Time Managment

Do you ever feel like you can’t seem to manage your time very well? I feel like this almost daily and it’s a struggle. I go from one thing to the next, I don’t finish what I originally started, then halfway through the day I’m looking around and realize I have 6 or more things going on at once that I never finished doing and at this point there’s no way I’m finishing all these tasks along with other things I wanted to go out and do for the day. Almost daily I would do this and put off finishing or doing something for myself until the next day, then the next and then a week has passed, and nothing is finished yet. I would get so frustrated and stressed out with myself, but yet it was a never-ending cycle.

I finally realized I can’t keep going on like this day in & day out, and changes needed to be made so I could have my life back & enjoy it again! I’m not quite there yet, but some small changes I’ve been making have definitely helped start bringing some sanity back into my life.

Some changes I’ve started making that are helping is, a small list every day of what I want to accomplish within a certain timeframe. I had started a big list at first, but realized it was too much and again I wasn’t getting much done. I had to narrow it down to a few things to get done in the mornings, maybe 3-4 and stick with that. These could be things like lite cleaning around the house or one room or one small organizing project, laundry, paying bills, making a grocery list, computer work, or making appointments that needed to be made. Bigger projects around the house I have narrowed down to once a month over a weekend and pick 1 or 2 things, depending on the project I need to get done, and not spending my personal time every single weekend trying to get things done, instead of being out & about or reading a book, & enjoying my time off. I have also started writing in my calendar weekly, “as appointments”, things I need to go out and do like what day I’m doing a big grocery shopping for the week & not running to the store every night, walking my dogs daily and whether we’re just doing a neighborhood walk or a big hike somewhere, or what days I’m getting my workouts in for the week, just so I can block off that 1 or 2 hours where nothing else is planned. One last thing I’m still working on and getting better at is putting everyone else’s needs before mine. I really struggle with this one out of guilt, and I have to realize, for example, “getting dinner ready can wait an hour longer” while I do something for myself or get one of my “appointments” done. It’s not perfect yet, but I feel as I keep going forward and sticking to my plan everything will get better along the way!

I know a lot of people really struggle with organizing their time and I wrote this to let you know you are not alone in this struggle! Some small changes can make a big difference. If you have any tips or suggestions on some small changes you have made to organize your time more efficiently, please comment & share! I’d personally love any other ideas as I’m sure everyone else struggling that is reading this would too!