Everyone gets the exact same amount of time in a day. It is one thing you cannot buy or earn. So how can you manage time? You can not. You can only manage your use of time.
As single moms, you handle two persons’ work in the same 24-hour day. How are you going to fit more into the same amount of time especially with limited resources? Here are some tips for you:
Tip 1 – Get it all out on Paper – Write down everything you need to get done this week. They do not have to be in any order and if you can group them together in categories, that will be great. For example: work, household (bills, bank, rent, groceries), children (child care, school work, PTA), self care (hair cut, exercise, massage, personal development, taking walks).
Tip 2 – What Matters Most – From the earlier list, choose only those that matters most (only the urgent and important). Do not include anything that does not support your healthy happy, stress free lifestyle. With limited time you will have to let something go if you want to add something into your life. Be very careful of your choices, there isn’t enough room for everything.
Tip 3 – Do versus Outsource – Out of the what-matters-most list, decide what has to be done by you and what can be outsourced to others. Some of the routine maintenance work can be done by others while new projects and tasks that require creativity will be best done by you.
Tip 4 – Prioritization – Do you keep putting off the more important tasks, while you go accomplish the not-so-important activities? Align your values and goals with your activities. What things are you doing in your life that is not supportive of the life you want?
Tip 5 – Activity versus Productivity – Are you often very busy but not really doing anything productive? Pareto principle rule applies here. Find the vital 20% of things you do on a daily basis that produces 80% of your key results. Free up 80% of the time. We are often consumed by what is urgent and unimportant which does not get us anywhere.
Tip 6 – A Flexible Plan – Have the end game in mind. Decide what needs to be done by when, what resources are required and work backwards. Yet do leave enough room for surprises and contingencies. Are you able to switch and adapt should something unplanned happen in your week? Having a plan is good, being able to adapt is better.
Tip 7 – Quality Time – Since you only have limited amount of time, make sure you think creative, healthy, happy thoughts, feel love and compassion, do good and show kindness. One genuine act of love and kindness will accomplish much more than a life time of idle thoughts and empty chatter.
Apply these tips and you will be more discipline with your use of time. If you can be in a community with other single moms and share lessons learnt applying these tips, you will be spending quality time building up yourself and others. Find a community in your area and get supported.
For real time online supportive community with group coaching facilities, click here to register and you will be connected to single moms all over the world by phone.