Best Time Management Tips for the Disorganized

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Time Management has been a huge struggle for most of my life. As a naturally disorganized person, one of those “flies by the seat of my pants” personalities, it was my emotions, not my brain, that led my life. “That sounds fun, let’s do it. That doesn’t sound fun, let’s not do it.” Depending on how I felt, I would show up late or not at all. Quick to commit to many things, led to having absolutely no clue how to accomplish it all, finally overwhelm would set in… which meant zero activity.

My life quickly became busier and busier as I got married, started a family, and a business. The word productive was the furthest description from me and my days, which consisted of playing “keep up” instead of “move up”.

I was making zero progress in life and felt like each day consisted of putting out fires, only to have to repeat it the next day, and the next. I was living Groundhog Day, each and every day.

It. was. miserable... and so was I.

Now having been married for almost 18 years, raising 4 kiddos for 15 years, and running a successful business for 11 years, I feel I have learned A LOT about the ultimate juggling act… life.

Several years under my belt as a student of time management, there have been many books read, many podcasts listened to, many speakers heard.

“Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.”

John c. Maxwell

Below are my top 10 time management tips I take on a daily basis to ensure I am being the most productive and effective, me, I can be.

TIP 1: Make your “To Do” List…

the Night Before

When it comes to time management there’s very little you can do to improve your management of time, without a list of what needs to be done.

Before your head hits that pillow, take time to review your calendar and write your “to do” list for the next day. 

Note the 3 parts of your life: Family, Work, Social.

In each of those categories write the specific things that need to be done and plug those to-dos into specific times in your calendar.

Proper list-making and prioritizing help when you feel your time is being pulled in many different directions. Boss, Family, Friends.

Before my feet hit the ground the next morning, my goal is to know EXACTLY what my day holds and what needs to be done. No surprises. No rushing around. If you don’t have a plan when your eyes open, you’ve already wasted the day.

PRO TIP:

The morning rush doesn’t have to be, well, rushed! We all have things that happen most, if not every, morning. Be ready for them.

For example:

• lunches for family members
• items to bring from the house to somewhere or someone
  • backpacks, game uniform, practice clothes, during/after school/work snacks (money saver), items for scheduled appointments, etc.
• Breakfast, vitamins, coffee, etc.

For my family, ALL of these things are packed and set up the night before.

When the house wakes up, everything is ready to go!

TIP 2: Delegate

Ask yourself: Am I REALLY the only one that can do this?

If you’re anything like me #controlfreak, then there are a lot of things that you believe must be done by you, and only you. But the truth is, other people can do it too.

Know what I have found? Many people that I have asked for help from, actually had better ideas and better ways to do the thing I was hoarding control over. Gasp!

Ask for help. Pick people’s brains.

PRO TIP:

Parents: I’m a big believer in giving kids chores. Trust me my kids are not as excited about this as I am.

Read my post “Kids and Chores” here for more in-depth on this topic and why I’m a big believer in this.

Check out this awesome checklist of recommended chores for kids 2-14 years old.

Be okay with giving things away

Remember:

There are things you can do,

then there are things ONLY you can do.

Choose Wisely.

I know, no one wants to hear this one. I definitely did not want to hear this. By nature, I am a night owl. However, all of the productivity professionals I’ve researched, all had one tip in common… get up early.

Cue the eye roll.

When I took a moment to consider the sources, I found they were all millionaires, billionaires, successful CEO’s and entrepreneurs.

No matter how hard I tried, nothing good came from hitting that snooze button 4 times to flying out of bed, rushing around, harried and hurried, forgetting items you need for the day, speeding to where you need to be, to getting pulled over, and ending up being late anyway.

Cue the major eye roll!

If your future self and your personal peace aren’t worth getting up a few minutes early, then get comfortable with where you are in life.

The early hours are when I plan, prepare and pour good into myself before my day starts.

How? I turn my alarm off, roll out of bed, walk straight to the coffee maker and turn that baby on! Let’s do this!

Make your “spot”. My spot is all set and ready to go (the night before), which has my bible, journal, and the current book I’m reading… right there waiting for me.

Is sitting in a spot mandatory? NO! Maybe your best quiet time is heading to the gym early morning to workout. Or maybe it is just sitting on the floor, stretching, and meditating. Maybe it’s sitting in complete silence, just you and a notebook, and writing down whatever comes to mind. Goals? Dreams? Vision for your life?

Whatever it is for you, do it… there’s no better way to start your day than focusing on YOU!

There’s something special that happens in those

early morning hours.

“Quiet Time” is the most precious “Me Time” of the day.

TIP 4: Don’t Touch that Phone!!

The alarm goes off, you grab your phone, eyes barely open, and you just scroll and scroll, wasting precious time without even knowing it.

When I made the commitment to myself that “Quiet Time” came before anything else, my whole world changed. I promise I’m not exaggerating. Therefore, I could not let anything get in the way of that.

At the beginning of establishing my quiet time routine, it was absolutely essential to leave my phone behind. This may be something you will need to do based on your level of early morning phone addiction.

Today, I can easily grab my phone to come along with me first thing in the morning, because I have broken the early morning scroll habit.

How? This next tip helped tremendously!!

TIP 5: Turn Off All Notifications

An effective time management tip is when you decide you are in control of your time. When you realize you don’t need notifications pulling at your attention and ruining your focus, you are free.

I have my phone automatically set on “do not disturb” mode from 10 pm until 7 am each day. This one little button helps not only to remove any overnight distractions but also keeps my quiet time easy because there is nothing on the screen when I wake up at 5:30 in the morning.

