2016 Update: My happiness project had to be put on hold for a few years as I couldn't take it on as all my focus was on getting our son better and I also had some health issues.
I will be resuming it in the near future as I still think it would be a great thing to do, so I'll keep ye posted :)
I know, lol, I'm writing my March Time Management project in June/July,.. that doesnt say much about my time management. Well things are about to change! My monthly projects for this year have been slightly delayed due to simply being a busy mum, being sick, and if I'm honest, also due to naivity believing that I could actually do all that on time! :)
I will be resuming it in the near future as I still think it would be a great thing to do, so I'll keep ye posted :)
I know, lol, I'm writing my March Time Management project in June/July,.. that doesnt say much about my time management. Well things are about to change! My monthly projects for this year have been slightly delayed due to simply being a busy mum, being sick, and if I'm honest, also due to naivity believing that I could actually do all that on time! :)
Well for each project (see here or on the Life tab of the blog about my happiness project if this is the first time you are tuning in) I do a considerable amount of research and reading. This of course takes time. I have just finished the last of my time management self help books and I am so happy and looking forward to the future. I am going to nail it! My dreams of making life eaiser, happier, and more memorable are looking more like a reality when I think of putting all these exciting new practices into place to change my life for the better.
I'm going to share the steps I'm taking with you and break it up into two posts so you don't feel like you've just had to trail through three self help books like me in the search of a more sane you.
Some of the ideas I realised myself with some thought about how our lives could be managed more practically, and some are ideas I have gathered from the books I have read. (listed below). To say the least, I am inspired! Lets get de-stressed and organised. Lets get cracking!
Please don't get scared off by the initial period of sorting out, scheduling and dumping crap from your life. It'll be all the easier after it's all done.
One of the things I realised while reading is that a mums time isnt considered important enough. Whether its by ourselves, our partners or family members, or simply the society we live in,...too many people say "I'm just a mum" when they are asked what they do. A mothers job in my eyes is the most important one you can get. You created this miracle. You are shaping the future, creating yours and someone else's destiny, and showing your true colours althewhile loving the most you've ever loved before, in turn making yourself also incredibly vulnerable to loss and pain.
I have always viewed it as an important role, and love being a mum but I never put a real value on it. Allison in her book 'Time Management for Manic Mums' made me realise that if Tom was to employ people to do the jobs I do then he would have to pay out at least €2,588 per week alone in just wages. That would include a childminder, stay at home nurse, chef, gardener, farmer, chauffeur, psychologist, entertainer, shopper and PA. At that I'm probably even selling myself short. So thank you Allison, my minutes are indeed valuable and I'm giving myself a pat on the back. Time really is the most prescious of all things, never will today come again. Never again will my child be this small and cuddly, the time will come all too soon when I am too 'uncool' for cuddles. That is one mega motivation to get on top of time management. I dont want to wish mine away or spend it stressed, shouting and in a dishevelled mess.
I have always viewed it as an important role, and love being a mum but I never put a real value on it. Allison in her book 'Time Management for Manic Mums' made me realise that if Tom was to employ people to do the jobs I do then he would have to pay out at least €2,588 per week alone in just wages. That would include a childminder, stay at home nurse, chef, gardener, farmer, chauffeur, psychologist, entertainer, shopper and PA. At that I'm probably even selling myself short. So thank you Allison, my minutes are indeed valuable and I'm giving myself a pat on the back. Time really is the most prescious of all things, never will today come again. Never again will my child be this small and cuddly, the time will come all too soon when I am too 'uncool' for cuddles. That is one mega motivation to get on top of time management. I dont want to wish mine away or spend it stressed, shouting and in a dishevelled mess.
Right, values done, pat on the back done, ready for action because yes, I am really super-mum.
Steps I took to manage my time better:
1. What do I want to change? What do I want the outcome to be?
First off I wanted to spend less time cleaning, get less stressed, spend more quality time with the kids, more adult time with Tom, and just feel like I'm human, not a machine. I needed more structure, less chaos. (how very german of me I know :) I need to wake up in the morning and know what I'm doing rather than let the day just happen and overwhelm me. Looking at mess and unfinished jobs causes a chain reaction of constant negative thoughts.
2. I made a list of daily, weekly, and bi monthly chores in the house so I can keep track of my cleaning. Due to Mr. T's allergies & eczema I have to do a lot more cleaning than a usual household with two kids as I have to keep detergent lint and dust at bay. For more info please go to the severe infantile eczema tab in this blog. With this list I can feel safe that nothing has been left out, and nothing is being done unneccessarily twice. Below is a copy of my chores list, I laminated it and stuck it on the inside of the kitchen cupboard so I can cross off jobs that are done with a chalkboard pen.
