Now What? Organize Your Free Time

I know the back to school dream of the parent.  The one where if you finally have your kids in school full time so you are going to get all the projects left untouched in your home complete.  You may even squeeze in a leisurely bath while you dread anxiously await your lovely children to return.  What to do with all this new found free time?  Then reality kicks in and you realize your dream did not come true as you kiss your kiddos good bye every morning.  You seem to have nothing done at the end of the day.  They come back much sooner then you every imagined.  When did the clock start going from 9:59 am to 3:05 pm?  What happened to all the other minutes?  Now don’t get me wrong, you want your kids to come home, but how can you be excited when all you’ve accomplished is the gym and the grocery store.  The productivity gods are not impressed. 

For those who went from corporate life to stay at home mom, you think “I used to have 8 reports, a conference meeting, pitch 4 new clients and go out to lunch all before 3 pm!  Now I am lucky to get a shower in during the day!”.  How does the day disappear so quickly when you have a the same amount of time that you used to?  There are still only 24 hours in a day, but why do the 24 hours seem to go light speed  now?  It all has to do with managing your day. 

Contemplate:  Think about where your time is allocated to in each day.  Take time to make time.  Look at where you are wasting time.  Now be honest and don’t think you don’t waste time.  We all do it.  You got sucked into the latest status updates on FaceBook, you had a phone conversation with a friend that went way too long, you volunteer for an activity that you dread, you click on a link in an email that starts a web surfing adventure…you see what I mean.  We all waste time.  This isn’t to say you can’t do those things ever, it just means you need to set boundaries to help guide your time.  Also, think about when you work best:  morning, afternoon, evening?  Make sure you know when you can be most productive so you can allocate your time better.

Delegate:  When you worked in an office, you had help.  Whether you had an assistant, a co-worker, or even an employer, you had the opportunity to ask for help.  Why does that seem to be a problem for the stay at home/work from home folks?  You think, I should be able to do this all without the kids around, but really delegation is more important than ever.  You may not get it done the right your way, but you can at least know it is getting done.  Delegation is best for those tasks you tend to procrastinate on or fail to remember to do.  They aren’t getting done because they aren’t a priority.  Pass the buck and get it off your list!  Great people to delegate to:  Husbands, children, house cleaners, neighborhood teens, grandparents, friends, I mean the list is endless!  Just make sure you compensate by doing something back that works in your schedule or with monetary tokens of appreciation! 

Regulate:  Set a regular schedule to get your tasks done.  Look at what normally needs to take place and what you usually do in your week.  Group errands together and group chores around the house together so you are more efficient.  It seems so mundane, but in actuality, it will be so much easier to know what to do and when to do it.  Your family will also know when laundry gets done so they will have what they need ready to be washed (OK, we may still need to check with them and ask repeatedly, but hopefully it is easier than throwing in another chore throughout the week).   

For more tips on Regulating check out my blog post on Automating Your Day :

http://afreshstartblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/automate-your-day-clearing-the-mental-clutter/

Manipulate:  I don’t mean be deceitful to others, I mean be flexible with your ideas of time and scheduling.  How can you change things on the calendar to be more efficient.  Does this mean you used to work out in the morning at 9 am and now it will have to be 11 am because  you can accomplish more in the morning around the house?  Can you go to one grocery store instead of 3 or 4?  Or can you grocery shop once a week on a specific day and get all you need for a week instead of running out multiple times?   There are ways to change our habits and become more efficient in the process.

Just say NO:  OK, it doesn’t rhyme, but it is the most important thing to get more done.  Stop doing for others if you aren’t getting things done yourself.  Take a break from volunteering, sign up for the easy jobs in the classroom, don’t attend events you aren’t excited for.  Say no to yourself as well.  Does it have to be done perfectly, or is just OK good enough?  Do you really need to send out elaborate invitations to an all out birthday, or would a small gathering or activity be enough to celebrate?  Think about what you can take off your to-do’s and know it is OK to say NO.

Don’t let interruptions get you down!  This can be the worst culprit of time stealing and an unproductive day.  Can you turn off the phones, turn off the email reminders, turn off the TV and don’t answer the door for two hours a day?  Can you see friends in the store and let them know you will give them a call later, but you must get going?  Avoiding the interruptions can make you a speed machine in no time!

