Time Savers
By Kristen Finello
Rated by 24 people
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Smart strategies to keep your day running like clockwork.
Pages in this story
* Anxiety-Free Mornings
* Dinner Without Distress
* Easier Errands
* Peaceful Good-Nights
* Hassle-Free Chores
* More Time Savers
Anxiety-Free Mornings
After slowly, lovingly settling my toddler and baby down for their after-lunch naps, I morph into an Olympic sprinter. I dump in a load of laundry, check my e-mail, clean up the kitchen, make some phone calls. The clock is running, and I'm determined not to waste a minute! With two kids under 3, every second counts. Sound familiar? Below are some strategies I've learned to make the most of my day. One of these afternoons, when I get everything done with five minutes to spare, I'll be kicking back with a cup of tea to celebrate!
Anxiety-Free Mornings
*
The number one way to keep your mornings sane: Prepare the night before. Choose an outfit for you and for every child. Pack lunches. Stock the diaper bag and your work bag so you can just grab and go in the morning.
*
Designate an area on your to-do list, calendar, or PDA specifically for the morning, says organizing expert Jamie Novak, author of 1,000 Best Quick and Easy Time-Saving Strategies (Sourcebooks). Outline musts such as giving baby her medicine or baking cupcakes for your toddler's playgroup.
*
Wear your keys on a stretch coil bracelet so your hands are free to carry your child or whatever gear you need as you head out the door.
*
Hang a mirror outside your bathroom, Novak suggests. Instead of competing for time in front of the sink, you can do a quick check as you dash by. (No baby-food bananas smeared on my shirt? Yay!)
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Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Measured Success: 50 Online Fitness and Nutrition Calculators
September 11th, 2008 by Site Administrator Print
By Alisa Miller
Whether you are trying to lose weight or just want to improve your overall health and fitness, there are plenty of online calculators that can help you achieve your goals. Find tools to assist with packing the most nutritious lunch, creating a overall health picture, eating the healthiest fast food, creating a great running plan, or telling you how strong a swimmer you are. These calculators will have you motivated and moving in the right direction when it comes to diet and fitness.
Nutrition
Everyone has to eat, but make sure you are eating a good balance of what you need and the most healthy food possible with these calculators.
Pack a Lunch. Use this tool to determine the calories and nutrition in the lunch you pack. Make combinations of entrees, sides, snacks, and drinks and you will see the total of calories and a breakdown of the vitamins you are getting with the entire lunch.
NAT Tool. Use this tool to determine the nutritional content of the food you eat. Just enter your age and gender and the food you want analyzed to receive a report.
CalorieKing Food Database. Find out serving size for popular foods and drinks as well as the calorie, fat, and carbohydrate information for each. This database includes everything from beer to fast food to snacks.
Nutrition Data Daily Needs Calculator. Scroll down this page to enter your information into this calculator to discover what your nutritional needs are. The breakdown includes specific amounts of vitamins and minerals you should be getting each day.
The Bored.com Nutrition Calculator. Whether you want to scroll through the list of types of food or do a search for a specific food, you can find all the nutritional data. This calculator even does fast food, so if you want to learn about that breakfast at McDonald’s, just type in the name of your food and get the nutritional value.
Workouts for Women Nutritional Calculator. Type in your information to discover your nutritional requirements. The results are categorized by caloric expenditure and requirements for carbohydrates, fat, protein, and calcium.
Your Health Your Way Nutrition Calculator. Search for a particular food or add in all of your foods for an entire meal to find out the nutritional data for what you are eating.
Fast Food Nutrition Facts Calculator. Designed for determining the amount of calories your child is getting from fast food, this calculator also works for adults. Select menu items from several popular fast food restaurants and find out the percentage of calories received in that meal as well as fat content.
KFC Nutrition Calculator. If you love KFC, then this calculator is for you. Select your menu items to discover the nutritional value of the food at KFC.
Nutritional Guideline Calculator. Not only can you find out how many calories a day you need with this calculator, but it will also give you a breakdown of how much protein, carbohydrates, and fats you need. You can select results for maintaining, losing, or gaining weight.
