One of the things this new efficiency / structure / let’s-start-truly-being-grownups thing we’re doing these days has made me realize is that I just do not use time as efficiently as I used to. This goes for both personal life and work life.
So, I’m working on changing my habits, and guess what:
I made up a schedule and checklist for myself, too. (See this week’s earlier posts about a daily schedule for our toddlers and our daily household chores list.)
Here’s basically what my day looks like during the week:
That said, I don’t have a lot of “average” days.
- Two Monday nights a month, I have meetings for Tampa Bay Area Mothers of Multiples, a club for parents of twins, triplets and more that meets about an hour from home.
- Tuesdays and Thursdays I have FITDance (basically Zumba) at 5:30.
- Every Tuesday one of us goes to the local Herbalife Opportunity Meeting and often a training afterward.
- Currently on Wednesday nights I’m co-running a Weight Loss Challenge with a friend.
I plug in these activities where they fit and keep the rest of the schedule consistent around it. That means that on Tuesdays we don’t usually eat dinner together, but I’m home in time for our tag-team business activities. On Thursdays I leave before the kids have dinner, but I’m home in time to tuck them in.
Do I adhere exactly to this schedule every day Monday-Friday? Of course not. The big way this tool helps me is that now I am much more aware of how I’m spending my time.
- Previously, I kind of wandered around like a chicken with my head cut off any time I wasn’t on deadline, just reacting to stuff as it came at me and constantly feeling like my hair was on fire. Enter scheduled email checks, and now I have a structure that allows me to focus on tasks and actually complete them rather than being in constant reply mode.
- Previously, I forgot to eat during the day unless I set a reminder on my phone, so I’d end up cranky and ravenous despite the fact that I am literally 5 feet from the kitchen ALL DAY. Now I tie my meals and snacks to other activities so they happen routinely.
- Previously, I found it hard to get away from my desk at the end of the day because I always had to do just one more thing so I wouldn’t forget. Now I have time planned into each day for planning and coordinating, so I’m not panicked about it.
- Previously, I could never remember who was doing what when, and planning meals and staying on top of the household was incredibly stressful. Now I know what days of the week we are routinely both home for dinner and when things need to be ready.
I finally got to a point where I was able to not only understand but actually embrace the idea that until I took control of my day, my day would control me. I like it this way a lot better! This is definitely an evolving tool and it’s nowhere near perfect, but you gotta start somewhere, right?
Do you have a routine for part or all of your day? Do tell!