3. A mealplan would have been the next step but I already did that for my February happiness project see here. For the sake of making life even easier while the kids are so small though I have decided to actually plan the individual meals, not just the basic idea. I have filled out what meal we will eat every day, and the ingredients needed for it that would usually not fall under the general shopping list. I tried picking meals that everyone likes, and that are healthy & take an hour or less to prepare and cook. Easy ones like roast chicken with roast vegetable would of course be an exception as they take longer to cook, but seeing as there's not much to do once its all in the oven it still stays simple and I can clear the kitchen or play with the kids while its roasting. It's a work in progress that can be altered if anyone gets bored etc.
4. One of the jobs I hate doing the most is my weekly shopping list. going through all the cupboards checking whats gone, and making a list for the several shops,....it takes me about an hour every week. An hour I would happily spend doing something else. So I made the mother of all shopping lists and I'm hoping I will never have to do one again. Not in the next year anyway.
I go to several shops every week in an attempt to buy good quality fresh food at the best prices. My food shopping day could consist of 5 different food shops along with another 3 or 4 other shops for errands and animal feed etc.
I decided the best option would be to print a page with all the usual shops on it. Under each shop title then come all the things I usually buy, with boxes that I can tick next to each item. Then there are also blank spaces for any special groceries needed to the specific meals mentioned in the point above. For example specific fresh veg would go into the blank spaces. Then I print about 10 copies of this list ( enough for 10 weeks to start off with) and hang a new one up in my kitchen every week the day I come back from food shopping. Then over the next week whenever something runs out it just has to get ticked off the list. At the end of the week I simply add the items that are listed on the mealplan if needed and voila! Not more making a shopping list. It just makes itself :) Here's a copy if anyone needs ideas:
5. Make a to do list of everything! Literally everything I want and need to do in the house. Things I think about all the time and then I waste energy trying to remember them when they slip out of my head because someone's just interrupted my thoughts. Trying to keep all those tasks in my head is unnecessary stress. I probably wont get all these things done in the next 12 months, but I always find it frees up your head if its on a piece of paper on the wall instead of gathering cobwebs in your brain. Once the list is made I can revert back to it whenever I get a spare half hour and want to tackle one of them.
6. I have also decided that in order to fulfil my time management goal I have to just have a day or two without the kids where I can gut the house, empty all the clutter cupboards & boxes and get rid of a load of stuff. Do I really need it? or love it? If I keep tidying something up that isn't mine or part of everyday life, then there must be something wrong. Either someone else isn't pulling their weight and should be tidying it up themselves, or its just unnecessary clutter that, if it was on a charity shop shelf would be a lot better off. I am going to organise these two days in the next fortnight and go crazy decluttering, and storing the things we do need in the right places where they will be used.
Of course there is an exception, I have a few memoir folders with old sentimental items that of course no one should throw out, so I think they deserve a nice spot where they will be safe. That way they are easy to find when I add some more to them. When I'm 80 I'll no doubt want to shakily recall the good old days, much to the boredom of my kids who have probably heard it all before. Oh well :)
Well that's the first part of my mission, a few more things to combat in the second post :)
Good luck!
Books read as part of my research:
- Simplify Your Life by Mike C. Adams
- Time Management for Manic Mums by Allison Mitchell
- Time Management by Richard Walsh
Please note I am not promoting any of these books or any products. These are simply my opinions and experiences.
6. I have also decided that in order to fulfil my time management goal I have to just have a day or two without the kids where I can gut the house, empty all the clutter cupboards & boxes and get rid of a load of stuff. Do I really need it? or love it? If I keep tidying something up that isn't mine or part of everyday life, then there must be something wrong. Either someone else isn't pulling their weight and should be tidying it up themselves, or its just unnecessary clutter that, if it was on a charity shop shelf would be a lot better off. I am going to organise these two days in the next fortnight and go crazy decluttering, and storing the things we do need in the right places where they will be used.
Of course there is an exception, I have a few memoir folders with old sentimental items that of course no one should throw out, so I think they deserve a nice spot where they will be safe. That way they are easy to find when I add some more to them. When I'm 80 I'll no doubt want to shakily recall the good old days, much to the boredom of my kids who have probably heard it all before. Oh well :)
Well that's the first part of my mission, a few more things to combat in the second post :)
Good luck!
Books read as part of my research:
- Simplify Your Life by Mike C. Adams
- Time Management for Manic Mums by Allison Mitchell
- Time Management by Richard Walsh
Please note I am not promoting any of these books or any products. These are simply my opinions and experiences.