Health and Fitness
From finding out about your overall health to more specific information such as target heart rate, these calculators will help you with your general health and fitness needs.
Healthy Body Calculator. Plug in your age, height, weight, fitness levels, and any other information you may know about your body style to get a simple report about your overall health. You can also request nutrition facts to help you maintain or lose weight.
Activity Calorie Calculator. Tell your weight and the duration of your activity and this calculator will give you the amount of calories burned for 222 different activities.
Your Total Health. Choose from 11 different calculators (or choose all of them) to find out anything from your body mass index to daily calcium requirement to target heart rate.
Self.com Fitness Calculators. Use these calculators to find your BMI, ideal weight range, happy weight, and caloric needs. You can also select from 19 different activities to learn how many calories each one burns.
ExRx Fitness Calculators. This extensive list of calculators offers everything from body composition to male girth to risk class calculators. If you are looking for a fitness calculator, this is a great resource.
Health and Fitness Calculator v.1.0. Download this calculator to discover your BMI and what risks you have for size-related diseases. You will need your weight, height, and waist size to use this calculator.
Active.com Fitness Calculators. Calculate your pace, target heart rate, body fat index, body mass index, and more with these fitness calculators.
Weight Loss
These calculators will help you reach your weight loss goals with calorie calculators, body fat percentages, food tracking, and more.
Weight Loss Calculator. Based on calorie intake, calculate how long it will take you to lose your goal weight, daily calorie deficit needed, and weight loss over a period of time. This site also offers some food and calorie calculators as well.
What Does 200 Calories Look Like?. This visual tool helps you see a 200 calorie serving-size of particular foods. If you are trying to stay within a certain calorie intake, this tool can quickly help you know what you can eat and what you should stay away from.
Understanding Your Body Fat Percentage. Learn about the relationship of essential body fat to your health and use this chart to help determine what a healthy amount of weight you can lose may be. You will probably need your calculator to help you with the calculations here.
JournalToSuccess.com Tools . There are several health calculators to help you lose weight at this site including a body mass index, ideal body weight, ideal weight range, and more. They also offer an online journal to record your food, weight, and fitness activities.
Tweight.com. If you are a Twitter fan and are trying to lose weight, this tool is great. Just tweet your weight goal, send your updates, and check your history to see how much progress you are making.
TweetWhatYouEat.com. Another Twitter-based tool, this one lets you log your food intake and calories associated with each food. If you don’t know the calories for a particular food, this tool also offers a database to help you.
CRON-O-Meter. Download this free tool to help you lose weight on a Calorie Reduced diet. You can track your food, get diet advice, use a custom recipe editor so you can track the foods you make at home, and much more.
Free Weight Loss Calculators and Tools. With 12 different calculators and even a converter tool, you will find helpful tools to your weight loss goals. Check out the Pregnancy Calorie Calculator to maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy and the Waist to Hip Calculator to find out about a healthy body fat distribution.
Changing Shape Health and Fitness Calculators. These calculators range from food fat content to daily protein requirements to one-rep calculator to help you determine your strength.
Complete Fitness Programs
While not straightforward calculators, these online tools offer a way to combine your food and fitness goals, track data, and chart your progress. All are free, but some offer premium services for a charge.
Gyminee. Track your workouts, monitor your food intake, and connect with others with this tool that is designed for both those trying to lose weight or those just getting a handle on their fitness.
The Daily Plate. This tool allows you to track what you are eating each day and log fitness as well so you can determine how many calories you are eating and burning. They also have a handy search tool that will tell you how many calories are in a specific food or how many calories you can burn with a specific activity.
SparkPeople. Get meal plans, weight tracker, calorie counter, fitness log and more with these free tools. You can also connect with others, watch exercise videos, and get recipes.
traineo. Find motivation and support to change the way you eat and work out with this tool. set up a free profile and track you exercise and nutrition information to see your progress with graphs. You can also connect with others and find plenty of support to keep going toward your goal.
FitWatch. Create your profile and start tracking your fitness and nutrition data with this tool. You can also read articles about fitness and health, get popular diet plans, and learn about various exercise and workout programs.
Running
These calculators can help any kind of runner, no matter if you enjoy jogging around the neighborhood or are training for a marathon. Some are handy for cyclists and hikers too.
