Time, why does it always seem like it is something we are always chasing? Time is one of those things that we all want more of because we never seem to have enough of it. More time to do this or that. What is insane is that we can control our time or we can let it control us. .
I was & still sometimes am that human who can feel the overwhelming anxiety of ALL the stuff. Ya know...all the "ish" that MUST get done or the world comes to an end.
One thing that has helped me get a hold of time is seeing where my time goes & prioritizing how I want to spend my time. If you think about it...it's kinda like money. It's important to see how and what you spend your money, on just like time.
The search began for the PERRRFECT planner but, what I envisioned in my head didn't exist or I didn't want to spend 50 bucks on having one customized for my needs. The google search began. I stumbled across a teacher website where I could customize my day, hour by hour, for FREE. I call it the old school version of Google Calendar. What's equally awesome is that you can print to binder size or A5. For now, I just print out two weeks at a time and staple the pages together. If it is a crazy busy month, I'll print the whole month. I keep my pages in my "big planner" that goes EVERY WHERE with me.
Here is the order that has helped me take control of my time
1. I write family events, IEP meetings, Dr. appts, and all of that kind of stuff on a monthly calendar.
2. I prioritize the important stuff and write it in on my hour by hour calendar. Important stuff, meaning kids activities, my workouts, twitter chats, meal prep, grocery shopping etc...the MUST DO areas of my life.
3. I block out my prep times. In the box I write what I am going to accomplish, based on priority for the time block. If something doesn't get accomplished, it goes on priority for the following plan period.
This strategy has helped me see how I am spending my time & has actually helped me create more time for the things that I once thought I didn't have time to do. To keep it real, there are times that I spend most of my plan time getting settled or re-grouping from something that has happened previously in the day or I'm just struggling staying focused. When this happens I just re prioritize & plug in what MUST be done in other slots in my day or week. We are all human & it is 100% okay if the plan scatters a bit.
Notice that I didn't put "housework" on my hour by hour calendar. That is one area that I probably should some how turn into a priority...but, I'm a work on progress & not ready to take that leap yet. I'm also, working on scheduling in my screen time & scheduling that in my day too. Social media can be soo addicting & I don't want to look back & realized I missed or didn't have time for something IRL because I was too "busy" in my virtual life. Again, work. in. progress. Maybe one of those I'll choose to apply to my life for Lent. I'll keep you posted.
If you decide to use one of these strategies or have something awesome that works for you, live with glitter & sprinkle it on social media & either tag me and/or use #livewithglitter.
xoxo,
Lisa
Comments