Top 4 Time Management Strategies No one Talks About
How many times have you googled effective time management strategies, time management goals, time management tips or something along those lines? I know I have. Zillion times and counting!
Okay, why do we google it? Obviously, we need some help in that department. Right?
To say that you’re busy these days is an understatement. Most of us moms lead pretty busy lives. We are running around to get errands done, working a job or running a business, raising kids and still trying to find time to be a good spouse and have some alone time.
Being a mom is no joke. So, how to manage time wisely certainly becomes interesting at times.
Motherhood adds a bit more of a challenge to life. That’s why I want to share 4 effective time management strategies no one talks about. It will help us, moms, to deal with our life a bit saner and composed.
Following time management tips will help you manage your time and still feel like you’ve accomplished something today.
Top 4 Time Management Strategies No one Talks About
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1. Learn to Say No
The first time management tip for busy moms is to learn how to say no. You can say no to your kids, coworkers, family members and friends without feeling guilty. There’s nothing wrong with making sure you put your best interest first. While some people will take time to adjust to this new you, it’s going to feel extremely empowering when you learn to say no more often. Like they say, most of the problems arise in life when we say yes too quickly and no much later.
2. Establish Work Hours
Whether you’re an outside of the home working mom or a mom who’s working remotely, it’s important to establish sane work hours. Be sure to keep your work schedule reasonable for your lifestyle. If you work outside of the home this may mean fewer overtime hours. If you work for yourself, this will mean setting some work hour boundaries that will stick to. When you are self-employed or working at home, it is easy to stray away and end up putting a ton of hours without keeping proper track of them. This will result in overwhelm, a general lack of discipline and not to mention tiredness. Its funny too if you were ever in that position, at the end of the day I would realize I haven’t done much at all although I worked 18 hours straight! Talk about frustration. If you have some of the effective time management strategies discussed here down pat, you will be able to master the hours you put in within a limit without compromising on your self-care and your business!
3. Set Attainable Goals
Here is a BIG one! Moms tend to think we can do pretty much EVERYTHING. This goes back to what I said in the beginning. Sometimes we just don’t know when to say NO so we don’t over-schedule ourselves. Moms seem to take it all on without thinking about attainable goals. It is important to understand you can’t do everything. You DON’T have to do everything. Learn to set attainable goals and stick with them. You must have something that you’re working toward to feel independent and to have a realistic expectation of the hours in your day. If you break apart your tasks to small manageable segments and start working on them from the top, you would have better luck at accomplishments. Easier said than done. I know this is by no means a smooth ride. But practice makes perfect, right? Try to start small and then go big!
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4. Put the Internet Down
Yes, I said it! Are you with me on this?
Hours and hours of gawking at the screen WITHOUT doing anything meaningful! God, the horror! The Internet is a time sucking location. You can lose many hours surfing social media and reading online content. It’s totally normal to start surfing the internet and find out that a few hours have passed. Learn to put the internet down, if you don’t need to work online, then your devices should be put away so that you make the most of your time. This is an intentional act which requires self-discipline. Start with blocking off some “blackout time” each day where you don’t go anywhere near online. Use this time wisely to do the tasks that deem your attention for your work or business. Could be paper works, making necessary phone calls, meeting with customers etc. Maybe a smart thing to do here is to create a list of things to do on your blackout time. Then work through the list when you are unplugged. I am sure you will be amazed at the tasks you can actually do with this method- great for your business and also for feeling accomplished at the end of the day. Backout time is by far one of my favorite effective time management strategies!
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For now, this is all I have got. Seems like a lot, isn’t it? These effective time management strategies might fool you with its simplicity, but the truth is it works! We all work at a different pace and might need different ideas and guidance on how to manage time wisely. These strategies are clearly a starting point on which you can build up and rearrange your life to get more done. Consider these ideas as your tools for time management and I hope it will surely help you make the best of your busy lifestyle, no matter what’s on your plate.
P.S: Share with us your best time management tips! And share this post on social if you are inclined 🙂
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