Smart Coach. This tools from Runner’s World allows you to enter information about your past runs and how you would like to start training to receive a training program that is individualized to your ability and goals.
MapMyRun. Use this tool to create a map of your runs, find a run, or log your training information.
Run the Nation. This site offers several tools to help with your running including a body fat calculator, race pace calculator, workout calorie counter, and more.
RunningAHEAD. With this tool, you can log and track your runs, and then analyze them to make sure you are staying on track with your goals.
Runworks Running Calculator. Enter the data from your last run into this calculator to find your level of fitness and help predict how you will do in longer races.
Runbayou: VDOT Calculator. Similar to the previous calculator, this one finds your level of fitness based on your last race. This calculator also provides paces for five different running zones to help you create the perfect training routine.
Runningmap.com. Use this tool to map your runs, plan for future runs, and even share your running maps with others. Cyclists, hikers, or any other outdoor fitness buff will also find this tool helpful.
Running4Women.com. This site offers lots of tools for women to use when training including a body mass index calculator, heart rate monitor, and a pace calculator.
MarathonGuide.com. This site offers running calculators, fitness calculators, and health/nutrition calculators. While written for those training for a marathon, anyone will find many of these calculators useful.
Track Lane Distance Calculator. If you run on a track, use this calculator to determine what the offset distance is for each of the lanes. You will need to know the specifics of the track and race details including lane width and distance of the race.
Other Sport Calculators
Whether walking, body building, or competing in a triathlon, these calculators will make your fitness program a bit easier.
About.com Walking Fitness Calculators. These calculators will help your walking program and overall health and fitness by assisting you with target heart rate, pace, calorie and distance, and much more.
Walk, Jog, or Run Pace Calculator. Use this calculator to determine your pace no matter which mode of moving you enjoy. Just enter the distance you went and the amount of time it took you to do so.
Stride Distance Calculator. If you can’t afford a pedometer, this calculator can help you find the same information. By measuring your stride distance, you can determine the distance traveled very accurately.
Bodybuilding.com Fitness Calculators. If you are into body building, this resource offers tons of calculators to help you discover anything from training to nutrition to supplements. There’s even a calculator to help you know how much alcohol you can drink before you would be drunk.
Bicycle Speed and Power Calculator. Enter the information about your bike and the conditions of the ride to determine the power and speed of your ride. Also, if you know the distance of your ride, you can determine the number of calories burned during that specific ride.
Gear Inch & Shifting Pattern Calculator. Whether you ride a multi-speed or single-speed bike, you can find out gear inches and shifting patterns based on your chain ring and freewheel specifics.
Academy Swimming Ready Reckoner. Select your stroke, distance, the time it took you to swim it, and find out if you are academy, bronze, silver, or gold standard. This is a great motivator if you are trying to improve your times.
Triathlon Conversion Calculators. If you are training for a triathlon, use these calculators to get your swim pace, bike speed, and running pace and convert your distances from metric to standard.
Triathlon Race Calculator Time Management Tool. Enter your information for your next triathlon as well as your pace for each event to find out how much time it will take you to complete the race.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Busy Moms
It's been a while since my last note. Summer days are wonderful,and I've been enjoying the warm weather (yes, I actually love hotweather!).
I've been feverishly working on a new look for the site, and today,it's finally done. Come take a look and tell me what you think:http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=J151l&m=1dRno4dfoT3DxP&b=1PXdv37rCkJ2xq6VBJaiHg
And to celebrate the new look, I sliced up the price of one of myreports (Frugal Living for moms), to help you make the most of yourmoney. You can see this report here:http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=J151l&m=1dRno4dfoT3DxP&b=92DnAaxsH..A76iagKfcvwand for a limited time, the price is only $5.
Here are a few of the latest news at Busy Moms:
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I'd love hearing from you, so when you have some time, send me a lineand tell me what you'd like to see at Busy Moms Online.
Until next time,
Adriana Copaceanuhttp://www.busy-moms-online.com/
PO Box 1062, New Market, VA 22844, USA
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Easy Ways to Create Order
by 6 people Tips to help you make organization a part of your daily routine.
