Time management is a subject that I hear many mothers having difficulties with grabbing a hold of.
You hear all the time that "time is of the essence." It really is when you deal with a house full of kids.
When you deal with time management in a house full of kids it is even more important to understand the 5 rules in time management.
There are other rules but today I want to share 5 of them and the first one is the most important I believe.
Patience is one rule that you must take into consideration when using your time wisely in the home and specifically with time management. Many mothers forget very quickly that it will not happen overnight. What I mean by that is that you will not just wake up one day and you will automatically have time management mastered. It takes time and it takes an enormous amount of patience. Take it one step at a time.
Keeping patience in mind brings us to our second rule, which is Priority. Prioritizing our day is one thing that you must grab a hold of when dealing with time management. What you should do, is write down a list of things that you need to do in order of importance.
If you absolutely have to wash clothes, then put that first on your list. If you have to go the grocery store, then put that next. It works perfectly if you have children, because sometimes you feel like you can't get anything done. When you have a list of things to do, then you can check off what you get done and feel accomplished by the end of the day.
Persistence is rule number three and is one thing that can be very easy to forget in time management. Like with everything else in life, if you don't keep it up, you eventually will fall behind and end up feeling guilty. Be persistent at what you're doing. If you are going to keep up with keeping a great time management routine, then be persistent and stick with it. Persistence always pays off.
For example, it can be easy to slack off at the end of the day and think that you can just do it later, but if you don't be careful you'll fall into rule number four in time management.
This is a rule that you want to stay away from, but at the same time you need to be aware of it. You'll understand what I mean in just a little bit.
Procrastination. Once you follow this rule, you're guaranteed to throw time management out the window. If you don't stay away from the urge to procrastinate, you will never get anything done.
Now believe me there is a time when you can just sit down and relax or take a break, but don't forget what you are trying to accomplish.
I think that every mother probably struggles with this most of the time, because the fact is that we get tired and we want to give up. Procrastination is a word that always seems to creep up in our vocabulary in the form of "I'll do it later". If I can encourage you with something, I hope that it can help you with any other area of your life. Don't put it off. You will feel so much better if you do it now. It might not seem that way right now, but in the long run, it will be great.
The last rule of time management is purpose.
This can be taken in two different ways. You can purpose to be consistent, persistent, get the job done and stick to your time management plan.
You also need to keep your purpose for keep a time management schedule in mind all the time. For many mothers, the purpose is to be able to spend quality time with their children. For some, time management might mean that they can have time to relax, or time for their spouse.
There are different ways to apply time management into your lifestyle. There are some who actually have a set time to do something and there are some people who make a list like I mentioned.
Either way will work. I've personally tried both ways.
I'm not sure which I like better yet, but I do know that when I mark off a list of 10 things to do, and I mark off 8 of them, it makes me feel great. It makes me feel accomplished. I can then start off with the things that I was not able to accomplish till the next day and have those at the top of my list.
Lets recap. The 5 rules that you don't want to forget are patience, prioritize, persistence, procrastination and purpose.
Be patient and know that it will take time. Keep your priorities in order and whatever you do, make sure that persistence never leaves your mind.
Procrastination will always allow your purpose to drift away.
