Time Management

7 Tips to Help You Manage Your Time Each Day

Do you find yourself constantly making lists? I sure do. But it doesn’t always feel like my daily lists are working well. If you’re like me and you need more free time with your family (and a greater sense of accomplishment!), try out these simple tips for to-do lists. I think you’ll find that they will help you better manage your time as well.

Keep your list short and manageable, no more than 3-5 things. If you find that you can complete them quickly-great! Spend some time with your family, and be satisfied with your productivity. Or use the extra time to work on one of your projects or read a book.
Be specific. Don’t write vague tasks like ‘clean’ or ‘write lesson plans’. These could take a long time to complete (does you house ever feel clean enough? I always can find more to clean). Choose a specific task you wish to complete, like ‘wash linens’.
Be realistic. Limit a daily to do list to tasks that you can and will complete in your available time. Keep a separate list for big projects.
Prioritize your list. I don’t find that I have time to make a list and then rewrite the tasks in order of importance. But I can circle or mark with an asterisk the most essential 1 or 2 things. This serves 2 purposes: It allows me to interact a second time with that task. The more times you see information, the more likely you are to remember it. It makes those things stand out. They are more likely to get my attention whenever I see my list, and are therefore more likely to get done!
Keep all your lists in one place. Carry a notebook or day planner with you and write all your lists inside it. You want your list to be nearby so you don’t forget about it and so you don’t lose it.
Reflect on what gets done and what doesn’t. Move unfinished tasks to another day’s list or make it a project.
Keep a running list of projects you’d like to accomplish. Under each project, list the steps necessary to complete it. Then when you have time, you can tackle small chunks of your project.

I keep lists of things I need to do for my classroom, recipes to try next week, errands to run on the weekend, people to call, etc. I blame my mom for this habit because she is also a perpetual “lister”. But lately I’ve been reevaluating my to-do lists. I’ve been noticing that I’ll work hard all weekend, yet Monday would come and I felt like I hadn’t gotten any of my important tasks checked off the list. Once I started implementing these strategies, I felt more successful at the end of the day. The act of physically crossing something off of your list will make you fell like, if nothing else, at least you did that thing today.

Finding time for Working Moms

My last day of work was Friday. My teaching contract wasn’t renewed (don’t worry, I’m pretty sure I’ll be called back before school starts) so for the next 57 days I’m a stay at home mom. Yay!

This was an actual convo between me and my hubby this weekend.

This was half of my day as a SAHM, but I still would’ve had to do all this anyway if I was a working mom. It just would have taken place before work, after work, and on my lunch break. It sounds like I’m griping, but I’ve actually got a point to this.
One of the coolest things about being a teacher is the teacher’s lounge at lunch time. We laugh, comfort each other, vent, and share what works for us as working moms. Personally, I’ll try anything if it makes my morning routine a little easier. Here are some ideas I’ve ~~stolen~~ borrowed from some of these ‘super’ moms.

My friend Mrs. A is a genius. She has 3 kids, and she makes her work week run smoothly by

Setting out the kids’ clothes for the week on Sunday. This is such a great idea. Whenever I don’t do this, I find myself scrambling for 2 bibs, 4 socks that all go together, 2 pants with 4 shirts to match… you get the idea. Also, if you have feisty little girls who don’t want to get dressed in the morning, you have the upper hand if their clothes were chosen by them ahead of time.
Three words: Power Outlet Timer. I felt like a moron when she recommended using one of these beauties for my crock pot. I was never using my crock pot because so many of the recipes say to cook for 6-8 hours, and I’m away from home more like 10 or 11 hours. Now I put the ingredients in the crock pot, set the timer for when I want it to start, and voila! No fussing over dinner when I get home. The only problem is that you have to be ok with meat possibly sitting in a crock for a few hours, but I’ll take the risk.

My Motto on Germs
Once-a-week grocery shopping. I’ve posted about this before, but I started meal planning as a result of Mrs. A. It really does save time and stress if you plan ahead for the week’s dinners, and buy all the ingredients over the weekend. One less errand to do after work!