Take 10 minutes this weekend to implement these sanity-saving suggestions:
Park it. Find a permanent spot for keys, eyeglasses, and remote controls. If you use something daily, put it within arm's reach. Store rarely used items in out-of-the-way shelves and drawers.
Assign it. Designate a shelf in the entryway for each family member. Also assign each child a see-through storage box for odds and ends and a hanging folder for important documents.
Time it. Don't assume your children can get ready in an hour. Some kids need more time, some less. Take out a stopwatch and find out exactly how long it takes each child to get dressed in the morning and walk out the door. This will help you decide when your kids need to be woken up.
Just do it. If something takes less than a minute (rinsing a mug, putting away a book), do it right away -- even if you're on your way out the door. One minute now doesn't have a big impact on your schedule, but if you let all those one-minute tasks pile up, it's a different story.
Copyright © 2005.
Source:
http://www.parents.com/family-life/home-garden/organization/easy-ways-to-create-order/?sssdmh=dm17.314111&esrc=nwpce46&email=201779094
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Time Savers
by 17 people Smart strategies to keep your day running like clockwork.
Pages in this story
After slowly, lovingly settling my toddler and baby down for their after-lunch naps, I morph into an Olympic sprinter. I dump in a load of laundry, check my e-mail, clean up the kitchen, make some phone calls. The clock is running, and I'm determined not to waste a minute! With two kids under 3, every second counts. Sound familiar? Below are some strategies I've learned to make the most of my day. One of these afternoons, when I get everything done with five minutes to spare, I'll be kicking back with a cup of tea to celebrate!
Anxiety-Free Mornings
The number one way to keep your mornings sane: Prepare the night before. Choose an outfit for you and for every child. Pack lunches. Stock the diaper bag and your work bag so you can just grab and go in the morning.
Designate an area on your to-do list, calendar, or PDA specifically for the morning, says organizing expert Jamie Novak, author of 1,000 Best Quick and Easy Time-Saving Strategies (Sourcebooks). Outline musts such as giving baby her medicine or baking cupcakes for your toddler's playgroup.
Wear your keys on a stretch coil bracelet so your hands are free to carry your child or whatever gear you need as you head out the door.
Hang a mirror outside your bathroom, Novak suggests. Instead of competing for time in front of the sink, you can do a quick check as you dash by. (No baby-food bananas smeared on my shirt? Yay!)
- Easier Errands
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The No-Yelling Morning Routine
by 20 people To get out of the house without losing sneakers or your temper, follow our simple plan.
Lay out clothes.
Make lunch and leave it in the fridge.
Sign permission slips, and write notes to the teacher.
Pack backpack and leave it-and anything else that needs to go to school-by the front door.
Get up 15 minutes earlier so you're not rushed.
Give your child a to-do list (with pictures if he can't read yet) so you don't have to nag him to get dressed, brush his teeth, or make his bed.
Keep the TV off.
Serve a healthy breakfast.
Give your child a big kiss before you say goodbye.
Copyright © 2005. Reprinted with permission from the March 2005 issue of Parents magazine.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
How to Find More Mommy Time
Who wouldn’t like to have more time to themselves? Moms are no exception, but it seems like they are the ones who never seem to have enough time for the things they enjoy. Between taking care of husbands, children and the house, they barely have time to breath, let alone relax. What can a mom do to find a little more time for herself? You might not be able to take a week’s vacation, but even a few minutes here and there can make a difference.
Mothers’ Day Out - There are many childcare centers, some in churches, that provide a Mothers’ Day Out program. These programs do not require that your child be registered for daily care. You can use the program a day here and there as needed. The time could be used for shopping, doctor appointments, or even just going home and pampering yourself. The prices on these programs vary, but it could be worth it to just get an hour or two free.
Play Dates - Depending on the age of your children and their friends, you might be able to arrange play dates for your children. By trading off the play date location, both the friend’s mom and you get a break. If it works out well, and more families are willing, you could include another family or two, gaining more free time for all the moms involved.
