“I just don’t have the time to do the things I want to be doing.”
“If I just had more time…..”
“Once I get caught up, I’ll have more time.”

Sound familiar? These are the types of statements I hear quite often from clients, friends, other moms and business owners.

Many people struggle with how to go about making sure the important stuff gets done and gets the attention they desire it to have. Here are some tips for you to help you make the most of your time.

1. How you spend your time will be determined by your priorities not your availability. Too often we forget to look at what is truly important to us and our families before we add another thing to our already busy calendars. Take the time to reflect on what matters most to you and your family and write them down. Ask, “Do these requests of my/our time fit with my/our priorities?

2. Try to be proactive instead of reactive. In other words, plan ahead as much as you can. Plan your meals out for the week and then make your shopping list. Take time to plan your next day the night before. Planning also includes grouping like activities and tasks together to make the most of your time. For example, it makes sense to do all your errands on the same day.

3. Don’t overload your calendar. When we over-commit ourselves and our time, the results can be counter-productive. Busyness leads to stress, frustration, and fatigue (mentally, physically and emotionally!). Be sure to include down time on your calendar. I mean physically write it down like you are setting an appointment with yourself. If a request of your time comes up during that “free” time, simply say, “I’m sorry, that’s not going to work for me.”

4. Look at time as a gift. We know that we can’t make more time or borrow time or buy time, but we can cherish our time. Our time is limited. God willing, we are given 24 hours a day – that’s about 730 hours a month, and almost 8766 hours a year. Subtract the time needed for sleep, work, everyday household tasks, commuting, etc and you are now left with a very limited amount of time.
How do you really want to make the most of your time?

Your Success to Organization Assignment
1. Write down the activities you want more time for.
2. Set an appointment with yourself to do one of these activities (actually write it on your calendar).
3. Do it!

As the Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula Constable works with busy moms and families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She provides her organizing services both in-home and via Teleclasses and workshops. Receive Paula’s free reports, The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide and 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips for Busy Moms, when you sign up for newsletter at www.stuff2borganized.com or visit her blog, Organizing Tips and Thoughts for Moms

So this week was parent teacher interviews at my children’s elementary school. What does that mean? Well, for five days straight two of my children were dismissed from school at 1:10 pm.

This causes problems for most working moms and a few extra for single parents. First, we feel bad that we can’t attend and then we have to figure out who will care for our children.

I was thinking today about all the creative ways I try to balance it all and I thought this may be worth sharing.

First, I have learned to not just admit my limitations to myself but to be upfront with others as to what I can and can’t do. I have set parenting priorities and realize they will not be the same as all the stay at home moms nor even many of the working moms who have a double income family.

When my daughter came home with the slip for my scheduled parent teacher interview… I sent the slip back with a note to the principal stating that I would not be able to attend either of my children’s interviews because my scheduled hours are 11:30 -4 and at that time I have to be at my desk. (See how I did that ONE NOTE for two kids, time saving.) Then I went in to the school and spoke to my daughters new teacher the next morning.

I let her know that;

a) I am my children’s sole provider and as a contractor if I take a day off I do not get paid.

b) I also let her know I have worked my schedule to allow me some flexibility for 9 am- 10 am so I can accommodate all of my children’s appointments and I have at least two every week for the next two months (isn’t that crazy!) True, but crazy.

c) That I feel bad I can not be more active in the school during school hours, but to stay in the loop I do attend all PTA meetings by paying for a sitter for two of my children and taking one with me (for quality time) to the possible dismay of some parents ;)

d) That I have three children. One just entering middle school who has adhd and sever allergies, one in grade three being treated for clinical depression who has possible hearing concerns, and my daughter ( in her class) who is undergoing treatment and testing to figure out why she has recurring kidney/bladder infections. On top of all this I have to stay healthy, work, and launch a business to get ahead financially.

e) That I realistically have a total of 20 minutes each evening to help three children with homework.

f) That I can stay in touch by email if she has any concerns. I am an active parent and I will do everything in my power to support her suggestions within that 20 minutes divided by three children.

g) That I appreciate her as my daughters teacher.

So I made it through early dismissal week. How? This week I had my first parent teacher interview via email and it went well. We had one nice traditional dinner this week – the other days all included salad and something pre packaged ;) My kids walked home from school. I worked from home with an IP phone.

Priorities, realistic expectations, and acknowledging that yes I will never measure up to the queen bees on the playground – but it’s likely I am more emotionally healthy then half of them ;)

Overwhelmed by all you need to do? Write it down! Make a list of everything you need to do.

