Time Management In Your Home

Time Tip #1: Get Up Early

I know it doesn’t sound fun, but getting up early—before the kids are awake—is the difference between a sane and a stressed out psycho mom. This may mean getting up between 5 and 5:30. This could see your alarm set for 5:15 most mornings. If you know you have a big day ahead of you and need to prepare, set yourself up fro success from the start with an earlier morning.

If your children wake between 6 and 7, you’ll treasure the alone time you have in the morning. Drink coffee, check email and get dressed. Always refuse to do any housework when the children are both asleep. It is “me time”.

Time Tip #2: Shower and Pick Out Clothes the Night Before

Many time management books and articles recommend setting out your clothes the night before. I’ve tried that, and for running or workout clothes (i.e.: clothes you can put on in the dark) it works. For work clothes that need to be hung, I prefer to just look at my stash the night before and pick something out mentally. I’ve been disappointed too many times with wrinkled slacks to lay them out—they are safer in the closet. If anything needs to be ironed, I do that the night before also, or I hang the wrinkled items on the back of the bathroom door while I take my evening shower. That usually flattens the wrinkles well enough for me. (I really am not an ironer at the best of times! There are people who iron their underwear. I always wonder if they have too much time on their hands).

I sleep with wet hair even though my grandmother tells me not to. I hate drying my hair. It takes too long, and I start thinking about things I’d rather do. If I go to bed with wet hair, it’s dry in the morning and I can use a straightener or curling iron in the morning if need be.

Time Tip #3: Make Lunches, Gather Paraphernalia the Night Before

While cleaning the dinner dishes, have children (if able) make lunches. My husband usually throws something together also. Make lunches for small children and prepare bottles if need be. The more often you add this to your nightly routine, the more of a habit it will become, and your mornings will run much more smoothly.

Look over all paperwork that came home from school and sign whatever needs to be signed. Put everything together in the nappy bag or your child’s backpack.

If you have the tendency to forget lunches that are in the fridge (like my husband) attach a note to the front door as a reminder. The subconscious mind doesn’t process negatives, such as ‘don’t’. So instead of the usual “Don’t forget your lunch” (which tells your mind you will), say “remember your lunch. It’s the same with children (and adults), always tell them what you want, rather than what you don’t want. Example, say “walk quietly” instead of “don’t run”. You’ll get better results every time! That’s what the drink-driving campaign has more success now than it used to with the old slogan from years ago, “don’t drive and drive.”

Time Tip #4: Steer Clear From Time Wasters

The TV sucks away time in our house. If we have the TV on after dinner, we become enthralled with reruns of Seinfeld and The Simpsons and forget to do what needs to be done. When we remember our time-wasting tendencies and leave the TV off until after the kitchen is clean and the kids have bathed we get a lot more done and my husband and I find that the kids aren’t as stimulated and we aren’t as cranky.

We also remember to pick up the house before going to bed, which really saves the morning stress and panic.

I have a problem with the computer. I need to remember to turn it off and walk away or I won’t get anything done. I tell myself, “10 more minutes to send these emails.” Then I log off the computer before I have time to negotiate any further! I find with every member of the family that we enjoy our leisure so much more when we experience it as a reward after other less exciting things are done. You can indulge “guilt-free” in a planned time of leisure, instead of in between other jobs that take twice as long to finish. Help your children and teenagers (and partner) with their time after school. If they are home at 4pm, and bed is at 9pm, they have 5 hours to get X, Y and Z done. The longer they take, the less time they have for what they enjoy. You’ll be amazed at the difference!

Time Tip #5: Plan Meals
There are few things as deflating as coming home at the end of a long workday to hungry kids and an empty fridge and pantry. Keep this scenario out of your home by planning meals in advance. Larger families may want to have a meeting about every two weeks to plan meals and create a shopping list. Your frame may look like this:

Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: pasta
Wednesday: chicken
Thursday: rice & seafood
Friday: pizza
Saturday: BBQ
Sunday: dinner with family, or out

Most people try menu planning for two weeks, only to return to the usual disorganisation and swear “it didn’t work”. If you stick with it, you’ll find that planning for leftovers helps with waste and the “mystery science projects” that accumulate in the back of the fridge. To ease the morning confusion, come up a breakfast menu such as bagels and cream cheese or yogurt and dry cereal. Meal planning reduces that feeling of standing in the kitchen, staring into space and thinking, “what will we eat?” And it’s so much easier at the supermarket. You actually know what you’re doing and you don’t waste money with impulse buys.

Pack a lunch the night before, or consider taking a loaf of bread and peanut butter or other fillings to leave in your work fridge. It beats wasting your lunch break standing in queues. Organise meetings with clients at a café. You both have to eat anyway so it’s a great time saver. It’s more relaxing and less confrontational. It cuts down on visitors getting too comfortable lounging around your office. It’s also an opportunity to catch up with co-workers and reduces the time wasted rambling on at water coolers or gasbagging on the phone. When the food is eaten, there’s a natural ending to the meeting and an opportunity to get away!

