Tips to Manage Your Time

I've taken a little leave of absence from this blog as I've been swamped with family life, starting up a new business helping others work from home, the start of summer, adjusting to being a semi-single mom again (my husband has been doing a LOT of traveling)! So unfortunately I haven't been giving much attention to my crafts! 

I've had to figure out how to get all the above accomplished in a day.
Here are a few tips I've learned to help me stay organized and on track:

1) Make Lists.  I've found that making lists of what I need to accomplish in a day/week helps me to stay on track throughout the day.  I am easily sucked into social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and before you know it, an hour has passed and all I've accomplished is reading up on how everyone ELSE has spent their day!  For me, it helps to have my lists written down, and visible... as a constant reminder.

2) Break down the big TO-DOs into smaller tasks.. That way you won't keep avoiding it because of its size. For example... clean up the basement. (one of my personal dreads)  Break it down to. Organize paints, sweep floor, wash the windows, hang curtains... that way you will also be motivated each time you can check off a small task! Woo Hoo!

3) Get a Daily Planner.  This has helped me keep track of whats going on during the week with my kids activities, dinner plans, meetings, etc.  It also helps you see how you can organize the remaining free hours into productive time slots.

4) Schedule your more difficult tasks for when you can be the most productive. Example: If you have a to-do that involves organizing your bills or stack of paperwork that has taken over your desk, you may want to tackle that puppy when the kids are napping, of after they've gone to bed. Nothing is more unproductive them having to chase the little one who took off with your Bills to be Paid pile every 2 minutes!

5)If you have kids, schedule time for them.   If you give them time where they have your undivided attention, then they won't be constantly be asking for you throughout the day (results may vary) :) But then you can hopefully take more lengthy slots of time to work on that project.

6) Do the things you NEED to do before you do the things you WANT to do! Trust me, doing it this way will make the things you want to do much more enjoyable. You won't have that dark cloud over your head saying "don't forget... you still have to do ____ "

7) Don't be a slave to your emails.  Turn off your email or email notifications during certain times.  I know I can get distracted by the "You've Got Mail" sound... and want to immediately check it!  Check your email at certain times during the day.  Set time aside to check them and answer them. Then shut it off.

I hope you've found these helpful! For more helpful tips and information, check out my blog, Kimberly Turner Online!