And some make-ahead-lunch tips from my friend Mrs. E:

Did you ever make a sandwich the night before work/school and the next day when you go to eat your PB&J, the jelly is all sogged into the bread and the bread is all mushy? Mrs. E puts peanut butter on both slices of bread, with the jelly in between. I think this is how the Smuckers Uncrustables are made. No soggy bread!
Mrs. E has 5 kids and a hubby. That’s at least 5 lunches to make each day. Her oldest boy has a healthy appetite, too! She said she’ll send him with hot dogs in buns, wrapped in foil. This is a great, super cheap school lunch idea that is also fast and easy to make. She also sent him with leftover pizza, too. I’ve sent my big boy to school with a hot dog or pizza for lunch and he’s loved it.

Well, that’s all I’ve got. If you have any tips for working moms to help make the work week easier, I’d love to hear them!

Tips to Save Time in the Kitchen

One of the excuses people use for not eating healthy, home-cooked meals is that it takes too long to prepare them and clean them up. But if your goal is to make healthier eating choices, you may find these tips to save time in the kitchen to be helpful.

Since I am always late for something, or trying to cram as much activity into the day as possible, I have found some shortcuts that help me to shave off precious time while in the kitchen preparing meals. We eat home-made for all but maybe 3 meals a month, so I’m in the kitchen a lot… Ok, I can’t take all the credit. My husband does some of the cooking, too. He’s a keeper 🙂 Being that I am always late for something, or trying to cram as much activity into the day as possible, I have found some shortcuts that help me to shave off precious time while in the kitchen preparing meals. We eat home-made for all but maybe 3 meals a month, so I’m in the kitchen a lot… Ok, I can’t take all the credit. My husband does some of the cooking, too. He’s a keeper 🙂

Tips to Save Time in the Kitchen

1. Save veggie and fruit scraps for one big dump at the end. Ok, I said it would shave off time, I wasn’t specific about how much time. But really, this helps. As I’m cutting the ends off of carrots and strawberries for lunches and snacks, I set them aside or in a bowl to toss in the general direction of “Mondo-Bunny” when I’m done. It saves time, really! Instead of cutting, throwing in trash, cutting, throwing in trash, etc…

2. Start with a clean work surface. You should have enough room to make the meal you are in the kitchen working on. If you have to clear the counter first, you should. Saying this, I feel like the assumption is that you have to clear a path through the filth in my kitchen to find the counter. That’s not the case, I promise! I just know that starting with a tidy work area makes a more productive environment, for any task.

3. Enlist little helpers (ahem, your kids). They could do #2 for you!

4. Read the recipe ahead of time. Prep as much as you can in the beginning. Dinner-making goes so much quicker when I have all the ingredients out and ready to be added. When I just barge into a recipe without checking through it first, I usually find myself surprised at needing something. Oh, and these times are usually when I realize that I don’t even have some of the recipe ingredients on hand!

So do you have any great kitchen time-saver tips you’d like to share? I’d love to read your comments in the section below!

Nikki

Save Time and Money while Grocery Shopping

I had a realization this week as I was checking out of the grocery store. If you follow my blog, you know that I meal plan and make once-weekly trips to buy groceries. It’s actually a pretty big deal to make that weekly trip because our small-ish town has limited grocery stores, so we take a good part of the day and head to the next big city nearby.

Ok, so this was my thought: Reusable grocery bags. Why isn’t everyone using them? Here are 5 reasons why you should be using them (and 1 ~~reason~~ excuse for not using them).
1. They’re good for the planet (duh). Some cities are plastic-bag-free and you actually get charged for not bringing your own bag!
2. They pay for themselves. It may take a while, but most stores offer a 5¢ credit for each bag you bring. This adds up! See? Saving $$ 🙂
Side note: most of my bags were free to begin with. Grab them at fairs, conferences, etc. and save even more $$$
3. You can fit more stuff in them (this is the saving time part). I take half as many trips from car to fridge when using these bags. When you’re shopping with new baby twins, it’s all about saving time!
4. They are more durable than store bags. We shop mostly at those kinds of stores that are cheaper, but you have to bag your own purchases. I’ve noticed that heavy cans and boxed goods will tear right through those plastic bags.
5. They fit compactly into the car… Ok, I could only think of 4 really good reasons.

Why bringing your own bag is not worth it:
1. You have to plan ahead and make sure you’ve got your bags before arriving at the store. But if you’re determined not to use plastic bags, you could always buy a few reusable ones while shopping. Every store sells them these days. See? No excuses.

Well, that was my great big ‘A-Ha!’ for the day. What do you think? Share in the comments.

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