Feel like there is never enough time in the day?
Do you run around your day with a constant To-Do list spilling out of the corners of your brain?
As you enter a room you notice the school pictures that still need to be put into frames (mental note #1). Then you round the corner to the hallway and there in the corner lies the pile of material for the curtains that need to be hung in the guest room. (mental note #2) Finally you get the the bathroom, hop in the shower and staring you in the face is the shower head that needs some soaking and cleaning to get rid of the mineral deposits. (mental note #3)
Ugh! Stop already. And this goes on all day long as you move through your day.
The constant litany of to-do’s can be calmed believe it or not. Here are the steps to take to calm your inner voice and find more time to do the things you love.
- Write down every single thing that runs through your head as something you need to-do. Something magic happens when you have it written down somewhere you trust. Your mind quits reminding you to do it. You know its out there on paper, you know where the direction to act exists, so your mind no longer feels the need to juggle and balance the hundreds of tasks you could be working on at any given time. Suddenly your mind can quit doing the enormous tasks of constantly scanning and recreating the ‘to-do’ list.
- Once you have your to-do list that is a good start. However one task on the list ‘clean the basement storage room’ may take 12 hours and another task such as ‘hang new print in living room’ may take 10 minutes. The same is true of your work to-do list. A list alone does not manage your time. You can look at a list of twenty things and have no clue how much time it would take you to accomplish the list.
- Now take each task and enter it as a calendar item on your master calendar. Keeping this electronic is going to be the most efficient so that the tasks can be moved as needed and flexibility is built into the system. As you enter each item estimate how long you think it will take you and schedule that much time. Be honest with yourself and then add another 20%. Once everything is entered in you can truly see how much time is required to complete your tasks. You can also enter in the calendar entry mental notes you want to remember for each task.
- You can then enter the recurring items that you want to get to, but never seem to get around to. Maybe you want to enter “Clean out the fridge” as a recurring item the night before garbage day. You need to remember to schedule your mammogram, so enter it in as an annual item to recur each year. Want to set aside two hours each month to work on your photos? Or a monthly date night? Enter it in as a monthly recurring item, blocking off the time required.
- Here comes the tricky part. This is where you need to use your discipline and put yourself first. The next time someone calls to see if you have time to take on “XYZ project and when can you have it done?” you are now empowered to give them an honest answer. Look at your current list of commitments on that calendar. When is the next available time – two weeks out? Then that’s what you tell them for when you can get to it. Don’t squeeze more in where it just doesn’t fit.
- If instead this changes your priorities and you want to cut and paste something from one day to a day further back in month that is your choice, but this forces you to be absolutely realistic about the time you have and the time you don’t! And it forces you to physically move what you would be postponing. The act of moving something is a physical action that tells your brain what you are giving up. If you find you keep moving and postponing the same thing you need to ask yourself how important is it if it’s clearly not important enough to devote your time to?
These planning and organization tools have helped me gain more time and quiet the voice in my head that before kept telling me “you’re never doing enough” which often turned into “you’re just not good enough” at your job, parenting or keeping a home.
You ARE doing enough and you ARE are good enough. There is just more to do and experience and accomplish in this world than any of us can possibly fit in. The key is just making sure the truly important stuff rises to the top!
Journal It~
What do you wish you had more time for? How can planning help you prioritize time for this?
Who do you say yes to that you really should say no to?
What activities do you include in your schedule that don’t support your goals for yourself or lack alignment with your values?
Is your current To-Do list working for you?