Once you have readjusted your schedule, delegated tasks, said no, and limit interruptions, you will be on your way to a taking those bubble baths and maybe even a leisurely nap!  Well, really, you just might feel a little less frantic and a little more mellow.  Also, you will be ready to focus on the kids when they walk back through the door!

Help Me…I’ve Been Robbed!

Don’t panic.  I don’t mean this literally, but we all are robbed daily of something valuable…TIME!  There are so many stolen moments that we need to be aware of to make the most of our day and our lives.  If we don’t open our eyes to the things that rob us of our time, then we will always have a nagging feeling  something was taken from us.  We get angry and frustrated when our time has been taken away from us!  I try and use my time as wisely as I can, so that I actually practice what I preach, but sometimes I am not even aware of when I have been robbed. 

Just the other night, our new puppy (who has been a challenge to say the least)  got into my husbands glass of red wine sitting on the side table next to the couch.  We were busy upstairs putting our boys to bed.  My husband usually kisses the kids good night first and then I do.  He is always back downstairs in his spot on the couch immediately.  As I was doing my kisses, I hear my husband say “DAKOTA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!”   I am thinking she shredded a piece of paper or got into the trash again, but never would I have thought she was going to have dyed my golden tan couch a new shade of purple.  We settle the kids back down (who now were curious about the commotion) and I got to work on cleaning the stain.  It was BAD!  As I am scrubbing and trying every cleaner I have, my husband says “Why are you wasting your time?”  In my pursuit to undo the damage, I realized that he was right.  No cleaner I had was going to get this up.  I needed a professional.  Had I not been pulled out of my stealth focus on fixing the problem, I would have spent hours cleaning something that was just not going to come out.  I would have been robbed of the time that I had to relax with my husband and watch our favorite shows together. 

There are time stealer’s taking your precious moments everyday.  Are you aware of them?  Things like long, unexpected lines at the store or post office.  Phone calls where you are left on hold for a long time, a family member or you getting sick, car accidents and traffic are other time stealer’s.  These are things that tend to be out of our control, but we need to be ready for them and how it can set us back.  Also, things like not being prepared (can you say no grocery list and forgetting half of what you went to the store for, then having to go back), waiting to the last minute (like trying to buy your Christmas presents a few days before the big day and getting low inventory and long lines), doing something someone else could or should do (like me trying to get a horrific stain out of our couch) and disorganization and clutter (looking for your keys or an important document) steal our time as well. 

How we handle these situations that potentially rob us of our precious time is important.  First of all, setting time buffers in your day will allow you to handle these interruptions with ease.  If you are overbooked, or even booked close together in your day you will be overwhelmed with the time stealer’s.  Allow some open time for the unexpected.  If nothing happens that day, you will have time to relax and enjoy!  Second, you need to have things to do if something is taking too much time.  Like having something to read if you are stuck at the doctors office, making a phone call while you are stuck in traffic, or cleaning out your purse when you are waiting in a long line.  Carry a book with you, or a pad of paper for notes of things you want or need to do, or fold laundry while you are stuck on hold.  There are a thousand things we could do in a short period of time.  Most importantly, being organized (having an organized home and office) will help you fight off some of the thieves of time! 

Just like the saying, “It takes money to make money”, it takes time to make time.  Give yourself a few minutes at the end of the day to prepare for the next one.  Organize your spaces so you know where everything is and can find what it is you need.  Be prepared for the unexpected with time buffers and having things to do while you are waiting.  You will be the Super Hero of  Time and fight the crime of the infamous time robbers!  (Can you tell I have two boys?!?)

What is stealing your time?  Write your “crime” prevention tips in the comments and help us learn what to watch out for!

For more tips on organizing, visit my website at:  www.afreshstartorganizing.net/tips. 

Also, you can subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter “Fresh Ideas for A Fresh Start” . Subscribe Now 

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Out of Sight!

Are you an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of person?  Do you have to have things out in order to remember them?  Do you worry that if you were to put it away you will never remember to use it or deal with it?  Well, I am one of “those” types.  I am highly organized, yet I am extremely forgetful.  If it is not in front of me or under my nose, I will forget. 