Tea Time - Taking even a short break during the day can be enough to recharge your batteries. Find a way to keep the kids entertained for a few minutes. It just has to be long enough to sit down and have a cup of your favorite tea, coffee or hot chocolate. The kids could have a snack, or a small craft project (that’s easy to clean up). Sit where you can still see the kids, and just relax. If the children are too small to be left alone, put them down for a nap, or wait until they are in bed for the evening.
Date with Dad - It’s important for the kids to spend some quality time with dad. Why not suggest he take them out for a mini-date, while you stay home and relax. Have dinner as a family, and then they can go for dessert at the local ice cream store. Or go to a fast food place that has an indoor playground. They can get a treat, and the kids can play for a while, and you get some peace and quite.
Mothers’ Helper - Sometimes it’s nice to just have another pair of eyes and hands around the house. Many young girls take babysitting courses, but still need experience taking care of young children. If you can hire a mother’s helper for an hour or two a week, not only do you get a break, but they also get the needed experience. It is very helpful, especially if you have young children and aren’t comfortable leaving them with a sitter yet. You can still be close by, but you don’t have to be in the same room. This also makes a better transition when you are ready to leave your children with a sitter.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
At Home
• Keep related items together, for example the coffee filters and coffee “live” above or near the coffee maker. (saves 2-5 minutes a day)
• Create a communication center on the fridge for messages, chores etc. (saves 5 minutes a day)
• Keep the grocery list posted where all family members can add items as they run out. (Saves 10 – 30 minutes a week, depending if you forget something and have to go back to the store!)
• Create recipe categories that make sense to you. (saves 5 minutes a day)
• Identify a place to put car keys, gloves, umbrellas etc., for easy access when you leave the house (saves 5 minutes a day or a lot more if you really can’t find your car keys!)
• Use an answering machine or service to control calls. Return calls at your convenience. (saves 10-20 minutes a day)
• Create an address book for quick reference. Outlook Express, ACT!, and Quicken all come with address books, or you can do it the “old fashioned” way and input info by hand in an actual book. Keep it updated. (saves 5 minutes a day)
• Put daily grooming/make-up needs in a single container easily accessible. (saves 3 minutes a day.)
• Make a habit of looking when you go from one place to another, and see what needs to go with you. (saves 3 minutes a day.)
Family
• Teach your children to use an alarm clock or clock radio. (saves 5 minutes a day)
• Choose clothing and accessories the night before (saves 5 minutes a day)
• Pack lunches the night before (saves 5 minutes in busiest time of the day)
• Designate a place where family members can check to see if they have messages. (saves 5 minutes a day per person)
• Start a child’s file system with a simple container, basket, file or shelf. It may contain information about their medical records, medicines, education, extra curricular activities, memorabilia, etc. (saves 10-15 minutes a week)
• Designate a “special place” for your child to put the papers they bring home from school. (saves 5-15 minutes a week)
• Run errands at non-rush hour times if possible. Keep stops sequential to avoid driving in circles (saves 15-45 minutes a day)
Work
• Avoid an overflowing e-mail In Box, by creating folders. Create a folder for each committee, project, person etc. (saves 5-10 minutes a day)
• Attach the old message when replying to an e-mail to help the recipient remember its original content. (saves 5-10 minutes a day)
• For lengthy or complicated e-mail, create your message in a word processing program and attach it to your e-mail. This allows you easy access for editing and retrieval. (saves 10 minutes a day)
• If you need a copy of an e-mail, print it and then delete it! Remember to file your e-mail hard copy in your paper management system, such as The Paper Tiger™, so you can find it again in 5 seconds or less! (saves 5 minutes a day)
• Keep your filing system simple. Don’t create too many categories, it’s better to put information into the largest general category first. (saves 10 minutes a day)
• Organize computer documents. Put into one folder. Your computer already has it for you - “My Documents”. Then create subfolders for each program that you use, such as Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. Then save it. (i.e., My Documents/ Word/Mary Stowe letter/Marketing for book. (saves 10 minutes a day)
• Practice the Art of Wastebasketry®. Take a minute to clean out whenever you can. (saves 5-10 minutes a day)
• Let calls go into voice mail. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt your work unless it’s truly necessary. Return calls when you have a set time to talk. Checking messages can also give you time to prepare for what the caller wanted and avoid having to return calls back and forth. (saves 15 minutes a day.
© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at http://www.productiveenvironment.com/
Monday, February 18, 2008
Don’t despair: here are some tricks that will free up some time you can use any way you’d like to.
1. Make a Weekly Menu: every weekend plan your meals for that week, and shop accordingly. Make room in your plan for leftovers, so you can skip cooking once in a while.
2. Double Up: every time you cook, make more than you need and freeze then rest for another time.
3. Make Dinner at Lunchtime: while you’re getting things out for lunch, take out the ingredients and utensils for dinner as well. Cut up veggies for a salad, and put together a meal that you can cook later (lasagna sounds good here)
4. Invest in a Crock-pot: cut up meats and veggies in the morning and toss them into a crockpot. Plug it in before you head out so the food will cook when you are tat work or doing errands.
Exercise Time
1. While on the Phone: keep a pair of weights by the phone, and every time you talk (whether you are on the phone with a friend, or making appointments) you get a few minutes of exercise.
2. Lunch Hour: after you eat your lunch, go for a walk around your workplace. Find a partner to make it easier and more enjoyable.
3. Early in the Morning: yes, you’ve heard that before, but now, more than ever, you can use those 30 minutes before everyone gets up to exercise. You’ll be energized for the day, and things will go smoother when you know you took time for yourself.
1. Give Yourself a Time-out: every day, break away from everything for a few minutes and take a few deep breaths.
2. Take the Long Way Home: if you work away from home, drive the scenic route to your office, and take the extra time to listen to your favorite music, or a book on tape.
3. Do Your Shopping Alone: go for grocery shopping in the evening, and let your hubby care for the baby. It will give you some time away from everyone.
4. Put it on Your Calendar: take one night a week to do something just for yourself: a bubble bath, a movie, a good book, or a manicure. Oh… so good….
1. Start Dating Again: once a month, hire a baby sitter and enjoy the night out with your husband. And to keep it interesting, take turns choosing what to do.
2. Meet Him Halfway: pick a restaurant between your offices or near home, and meet for a romantic lunch.
3. Do Double Duty: wash the dishes together after dinner, share folding the laundry at night, or do some of that much needed yard work: you’ll get a chance to chat while getting things done. 4. Get Baby on a Schedule: once your baby’s hours are somewhat regular, you and your husband can enjoy some private time every night.
House Cleaning Time
1. Do It Now: throw just mail into the recycling bin as soon as it arrives. Fold clean laundry as soon as the drier stops. Put everything away the minute you are done with it, and avoid a big cleanup job later.
2. Grill It: use the grill often to make dinner if you can. This will save you from having to clean the stove, pots and pans.
3. A Little at a Time: instead of cleaning the house in one giant sweep, try doing it in 10 to 15 minute spurts, when the baby is napping. Or, plan to clean one room each day of the week, and save the weekends for fun with the family.
4. White Noise: vacuum when you baby is sleeping: the noise may soothe a cranky baby, and clean your home at the same time.
With these suggestions, and those new ideas they’ll trigger, you’ll soon find yourself enjoying more time in your day.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Time Management Tips for Busy Moms
If you are like most moms I know you think to yourself, at least once a day, “I wish I had more time!” Most of my clients come to me at some point asking how they can get more hours in the day. Unfortunately, the truth is you can’t. There are only 24 hours in a day and it is impossible to make more. That being said, there ARE ways you can cheat and create more time for the things you want to do.
1. Prioritize! This one is especially important if you are prone to procrastinating or starting something and never finishing it. Each morning you should make a list, written or mental, of what needs to be done for the day and list them in order of importance. This can be done just as you’re getting out of bed or while you’re having your morning coffee. If your mornings are already hectic I suggest getting up a mere 3-5 minutes early because that is really all you’ll need to make this list. If you’re not a morning person you can also make a list right before bed the night before but then I suggest it be a written list so you don’t forget anything. When making your list, try and be aware of how your body reacts. When you think of #1, your most important thing for the day, does you body contract? Do you feel nervous or tense? If that’s the case then maybe it needs to be broken down into more manageable parts or baby steps. Don’t try to do too much all at once or you’ll end up getting nothing done at all! You might also consider making a second list of less important things that could be done in 5-10 minutes increments. This way, when you have a few minutes to kill between activities you won’t fall into a “black hole” (see #2). Get that little bit of dusting done, throw the clothes into the dryer or make that hair appointment during your down time.
