Loving Life on a Time Crunch
I’m asked the same question over and over again . . . how do you fit everything in to your day? Prioritizing, scheduling and time-management was a class I probably slept through, so it has been a work in progress for me. I don’t have all the answers, in fact I probably wing it more times than not on most subjects (however winging it and finding something that works is better that living a stagnant life in my opinion)!
I have found a winning combination in my life to juggle the daily tasks and chores of being a wife, mother, mortgage lender and marathon runner all while trying my darndest (is that a word???) to follow my dream of motivational speaking and mentoring. My plate is mighty full and I believe my family, friends and clients deserve the very best . . . so that’s what I plan to give them.
So, back to the original question – how do you fit it all in? I will share my secrets to daily success with you.
#1 – Sleep very little. Sleep is a necessity not an objective. My body works best on 7 hours of sleep, anything more is a waste of my time.
#2 – Make a plan and stick with it.
#3 – Make the plan fun and exciting.
#4 - Focus on one thing and give it my all.
#5 – Recognize every day holds the potential for something wonderful – be open to receive it!
. . . Here’s how today’s schedule looks . . .
My alarm goes off at 4:50 a.m. For the first 10 minutes of my day I lay in bed and listed to great music and think of every good thing in my life. By the time my feet hit the floor at 5 a.m. I am one grateful, thankful, smiling Mama.
5 to 5:30 – UP BABY - Put on my running clothes and listen to Jim Rohn motivational CD’s. Start drinking water (and lots of it!)
5:30 to 6 – Meeting with a Stud (that’s a fun way of saying sit down and meet with my husband as we plan our day, write out our schedules, set goals and help each other. Each meeting begins and ends with a kiss.)
6 to 6:20 – Do your thing Mama (Record Mama’s Wake Up Call, post to the fan page, add the Booty Shakin’ Pik and encourage the other Mamas)
6:20 to 6:40 – Smile, Laugh, Dance & Feed my babies (Music is on loud, the entire family is dancing and singing and laughing all the way through breakfast. This is honestly one of my favorite times of the entire day!)
6:40 to 7:20 – Make my girls look and feel good (Fix hair, affirmations, tell them over and over how beautiful and remarkable they are)
7:20 to 7:40 – Make the car hop and pop. This is dancing and singing time in the car sending the kids off to school. My goal is to help them start their day right. Hey, it’s not easy being a kid sometimes, making our little white Mitsubishi hop and pop on the way to school is the least I can do!
7:40 to 9:00 – Be my best for 5 miles (this means exercise time, nothing but my very best will do)
9:00 to 10:00 – Feed the machine, spread the love, make some $ (translation: breakfast, emails, phone calls, work with clients)
10:00 to 11:00 – Wash in the success and be beautiful (that is quite simply shower and be proud of my sweat accomplishments thus far and look my best)
11:00 to 11:30 – Make some more $ (more calls, emails, work)
11:30 to 12:00 – Make my home shine & be thankful for clothes to wash (30 minute speed cleaning!)
12:00 to 12:30– Feed the machine again (yip, that’s lunch folks)
12:30 to 2:00 – I GET to have appointments and go make someone’s day (that’s work with a smile!)
2:00 to 3:00 – Send some love in the mail to clients & business partners (that’s marketing and thank you cards)
3:00 to 3:30 – Get my kids and make them smile
3:30 to 4:30 – Make some $ (that’s work again, with a grand purpose)
4:30 to 6:00 – I GET to meet with clients, help and encourage them (evening appointments with homebuyers – they think I’m only there to help them buy a house! :)
6:00 to 9:00 – Relax and love on my family!
9:00 to 10:00 – Spread Smokin’ Hot Mama Love (encourage, motivate and love on all those Perfect Strangers!)
SIMPLY LOVING MY LIFE and hope you are as well!
Pamela
daily goals, priorities, scheduling, time managment in Goals, Living, Priorities, Success
Reader Comments (8)
I love this! Super schedule/time-management is one of my sticky goals to help with my perfect 10. I put "schedule work, marketing, mom, housewife, life everyday"! Thanks for this!
Love this! I think I'm gonna have to make my schedule! Think it'll help me stay on track and motivated too!
AdriAnn ~ I'm such a free spirit that committing to a daily schedule was literally like pulling teeth for me. However, now I find great pleasure and accomplishment in my schedule. It's amazing how much more productive I can be when I know I only have 30 minutes to get major things done! Here's to being on task sister!
Kathy ~ Give it a try for one week and you'll be hooked like me!!!!
This week has been sooo hard! When you realize how much has slipped through the cracks, how your kids have developed some of the same disorganized habits you have and their grades show it, how much you've just missed because you weren't looking or paying attention....its like a kick in the gut!
For a stay at home mom...I've really dropped the ball.
So...since its pretty pointless to wallow in the "should haves" I'm going to do some major re-evaluation starting with me: my habits, thoughts and actions and then my home and family. You all know how it goes "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".... well its way past time to try something different around here. These are MY kids and MY family and MY home...FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!!!
Gina ~ THAT'S the spirit sister! Make some radical changes, turn your world upside down, simplify in major ways, re-evaluate and make life exactly what you want it to be! Success is yours for the taking! Whew, you got me all fired up!
Pamela,
Do you schedule family time on a daily basis? How long do you usually allow?
Carrie~
Yes I typically schedule out my family time so I'm not tempted to work - having a home office leaves you open to that temptation! Ideally I like to have from 5:30 to 8:30 every evening with them and 6:30 to 7:20 with them every morning during the school year. They see my schedule and are quick to remind me it's play time!!!!