Master Time Management

I have realized I am just going to have to pick up the pace a bit, and let my body adjust. When I was single, I struggled to accomplish the things I was doing back then, and “never felt I had enough time.” Then I got married, and had my first child. The pace changed dramatically, and through the hectic survival mode you go through when you have a new baby, you simply learn to do things faster and more efficiently. What used to take you 10 minutes to do suddenly becomes 5, because with a baby screaming in the background, or a toddler streaking around pulling the dog’s tail, you simply cannot “take your time”!!

This is a skill I suspect is also learned in many professions. Doctors have to learn it in Med School simply to survive. In a way it is the frog in hot water syndrome to your body, in another way it is like a birdie being kicked out of it’s nest and learning how to fly. It’s survival.

I think of those with large families. I have one child, but I look in awe at how much they are able to accomplish simply because they have learned to do things more efficiently and faster. They have figured out what matters. Individuals who can crack this system and put their focus into one goal become successful. Read the book “Outliers” to get a taste of what I am referring to.

So here is my Fall Check in:

Faith: Going well here, at least with activities, although prayer could be better. This Fall I am taking another year-long Jeff Cavin’s bible study on the Book of Matthew. Already it is quite exciting. I also have been volunteered as a host family and Catechist for small parent-child community groups for First Eucharist…also a year-long thing. To add to that, we also have family nights at our parish once a month we will be participating in, and of course regular Sunday Mass.

Family: I need to work harder at getting the family back to the dinner table. My cooking has suffered. This is a skill I am weak in, and struggle with regularly. Habit seating in front of tv or computer have developed. We will also use Boy Scouts as a family activity opportunity.

Finances: Doing well, but could be much better. Why is budgeting so hard? Might take a Dave Ramsey class just so I can get my spouse and I on the same page with our budget.

Health: Severe allergic reactions have forced me to the allergist and rheumatologist. No cause yet, but I suspect I better be scheduling more soon. I have been better about the dentist, although I need to get my son there also ASAP. Bad on vitamins. Simply Bad.

Social Contributions: Supported the local Children’s Museum and co-op recently, but this area could be better. At a minimum we could be making more donations. I did donate more to Kiva though. We also have had more friends over the past few months.

Vocation/Education/Personal Goals: I wrote a funded grant for 1/2 million and got it!! That is a big accomplishment for me considering I never received any training on how to write grants, let alone a federal grant. Right now I am still struggling with direction in my personal talents….jack of all trades, master of none. If I could just pick one, and focus on it I could be extraordinary: writing, music composition, drawing, piano or clarinet, public speaking. I may give NaNoWriMo a shot in November and see how it feels.

Lately I have been pondering how I waste my time….seems I do not have enough structured “free time” to make good use of what I really want to do. Too easy to waste it all surfing the net, watching TV, or gabbing on the phone. I need to find a way to maximize my time.

So, if, for example, I do want to watch TV, I will fold laundry at the same time, or knit. If I surf the web, I limit my total time on there to 1 hour per day at the max. I plan in time for the activities I want to do or feel I should do that keep getting put off, especially the fun ones. That is where my 43Things list of 43 Things I enjoy needs to be reexamined.

Things have been pretty balanced for the most part, and I am hitting these categories (Faith, Family, Finances, Health, Social Contributions, Vocation,etc.) most of the time during the typical day. It is just I think I could do a little better in wisely using my time.

Things I have been struggling with that some of the time wasters might be taking away time from me include:

walking the dog
exercising
meal planning and cooking
spending quality time with son
going on dates with hubby
prayer time
having friends over
planning my garden and making it (no more dreaming!!)

Progress….so far I think this goal is going pretty well. There is some fine tuning I still need in a few areas….

Faith: Going fairly well, I am 1/2 way through the Salvation History Bible Study, and pleased with how much I have learned about world history in general and how the Bible and which books fit into that timeline. Getting better at making it to Mass regularly now that everyone is healthy.

Family: This has been ok….we had 2 deaths in the family with the last 3 months, so it has been a stressful time. I think for the most part, however, we have been doing well, and even playing a family game once in a while. We have our family altar for Lent set up, made at least one date night this month, and my son is keeping busy with Boy Scouts, and Baseball. Dog has had a few trips out lately to another house where she got the chance to hang out with another dog buddy, so even the dog’s social life is going well.

Finances: We got our first stab at a budget accomplished. Now to see how our spending habits fit in.

Health: Need to get on vitamins again, but we have been doing well getting our dental work taken care of. I have been focusing on son’s health and scheduling multiple appointments.

Social Contributions: probably the most neglected area right now given the stress of family deaths, but we did get a few new cars, so maybe stimulating the economy and supporting local businesses counts? We also bought a membership to the local co-op and will be shopping there more frequently.

Vocation/Education/Personal Goals: Need to sit down and do some song writing at the piano, and get my raised beds going. As well as work is going, I am taking more trainings, and just completed another advanced statistics course, so I am making progress in this area.

Now that I am settling into a new routine….here is my status on my plan:

As far as balance in my life for my priority areas:

Faith: I slacked off on the rosary, but have recently joined a Bible Study group to study Salvation History with Jeff Cavin’s program. Thus, I need to study 1/2 hr each night and be prepared for my weekly meetings. I also need to jump start my rosary, as it creates a fixed prayer time for me daily even when it is hard to pray.