2. Get rid of what I call “black holes” or time wasters. Things like TV, checking your email every 5 minutes, online or computer games, and phone calls from chatty friends can be fun but they are also HUGE time wasters. According to a government census the average adult watches a total of about 70 days of TV per year!!! I bet you can think of a lot more important things you could do with that time. Think about this statistic: the number of minutes per week the average American child (2-11years old) watches television is 1197 but the average number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children is 38.5. Just spending those 70 days playing and relaxing with your children would be time better spent. Think about setting aside time each day where you turn off your TV, phone, and computer and work diligently on your to-do list. Even an hour will increase your productivity greatly.
3. Don’t be afraid to say no. So many women and especially mothers have a problem with this. They think they have to do everything and be everything to everyone. They want to be “super mom” and “super friend” and “super wife”. Well I bet if you talked to your kids, friends and husband you find out they’d be perfectly happy with you just being yourself. Taking on too much adds more pressure on you then you need and prevents you from working at your best which means everything will take longer to do. You will procrastinate more if you’re forcing yourself to do things you don’t really want to. You need to protect your time. If you’re still finding it hard to say no, it might help to come up with a list of reasons you want to protect your time. What do you want to do with any free time you get? These might include time so you can do things to make progress towards your longer term goals (you do have goals, right?), spending time with people you love and care about and who nurture you, or so you can do things that bring you pleasure and joy like a walk through the woods, painting, swimming or reading a good book.
4. Ask for help. You may be thinking men are the ones with problems asking for help, they won’t even ask for simple directions but most of my female clients have problems asking for help as well. Just like being afraid to say no, they are afraid to ask for help because they think they have to do everything themselves. This is so untrue. You are no in this world alone. You have friends and family and even total strangers out there willing to help you and they won’t think less of you if you need them. In fact, they are likely to feel honored that you would consider them. Try and plan ahead. If you know you are coming into a time where you plate will be full to over flowing, think about asking for help in advance or even hiring someone temporarily. Or why not hire them permanently? Do you REALLY have to mow the lawn every week or can’t you pay a neighbor kid to do it or teach your own kids to do it. Do you find yourself constantly picking your kids up and dropping them off for the same activities every week? Then start a carpool because you must know that you are not the only mom out there that feels more like a taxi then a parent!
5. Energy renewal. Set aside a few minutes or more a day to renew your energy. I know what you’re thinking, “I have no more time!” but trust me, the more energy you have the more you will get done in a shorter amount of time. If you are feeling refreshed you will procrastinate less. Managing your energy can be done in just a few minutes at a time. Take a few moments to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and just be in the moment. If you are into yoga, do a few relaxing poses a few times a day or just stretch your body loosen up a bit. You may want to even think about signing up for some yoga or meditation classes or get some DVDs or books about the subject. A great book for beginners is called The Joy Within by Joan Goldstein and Manuela Soares. Meditating a few times a day only takes minutes and will do wonders for your mind as well as your time management but make sure to turn off your phones during these moments! Another book I highly recommend if you’re interested in energy renewal is “The Power of Full Engagement” by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.
So, if you’re up for the challenge, I would suggest you take a few moments each morning or night to make your prioritized to do list. Also, start becoming more aware of what you want more time for and what you are protecting your time for. Make a list of the top three things you want to do with this time and keep those things in mind when you are about to say yes to something you want to say no to or when you start procrastinating or falling into a black hole.
Ally Moll is a Life and Creativity Coach located in South Central Wisconsin. She offers one on one coaching to artists and women who want to incorporate more creativity in their lives. Ally helps people declutter their minds and their lives so they can be happier and have more time to do what they want. She can also assist you in becoming more free and independent by helping you start your own small business.
To learn more about her and her services visit http://www.allymoll.com/ or sign up for her newsletter at http://www.allymoll.com/newsletter
Thursday, January 3, 2008
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