The Beginning is in Sight

Originally posted November 14, 2010 on Time to be Mom

I know, it's supposed to be "the end is in sight," but for me, the end of my office job means the beginning of getting my life in order.

Our team has processed the majority of work and the only ones left are those which require outreach to customers for more information. I'm hoping we can get those calls made (and responded to) before Thanksgiving.  I'll be gone the following week, so it is actually possible that I will either be done or only have a few more days of work once I get back.

I had mentioned before that I needed to take the time to really set my priorities in order to decide how to make my schedule.  I read a couple of great articles about priorities and time management by Crystal on the Money Saving Mom blog.

She is a Christian as well and pointed out that she makes sure to spend time with God every day and when she prays over her day, she asks him to bless it and "multiply" her hours.  She said that, when she does that, she is always amazed at how much more productive her day is.  Starting out the day with God not only creates a better relationship with and understanding of Him, but it also gets you in the right mind set to deal with whatever challenges the day will bring.

Another thing she mentioned was that one of the things most of us leave out when we get overloaded is sleep.  We try to stay up one more hour, get one more thing done.  Funny thing is, getting enough sleep can help us get more done in a shorter time because we are more alert and our rested brain is able to process things better and faster.

Crystal also brought up the idea of a "Time Budget".  Most of us have a budget for our money and can clearly see how that makes sense.  You start with the money you have coming in, then take out money for things you need/want to pay for.  You can't take out more than you put in without going into debt.  Why don't we do this with our time?  When making schedules, we usually start with a list of all the things we want to do and try to cram them into our day, whether they fit or not.

We go into "debt": usually paid for by lack of sleep, wasting money and health on fast food and cutting out time with our families.  What we should be doing is starting with our 24 hour day and taking out sleep and other necessities.  Only put other tasks on the calendar if there is actually room for them.  Setting your priorities first will help you decide which items need to be left out.  Don't forget to leave some wiggle room for unexpected things that come up (Crystal suggests 2 hours).

In this last week or two of my office job, I'm going to be looking at what my calendar should look like once I don't have that on it any more.  I'm going to start with making sure I have scheduled enough time for sleep & quiet time with God. .