Next, assign a day to each task. Those things that are most important and urgent should be assigned to an earlier day. Beside those items you will do on Monday, write an M. Put a T beside the things you will do on Tuesday, and so on.

Then, look at the items you have on your list for today. Prioritize them by putting a 1 beside the most important and urgent item on the list, 2 on the next, etc.

By tackling #1 on your list, you know you are doing the most critical task on your list. Even if that’s the only thing you accomplish today, you know you have spent your time on the highest priority on your list.

Transfer today’s prioritized list to today’s page on your calendar. Transfer your lists for each day to the corresponding days on your calendar.

At the end of today, evaluate undone tasks on today’s list and those items on tomorrow’s list. If necessary, reprioritize your list for tomorrow. By doing this tonight, this allows you to get started quickly on your day tomorrow with your most critical task.

As a result of creating and prioritizing your to-do list, you may realize that it is humanly impossible to do all the tasks on your to-do list. You will need to delegate, ask for help, or lower your expectations.

As things came to mind, add them to your list so everything is in one place. If you write things down, you won’t have them rambling around in your mind, and you won’t forget them!

By creating and prioritizing your to-do list, you stay focused on what you need to do,  you’re motivated to use your time well, and you are forced to live in reality as far as what you are humanly able to accomplish.

Beverly Coggins is an organizing expert, speaker and author of the 1-2-3…Get Organized series and blog. Her time management books help you determine your priorities, passions, and gifts, and thereby schedule your life around what matters to you.  Contact information: 330-922-0755.

It’s About Time -Changing Behavior to Improve Student Study Habits

Students live in a world of endless opportunities to learn, socialize, volunteer, work, and travel among a long list of things. Good study skills and time management are key to learning how to balance priorities and opportunities in your life as a student.

With all these options and new found freedom, a student might become dissatisfied with how they are managing their time. Perhaps they have developed a bad habit of procrastinating or maybe they have too many activities on the go. Changing behaviors is a difficult task but following the recommendations below will help any student improve their time management skills.

A student can start by doing a self assessment. Do I skip class? Do I set goals for myself? Am I easily distracted from school work? Own up to your short comings and bad habits. Set goals you would like to achieve this semester, this year and in life. This will help you determine what is most important to you and help set your priorities.

Starting to plan. Plan each day. You can do this the night before or first thing in the morning. Set out what you would like to accomplish today and prioritize the items on your To Do list. The best tool is a day planner. Keeping all your appointments and assignments in one place will prevent you from forgetting anything. If you are behind in your school work schedule in time to catch up. Flag start dates for major assignments so they won’t be left until the last minute. Be sure you allow for relaxation time as well as social and extra-curricular activities in your schedule. Allow for flexibility in your schedule, this will reduce stress in case something comes up (parents visiting, illness, etc..).

Scheduling Time. Going to class should be a top priority. Even if you haven’t done the assigned readings, missing class will put you further behind and waste time. Getting notes from someone else is never as efficient as writing your own and someone else may have missed an important point. Attending class will make studying easier later. Block off small amounts of time for studying. You can devote your focus to the task for a shorter period of time and will remember more of what you read. Subdivide larger tasks into smaller ones. This is helpful when scheduling things in your day planner and will make that big project easier to tackle. If you come up against a task that is unpleasant or difficult commit to trying it for five minutes. You may end up getting into it and spending more time, but if not that’s fine. Try to come back to it again later for another five minutes.

Finding a Study Space. The first task is to determine your best study time. Some people are most alert and do their best work after midnight; others work best in the morning when they are still fresh. Know your study preference, some people like a bit a noise or music; others are distracted by the presence of others. It is your responsibility to guard against distractions. If you know your roommate is having friends over or that people often stop by your room to chat, go to the library. If you are tempted by instant messaging and email get away from your computer.

Reviewing your Efforts. At the end of each week, evaluate how you did. How many things remain undone on your schedule? Did your schedule work well for you? What obstacles and distractions did you encounter? Each week set out a reward for completing your most important tasks. Maybe it’s a night out, an ice cream cone, or buying a new shirt. Whatever is in your budget and will motivate you the best.

Isn’t it time you started practicing some of these time management techniques? Change your behaviors and you will change your results. These results not only include your grades, but your free time as well.

Alana Green, Professional Organizer with Organize Anything. For more time management tips visit www.organizeanything.com