s been a month already, but baby Joshua has arrived! I gave birth to him on June 18th at 7:09A. He was a healthy 6lbs 11oz and 20 inches long. We are so happy and so thrilled to finally be able to hold him in our arms!
With that being said, I haven’t been focused on here very much considering I now have a newborn AND a 15 month old. I am doing ok. Just trying to figure out what works well for us and how to best deal with each of them when I’m home alone.
Before I went into labor, I was hoping I would go into labor as close to my due date as possible. If you’ve had a baby before, you too know how your body can just do what it wants when it wants, so I went into labor 1.5 weeks early. Oh well! What I was really hoping for was that I would have had this specific post ready to publish. It obviously didn’t happen, and that’s ok.
I asked on IG what people wanted to see me write about and multiple people said Time Management. This is something that I work on constantly. I can be very organized, but I’m a procrastinator at heart… I don’t like it, but it does come out more often than I’d like.
Here are the few things I do to help me better manage my time. They either lead me in the direction for better time management or it helps me while I’m completing tasks. Either way, I hope it gives you ideas and helps you on this journey of wasting as little of your time as possible 😁
DE-CLUTTER, ELIMINATE & FOCUS
I just cannot work or concentrate or function if there is chaos around me. If things around the house are all out of place, dishes aren’t done, my work space is a disaster, it makes it really hard for me to focus on the task at hand. De-clutter! Get rid of all the mess close by. Get rid of things that are unnecessary. Get rid of things that will distract you. If you need to take a full day to do this, do it (but actually clean, organize, get rid of. Don’t let it get in the way the following day). The moment you clear your space and your mind, you can get yourself to focus on what you need to do. Make room for NO distractions.
GO OVER YOUR WEEK & MAKE A LIST
Pick a day in the week for you to go over what’s happening that week. Why? Mostly so that you can create a habit of actually going over your week. Whatever day it is (even if you alternate every once in a while), it’s good for you to remind yourself what is happening that week and make sure you know what you gotta do to prepare for it.
It doesn’t have to be this whole long process. Take a few minutes to look and see “Ok, I have this appointment this week, and I planned to see a friend this day, and I needed to ship back my Amazon order by this day…” Write it as a list on your phone, in a planner, on an erase board on your fridge. Whatever! This is more as reminders to you. Sometimes you tell someone you’re going to do something and you forget to write it down, and then you’re going over your week and you remember it. So this process will definitely help.
PRIORITIZE & GROUP
When you do go over your week, write out those things that you normally do every week that usually happens the same day around the same time (like work, house cleaning, homework, etc.) in your calendar or planner. And then the list you’ve just made, pick the ones that are most important that have deadlines that week and make sure you set enough time to do it. And set realistic times for it. If it should take you 20 minutes to do, don’t put it in your schedule for an hour. Because then you’re going to waste that time…
Group like tasks together. For example, you need to go grocery shopping and you need to drop something off at the post office. Do that the same day so you make 1 trip rather than 2 separate ones. Another example: if you have enough time in a day, do ALL house chores in 1 day rather than separating them throughout the week.
SET REMINDERS/ALARMS
If there is something you need to do in your week that is usually not there and you just have a feeling you’re going to forget about it, set an alarm or a reminder. Now a days, most people have smart phones and all you say is “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google” “Set alarm for” or “Set a reminder for”… and you’re all set. Set them for the day before, hours, or minutes, and it’ll help you stay on top of your responsibilities .
FIND YOUR BEST TIME OF DAY
For me to write for my blog, my best time to work, or the best time I find I’m more creative is at night. I love sitting down when the house is all quiet and dim, and there’s no around. It’s me and my laptop. I work best at this time. For me to get anything done around the house, my best time to work is when it’s bright out, the blinds are open, the birds are singing. I get more errands done at this time because at night I’m ready to unwind and sit down, eat and chill… or write!
Find the time of day that you work best for you and set your schedule, appointments, errands around your best time for specific things. It’ll make a difference! I promise
CREATE HABITS & ROUTINES
Create habits and routines. Have some part of your day that has a routine so you feel accomplished. For example, those who have morning routines probably feel really good and ready to take on the day compared to those who take the day head on (that’s me! I’m not a morning person). Or you can have a night routine, like getting your kid to bed, showering, stretching, get ready for bed, read a book and sleep. Whatever works for you!
Or if you create a habit of always making your day off as your house chores day. That’s what I used to do when there were no kids and I worked full time. My days off were on the weekends and so I made Saturday mornings my clean up day. If I set something to do in the morning, I’d clean when I got back.
TAKE A BREAK
It’s ok for you to stop in the middle of the day to relax a little. For me it’s lunch time. I feel like lunch time is where I can breathe a little. It’s also my 15 month old’s nap time, so I definitely need to sit for a minute 😅 Life’s too short to be on the Go Go Go 24/7. And a break once in a while is needed so you don’t go crazy!
So there you have it. Those are the things I try to do to manage my time as best as I can. I really hope this helps someone! Please share with me how you manage your time. I’m no expert and I also don’t follow all of my own rules, so let me know what you do.
P.S. in my photo I’m writing in my Horacio Printing Planner. I absolutely love this planner. Go check them out on insta, or visit their website at horacioprinting.com. [NOT AN AD. Just really love this planner]