Family: We had a fun fall in spite of moving! We managed to fit in a few activities to celebrate the season that were very low budget. As Advent approaches, we need to focus on family prayer. I am putting together a special prayer table during Advent to remind us to do this. We also need to plan some special Holiday traditions. My son is now doing Boy Scouts, so between that and Church and school projects, he is getting a great deal of quality time with me lately. Dog still needs more walks, and hubby needs more dates.

Finances: We worked on this today. Need to create the new budget ASAP as holiday season is coming!

Health: I had been doing well with vitamins…then I slacked off…then I got a cold. Go figure! Pretty good up until getting sick, but I need lots more exercise and fresh air. Even walking the dog would help. The weather here has been miserable up until today, so that is part of the challenge. I need to set some goals in this area for myself!

Social Contributions: Slacking on the tithing as we are readjusting the entire budget. I don’t feel like I am giving much to society outside of my family right now…we’re a bit in survival mode as we adjust to new schedules and routines. As the holidays approach, there should be some opportunities to volunteer or donate, and I need to make that a priority.

Vocation/Education/Personal Goals: Neglected neglected neglected. I have not touched the piano since I moved in, and it seems all I do lately is clean or unpack boxes when I am home. I need to carve in some time for me. Christmas music just might do it!!

I got a Palm OS Centro Phone for Mother’s Day. It is the coolest thing since sliced bread.

So far I have a water tracker downloaded, shopping list maker, web access with 43 things and email downloaded among other things, and a nice google style utility tool.

Does anyone have any suggestions for good software for organization or chores?

I found a great online tool that works for GTD and just general to do list making…. www.rememberthemilk.com

I am hooked, not to mention it works on my web phone too! I used it to start scheduling my laundry days, and to put reoccurring reminders I often neglect, like getting my hair cut, making dentist appointments and such on there. Very very cool!

Need to get back on this goal. Getting sick has really spoiled me with time in front of the computer.

Time wasters:

1. Reading blogs, blogging, web surfing, and emails….this is a hard one since this is where I get most of my news. I need to sit with a timer next to me I have decided and limit to 15 minute breaks in between other activities when I am cleaning or cooking, or set it as a reward when I have other important activities completed.

2. TV….not often, but I have been hooked on American Idol lately, and I could at least be multitasking during it. Use of computer during TV does NOT count.

3. Phone. I’ve been better at this one, although if a relative calls, it is usually a good 45 minutes shot easily, given we don’t live close.

4. Shopping. This one not so much, lol…now that I’ve discovered online shopping is quicker and I can do it in my pajamas. Nevertheless, that relates it back to the computer…so I need a good timer.

I must say I’ve completed this goal at work….the amount of productivity is astonishing! Now I need to work on mastering this one at home and managing my down time more effectively.

I have identified 3 areas in my life where I am wasting time especially….that is, most of the time when I am NOT at work!

I need to work on drafting my existing morning and evening routines and seeing where I might be able to modify them a bit to include just a few more steps. Things like laying out clothes the night before, packing lunches the night before, pulling meat and dinner ingredients out and having them ready to go in the morning the night before…

I also need to laminate my monthly and weekly chore checklists and hang them somewhere visible or on the inside of a cupboard. Otherwise I just get too random!

My time management at work is going exceptionally well! I have been using GTD ideas for my filing system for my projects, and being able to put notes in the files has helped me where I left off, as well as follow projects through to completion easier.

As far as balance in my life for my priority areas:

Faith: I have been doing well having successfully created the new habit of praying the rosary daily.

Family: I went on a date recently, and have been reading with my son again more. The dog is still a bit neglected but I have started a new goal for her. It will also help to put a plan in place for our Spring and Summer to insure we make it fun and memorable. I have been doing a bit better with meal preparing, but it comes in bursts and I don’t like it. I have identified that preplanning and preparation is key to this being successful.

Finances: Horrible in balancing checkbook, but we are getting debt paid off.. my car was paid off recently, and now we are plowing through my husband’s car loan. Need to shift money in accounts to make things more manageable.

Health: Vitamins, hit and miss. Quality food has been better. I am now getting some exercise from my physical therapy which is helping me, and for the most part I have been healthy this year so far.

Social Contributions: We’ve been doing a good job keeping up with tithing. I recently quit my volunteer position due to being overtired from work….it was just too big of a commitment after a full 9 hr day of work. We are still trying to eat organic and use organic household and yard products.

Vocation/Education/Personal Goals: My piano playing has slacked off, but I have been doing a good job with my reading. I need to pay a little more attention to carving out a hobby time for me to achieve my personal goals.

Another productive work week. I think the things that helped me stem from the GTD….last weekend when I was still thinking about work I emailed myself those thoughts and to do list. On Monday, when I came in, that was waiting for me, and I launched in immediately to the tasks instead of the normal Monday slump.

The results of my work as completed Friday are going on to do amazing things. I am so excited about it. The top boss where I work was even notified, and the final product in the end has the chance to impact public safety in an enormous way as I hand the baton off to others now to take action. I work hard, but it is most rewarding to see the work really make a difference.