One of the most valuable life skills I want to teach my children is how to manage their time. Time is such a valuable commodity that is so under-appreciated in the world today. Many of us take time for granted, assuming that we’ll be given another 24 hours to try again. The truth is we are all given the same 24 hours in a single day, but some of us are able to accomplish leaps and bounds beyond others. Why is that? I believe it comes down to time management and efficiency. How we manage our time can be the difference between success and failure, a life fulfilled or a life depleted.

Over the last few years, I have been on a quest to maximize my time with the goal of being present in every moment, while also maximizing productivity in all of the areas I balance day-to-day. During my journey to recalibrate and balance the essential areas in my life, I discovered some insightful tips to help me accomplish my goal! Here my top 6-time management tips: 

1.    STOP SAYING YOU DON’T HAVE TIME! 

The first step to gaining control of your time is to stop making excuses about what you don’t have time for each day! I think that many of us view our lives as one big to-do list. The list is never-ending and can seem overwhelming. Believing that you can accomplish all you need to do is the first step! Don’t talk yourself out of being productive! Believing that you can accomplish everything you need and want to is the first step.

2.FOCUS ON THE BIG OUTCOMES! 

Prioritizing your to-do list is an essential step in being productive.  I broke-up my long to-do list into three categories: home, work, and personal. I then compartmentalized the things I wanted to accomplish in each area. If we try to view everything as a whole it’s easy to get stuck and believe we can’t move forward and progress because it’s too much to grasp all at once. Taking the time to identify the main outcomes or goals you want to have in your life and then prioritizing smaller steps that can lead to the accomplishment of those goals, is another vital step in time management. 

3. ASSESS AND ELIMINATE THE TIME STEALERS IN YOUR LIFE! 

Talk about a game-changer! Identifying the things that waste your time will change your life! I had to be very intentional and purposeful in this area. In order to effectively assess how you spend your time, you have to literally write down everything that you do in a day. You might have to do this for an entire week to get a real grasp on things that are “stealing” or wasting your time each day. For example, I would venture to guess that a lot of people can add up an abundance of time spent in the evenings scrolling social media or even watching meaningless TV. That could be time gained toward one of your big outcomes or goals. 

4. RE-BALANCE YOUR SCHEDULE! 

I quickly discovered that if I wanted to have time for certain outcomes that I wanted to see in my life, then I had to MAKE time in my schedule and center my schedule around those things instead of trying to fit those things into my schedule. For example, one of the outcomes that I wanted to focus on was keeping my blood pressure in the normal range. In order to do that I know that I have to make time for working out, cooking healthy (low sodium) meals, and reducing stress with meditation. So I MADE the time in my schedule for meditation and working out, as well as meal planning and cooking. I put those things into my daily schedule and planned everything else around those priorities in order to accomplish that outcome. 

5. USE A CALENDAR OR PLANNING SYSTEM TO HELP WITH ORGANIZATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

 I’ve always used a calendar in general terms but not with the level of detail that I do now. I was able to find a calendar and organization system to help me balance all the areas of my life in ONE place and it has significantly helped me to be accountable within my schedule. Initially, this step will probably require you to schedule every hour of your day, just to find the areas of free time or wasted time but once you get into the groove it won’t be so intense. Let me warn you that if you are not a planner, this step can seem daunting at first BUT there is something so freeing about dumping everything that is clouding your mind into an organized system, whether it’s a to-do list or block scheduling. I would recommend finding an organized person in your life to help you get started with this step if it seems too difficult. Starting is the hardest part of the process. Now, I can’t imagine operating day-to-day without my calendar system! 

6.    USE A TIMER TO HELP TRACK YOUR TIME

OK, now I know this last step may seem like, “Yikes!”  But, trust you will see a return on your investment of focus! Again, we don’t realize how much time we waste in a day until we pay attention and track it. I initially purchased a cube timer to help me manage the time for my faculty position more efficiently. Once I discovered how effective it was in helping me save time,  I decided to start using it during different times throughout my days, whether that’s working on a project with my kiddos, folding laundry, or cooking dinner. I kind of turned into a game of beat the buzzer. I also started letting my children use a timer or clock to help them stay on task more efficiently. It not only helps them with understanding time concepts but also helps me be mindful of how long they are doing something.

Tackling all six steps might seem like an impossibility but taking one step at a time will start you on your way to increased time management and more productivity. I will be sharing practical tips and how-to video for how to accomplish each of the steps.

Application: Take control of the 24 hours in your day! Be intentional about at least two of the suggested steps for the next week of your life and watch your productivity increase.

“I never try to make my experiences or knowledge the principle or standard for others, but I share my experiences and knowledge hoping that through sharing, I might positively impact, inspire & empower someone else’s life.”-Jill