I have my schedule down to a science, yet I did forget to pick up my son and his friend from their tennis clinic!  My five year old and his friend decided since I was late they would walk home (three blocks)!  They were a happy as could be thinking how grown up they were to walk home!  I had my heart stop and my throat close as the guilt of my mistake consumed me.  A frightful night of sleep was a result, as I was thinking of what could have happened to the two sweet boys!  It was a day where time got away from me.  I am a scheduler and planner, yet this day a long business call took my mind off of what I was supposed to be doing.  Needless to say, a talk with the boys was a must to let them know to call home first, and to never walk home alone again.  And, for me, a new way of reminding myself needed to be developed.

There are many ways to remind you of what needs to be done.  I am the queen of reminders.  Here are a few things I have found helpful in helping keep me in line (without having to staple a note to my forehead!):

• Use on-line calendar with reminders.  I have the calendar synced to my phone so not only does my computer ding at me, but my phone does as well. 
• Use a timer.  The dreaded day my son walked home was unique.  My friend and I decided to send our boys to the tennis clinic at the last minute.  Our older children were at other practices and the little boys wanted to go to tennis.  She drove them to the clinic and I was to pick up.  It was not on my calendar so there was no reminder.  Now, for those days where something last minute comes up, I set a timer to remind me.  I was distracted by the phone conversation and time got away from me.  This can happen if you are busy cleaning, surfing the net, or reading.  I needed to be brought into the present and a timer would have been the reminder.  Now, I set one often!
• Sticky Notes – I am not a fan of sticky notes for daily use.  They fall off, get attached to other papers, or clutter up a space.  But, if used for special reminders, they work well.  If you have a unique, one time reminder, they can save the day.  For example, I was to bring food for my bible study group.  I had all the food that was not perishable set out to take the night before.  Most bible study mornings are busy and I know if it is not in my path to the door, it will be forgotten.  So I put a sticky note reminder on the non-perishable bag set by the door to remind me to get the items from the refrigerator before I left.  I could easily see myself leaving in a dash without them!  That morning, almost everyone in my group who was bringing food forgot something.  When you have tasks that are not routine, it is easy to be distracted and forget.

There are other ways to remind yourself of important tasks.  What do you do?  I never understood the “tie a string around your finger” method, yet if I have another incident where I forget my child, I may break down and try it!  Even the most organized can make mistakes!!!

For more tips on organizing, visit my website at:  www.afreshstartorganizing.net/tips. 

Also, you can subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter “Fresh Ideas for A Fresh Start” . Subscribe Now 

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I Love, I Love, I Love, I Love My Calendar Girl…

When reading the January 2009 issue of Country Living Magazine, I came across a new calendar/day planner product and I got so excited (yes, I am seeking therapy for this).  Reason for my giddiness is that so many mom’s I know don’t use a computerized calendar system.  They have a paper calendar and use paper lists.  As a busy stay at home mom, computer time can be limited, so the paper calendar works easier for some.  This is not to say they are not as savvy as a working mom.   I also know working mom’s who prefer a paper calendar to the computer.  For me it took awhile to cross over from paper to computer.  I kept trying to print out the calendar and write on it, then input what I wrote.  What a waste of time and paper!  Choosing a calendar/planner for you is just a matter of preference.  Finding one that works for you to keep your “time” organized is what matters most.

The calendar/planner I discovered is made by Truly Mom.  The article explains the company name, “Women wear the word Momas a badge of honor”, says Michelle (Nicastro) who coined the name Truly Mom.  “We want to celebrate what it means to be a mom.”  The three women (Michelle Nicastro, Kristen Nicastro, and Maria Newton) who created the company sound as if they have a lot of fun working together and it comes through in their product line.  In addition to planners, they have a creative line of stationery and note cards. 

If you are still in need of a new calendar for 2009, or you are finding yours isn’t making the grade, look into this product.  From the three note pads securely attached, to the way it folds (it flips over and folds over so you can have a sturdy writing surface without taking up a lot of space – the picture above shows it laid out).  It has an address book and a daily planning pad.  What more could you ask for?!?

If you log onto their website www.trulymom.com you will find an offer for 20% off on all orders over $30 by entering freshstart into the coupon code.  Hurry, offer expires January 31, 2009!

For more tips on organizing, visit my website at:  www.afreshstartorganizing.net/tips

Also, subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter “Fresh Ideas for A Fresh Start”. Subscribe Now 

And get daily tips delivered to you throughFollow Me