Time Tip #6: Keep Up With Chores

Rather than spending a whole day cleaning, consider keeping the house relatively fresh with a little each day. Do a few things every day and teach your kids to be VERY good at picking up after themselves. It will be work to get them to tidy up initially, but the long-term benefits will be worthwhile when you have a helpful family. They can clear the table, empty the dishwasher, put toys away, and put their laundry away. I often see second or third children who are babies being very aware of where things are “supposed” to go and letting the whole house know. Loudly.
I try and do a load of laundry every day—even if I don’t have a full load. I fold and put it away also. I hate to fold laundry and would much rather do a bit a day then fold 7 baskets of clothes on a weekend day.

I wipe the bathroom down quickly with a wipe each morning. I clean up the kitchen after each meal. Try cleaning dishes after a few hours and the food is cement. Takes twice as long. Not my scene! I clean less when I work then when I stay home, because the house just doesn’t get as dirty when no one is in it all day long. The house gets much more grimy when we stay home.

Time Tip #7: Leave Work At Work

Try your hardest to focus on your family when you are home. If you have a deadline, stay a bit later at work or get up earlier to get your work done in the morning. Show your children and your partner that they are your number one priority. If you live alone, leaving work at work means your home will be represented in your sub-conscious as a sweet retreat from the crazy world. A safe and peaceful home is a joy to meet at the end of the day. Throw yourself on the couch and heave a sigh!

Time Tip #8: Multi-Task At Work

If you find you have time on your lunch break to do household tasks like paying the bills, scheduling appointments and filling out school forms—do it. There was a study released that said that multi-tasking could make you less smart. This study must was definitely performed by some man, because women have been multi-tasking since the beginning of time. It would go against our nature to not do it. Watch a woman do housework and talk on the phone and she’ll be perfectly in tune with both. Idiots.

It’s all about using time wisely. Some multi-tasking isn’t always successful. An obvious example is typing on the phone when your customer can hear you, or writing a letter in a meeting with your boss. But certainly it’s good to spend 5 minutes filing some papers while your customer puts you on hold instead of drumming your fingers impatiently. Every bit counts.

Try and find a way to squeeze exercise into your workday. Enjoy opportunities to walk up stairs and park further away. Some people do tummy tightening exercises while driving, leg lifts while on the phone and squats when they pick something up from the floor. I never remember those things. But it’s certainly fun to make the most of sunny weather and wonder around the shops at lunch-time. If you want to meet a friend – talk and walk. Even in wet weather you can invest in a treadmill or dance like a fool in front of your stuffed toys.

Time Tip #9: Plan For Wiggle Room
Things happen. Life happens. Plan for more time than you ever really need. Pack things the night before and put them in the car or by the exit. I have learned the hard way that a baby will decide to have an explosive poop right when you are on your way out the door and you know you are going to already be late because you need to stop for petrol. You just cannot rush children, especially babies.

Plan for the unexpected. The kids will always be happy for an adventure but you may not be.

Time Tip #10: Keep Your Sense of Humour

It’s hard to feel cranky and overwhelmed if you take the time to stop and take pleasure in your day-to-day activities. My husband often calls me to the window to watch an orange sunset. Yes I have been prone to think, “I saw it the other night, and I’m trying to get dinner in the oven”.
Children are a great motivator for discovering the world all over again and noticing the little things. They also love it when we get down to their level (literally). If I have to do simple paperwork or a quick phone call, I will sit on the floor. My daughter loves it, as she’s no longer living in the Land of the Giants. She throws herself onto my lap and giggles. I would have missed it if I sat stiffly at the kitchen table.

Laugh. Laugh at yourself for being an idiot. Laugh at life. Roll your eyes to yourself about the people or things that drive you crazy. We take ourselves so seriously sometimes. Laugh hard and much too loud.

Now it’s up to you!
I hope you’ve learned something from this special report. But more importantly, I’d like it to spur you into action – because, of course, what matters is not knowledge itself, but applied knowledge.

It’s likely I’ve convinced you of some new ideas and strategies you haven’t thought of before. It’s also likely you may have already heard of some of the ideas here. But the real challenge is in separating yourself from the crowd who moans, “I already know it.” Or “yes, I’ve heard that before.” You should always add to yourself, “I may know it, but am I really doing it?”

Share this. Distribute this freely to anybody you like, as long as you distribute it in its entirety, don’t change it in any way, and don’t charge money for it. The more people who know about this, the better!

If you read this and do nothing, that’s just as bad as not reading it at all. In fact, it’s worse, because you’ve wasted your time! So please take action, and start now.

How do you know your time management plan actually works? If you come to the end of the day with important jobs completed or controlled, and you have time to relax and unwind, your time plan is doing its job.

Article Source: http://www.therepozitory.com.au

Natasha Crestani is an award winning speaker, presenter & therapist in peak performance for business and life. Her company Inspired Honey, was set up with psychologist Jason Crestani to provide innovative solutions for working parents and business to skyrocket people performance. Manage your time, stress and life goals with interactive workshops and coaching. Natasha is a Certified NLP Practitioner and accredited trainer. For your FREE eBook "The 9 Rules of Time Management: How to Achieve MORE and Do It Quicker", visit www.inspiredhoney.com or contact us at info@inspiredhoney.com

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