PRO TIP:

One tip is to leave super distracting notifications off permanently, for example, social media. This gives you the freedom to choose, based on your calendar, when to check what you want and when you want to check it.

TIP 6: Use Social Media as a Reward

When it comes to being productive and effective, time management and social media – do not mix!

Social Media is the biggest time stealer and distracter. Once you accept this truth then you can move towards regaining focus and productivity in your life

To start using social media as a reward instead of entitlement, look at your to-do list and determine what you will get done before scrolling.

• Read for 30 minutes?
• Check 3 things off your to-do list?
• Complete your daily workout?
• Lunch break only?

Once you’ve accomplished those tasks, then set a timer (more on this below) to scroll through your social media.

Or you can schedule and set an appointment into your calendar for “scroll time”.

Either way, you do it, be intentional with your time.

Struggling with social media? You know it is sucking so much of your time each day? Then read my “Social Media Detox: Why and How” post. You will love it!

PRO TIP:

If this concept sounds absolutely impossible for you, then it may be time for a Social Media Detox.

I’ve put together a step-by-step program on how to cleanse your social accounts AND detox yourself! Take the challenge today!

TIP 7: Tackle the Biggest Items First

It’s still early in your day and you just finished the toughest thing on your list… high five!

Start with the biggest projects or tasks first. This may seem backward because you feel you can tick more items off your to-do list faster if you get after the little ones first, but I believe the opposite.

Make that tough phone call, send that email you’ve been putting off, books those needed appointments, start pulling everything out of that cluttered closet that’s been haunting you. Just do it! Start your day strong!

There aren’t many things more exciting than being DONE with a big item on your list. You feel confident and accomplished. Checking that item off is a mood booster. You sit a little taller, smile a little bigger.

A great book recommendation is “The Joy of Missing Out” by Tonya Dalton

TIP 8: Set Timers, Alerts, & Reminders

With all the incredible technology at the tips of our fingers, there are time management tips and hacks all around us

Based on your to-do list and calendar for the day, set timers for work periods.

Big projects obviously take longer. I like to set a timer to remind me to take a break, get up, move around, get some steps in, clear my head.

Studies have shown that our brains work best in 90-minute max work, focus, concentration intervals. So if you are working on a bigger project then set your timer for 90 minutes, power through and focus, then get up and move.

For those who are still working through phone addiction, absolutely use voice commands on your phone.

Set timers, schedule appointments, send text messages, enter reminders, add to the to-do list, without touching your phone. Leave it face down.

Voice commands are an invaluable tool in your time management efforts. They keep your hands-free, which means you are less likely to start scrolling and wasting precious time.

A great tip I’ve learned is to use timers while cleaning and decluttering your house as well. I don’t know about you but when I see clutter forming, it tends to get bigger and bigger because I just don’t want to deal with it. When one day I look at I assume it’s going to be an all-day project, therefore, I avoid it as much as possible.

Watch this video for more on the 20 minutes declutter challenge.

PRO TIP:

For those that don’t use the calendar on your phone, I beg you to reconsider.

I know, I too LOVE my paper planner, it is with me all of the time. I love it because I can see the day, week, month, and year at a glance. However, my electronic calendar keeps me on track during the day with its alerts and reminders.

Color code the categories of your life: Personal, Spouse, Family, Work so it’s easy to track at a glance.

Shared calendars with your spouse and family members are a money move for successful time management! When an appointment gets added or deleted you are alerted.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING:

Each Sunday, my husband, kids, and I all sit down to review our calendars and upcoming week.

• Who needs to be where, when, how?
• What days do we need to set up babysitting for my toddler?
• Who needs what items brought to school, work, appointments?
• What food needs to be prepped?
• What’s the dinner menu for the week?
• What needs to be purchased?
• What projects, assignments, tests, reports, are due this week and what needs to be done?
• Where are each of the child’s school grades at and what can we do to improve, if needed?
• What teachers do we need to communicate with?
• What appointments are coming up?

If you are feeling like you are spinning a ton of plates and most of them are falling and breaking, then I highly recommend implementing weekly family meetings… you will love the result!

As a wife, business owner, and mom of 4… these tips are invaluable to my success!

TIP 9: Review your “Got Done” List

End each day feeling good about that day, no matter what

As you are making your list for tomorrow, be sure to look at what you accomplished today

Early on, most days as I look at what I actually got done, I felt like I should have gotten more done and didn’t operate at my best. But that attitude and perspective is ALL WRONG.

Did you get at least one thing done?

That’s one less thing you have on your list than when you woke up that morning.

Be proud of yourself, pat yourself on the back, this was a great day!

You made progress, and that’s what this is all about.

Yes, things happen… it’s called LIFE. We know schedules can be completely thrown off by one call from the school nurse telling you to pick up your child, or one call from the boss adding something to your day last minute.

Drop the guilt and decide there are NO BAD DAYS!

Now, take the remaining items to transfer them to the next day, schedule them in and start fresh in the morning.

TIP 10: REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT!

I hope this helps clear the clutter in your mind about how simple time management can be. It really does all boil down to eliminating the distractions and being intentional with your time to accomplish the things you want in your life.

xoxo

Mo

Grab the Time Management Guide:

So tell me, friend, what time management tip did you find most helpful? What’s the first thing you will implement into your daily routine? I would LOVE to hear it below!

xoxo,

Mo

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