Time Management

[Hopeful_Heart]

I am horrible with time management. :sad_yes: I have so many things I want to get done in a day. There are those fun things I want to do, but no longer have time for. Still others I don’t want to do, and end up putting off. I can’t seem to work everything in, and end up messing up those things most important (like cleaning/organizing house.) I do everything I have to do, but it never gets beyond that. Some days its seems that even the ‘have tos’ don’t get done right or completely. I don’t like schedules and never stick to them. I can’t think of any other time management strategies. What time management strategies have worked for your family?

 

[stbruno]

We battle the same thing. But what we try to do is set goals each day or the night before and try to do them.
If you have some sort of plan, things somehow get done.
And something we figured out in the past 4 years…start the day with mass. you will be surprised how you can fit it in…and how God opens doors to you of time to allow you to do that. If you can’t do mass, at least adoration once a week. It’s unbelievable what happens when you ask God to help.

 

[puzzleannie]

what worked for me is dropping 90% of what I had identified as requirements, and simplify, simplify, simplify, and lower my standards.

what also has helped is to have everything color coded, for some reason, that is the only way I can keep track of things is visually. Twin sheets and bedding were always blue, queen size yellow and so forth. same with towels for the different bathrooms. that way I could see at a glance where things belong.

I actually dressed my kids mostly in one color family when they were smaller–my son blue (he still wears mostly blue, oddly enough), oldest daughter in the pinks and reds, youngest in the yellows and greens. I really think I must be dyslexic or ADHD or something. I also have to have labels in large letters on every box or container, and do best with see-through plastic containers.

my kitchen looks like a preschool playroom because everything is in labelled colored baskets and boxes.

for time management I work backward, talking outloud, as I write in my planner
the meeting is at 6, it will take 5 minutes to park and get inside, it takes 35 minutes to drive from work, but add an extra 5 minutes for traffic delays, that means I have to leave no later than 5:15, so I better plan to leave at 5. Then I put a postie on my computer so everybody knows I have to leave at 5 and they all remind me.

best book on the topic I ever read, literally changed my life in every arena:
time Management for Catholics by Dave Durand from Sophia Inst. Press

 

[CatholicSam]

I actually dressed my kids mostly in one color family when they were smaller–my son blue (he still wears mostly blue, oddly enough), oldest daughter in the pinks and reds, youngest in the yellows and greens.

MIL did that! Older BIL was in blue, DH was in green/yellow, and poor younger BIL was in Barney purple! You can see them in all the family photos, wearing their specific colors!

Best book on the topic I ever read, literally changed my life in every arena:
time Management for Catholics by Dave Durand from Sophia Inst. Press

Oooh, now that sounds *very *interesting!

 

[CatholicSam]

Here’s something that works for me. Very basic, but it may be a good place for you to start. Just like Stbruno mentioned, set a goal. Set 2 things that you want to do that day. Maybe make the bed and do the dishes. Then, when you complete a goal, add a new one. So you get up, make the bed, and now you just have to do the dishes. Maybe you’ll add cleaning the kitchen counters.

How about assigning a different room to each day of the week? Kitchen on Monday, bathroom on Tuesday, living room on Wednesday, dining room on Thursday, bedroom on Friday, and outside on Saturday (leaving Sunday for Mass and rest). If the bedroom is a mess on Tuesday, don’t let it stress you out. You know you’ll get to it on Friday

Or you could assign one major chore to each day, like vacuuming on Monday, cleaning the bathroom on Tuesday, doing any kind of mail/bills/office kind of stuff on Wednesday, etc.

Then try to do it first thing in the morning. That way if something else comes up later in the day, no problem. You’ve already done what you needed to do.

 

[Hopeful_Heart]

Thanks to all who replied. These are very helpful hints.

PuzzleAnnie: I couldn’t even begin to imagine such organization. Your home seems like a fairyland to me. :yup:

 

[Alexandra]

what worked for me is dropping 90% of what I had identified as requirements, and simplify, simplify, simplify, and lower my standards.

what also has helped is to have everything color coded, for some reason, that is the only way I can keep track of things is visually. Twin sheets and bedding were always blue, queen size yellow and so forth. same with towels for the different bathrooms. that way I could see at a glance where things belong.

I actually dressed my kids mostly in one color family when they were smaller–my son blue (he still wears mostly blue, oddly enough), oldest daughter in the pinks and reds, youngest in the yellows and greens. I really think I must be dyslexic or ADHD or something. I also have to have labels in large letters on every box or container, and do best with see-through plastic containers.

my kitchen looks like a preschool playroom because everything is in labelled colored baskets and boxes.

for time management I work backward, talking outloud, as I write in my planner
the meeting is at 6, it will take 5 minutes to park and get inside, it takes 35 minutes to drive from work, but add an extra 5 minutes for traffic delays, that means I have to leave no later than 5:15, so I better plan to leave at 5. Then I put a postie on my computer so everybody knows I have to leave at 5 and they all remind me.

best book on the topic I ever read, literally changed my life in every arena:
time Management for Catholics by Dave Durand from Sophia Inst. Press

I AM ADD and these are the kinds of things I do to survive. I couldn’t live without my timer. For example I have an alarm clock that goes off at 6:30 in the morning and I set the timer for ten minutes and that’s when my son needs to go outside to wait for the school bus. At that point I set the timer for 20 minutes and that’s when I start getting my daughter up. I set it for blocks of 15 minutes so I am reminded what time it is until the final time when it’s time to go and wait for the bus.

I wish I would have thought of the color coding for the sheets! Our towels are different colors for the different bathrooms. I buy different socks for my son and husband. My son’s has grey toes and heels so I always know whose sock it is.

Labeling and sorting is something I am big on. I just do better with everything sorted. On the other hand I used to have piles of statements waiting to be sorted and filed until I started just filing them in order paid, not by company. I can find things by date order that way. I’ve always said I do okay as long as everything has it’s own place. It’s the things that don’t have a place that mess things up for me.

 

[puzzleannie]

don’t know what I would have done if we were able to have more kids. by the time our foster daughter came, all the kids were taking care of their own clothes so it didn’t matter. (I picture family photoes with kids in orange, purple, black whatever).

our kids also had their own chores from an early age, and we made things easy for them–sleeping bags instead of sheets and bedspreads, easy to use toy bins. I had cheap plastic shelves with dishpans (color coded of course) from the dollar store instead of dressers for their clothes, and kept that simple, just what they were actually wearing at the time. shoe choice, simple one for school, one for play, sports shoes with the sports equipment in the garage on a big plastic shelf for the purpose.

daughters now do the same thing, keeping rubbermaid in business with bins with big labels, and DD has the new system with the foldable fabric cubes in the shelf made for them for her kids clothes. that is a great system by the way, so are the storage units for kids rooms at target.

the key is to keep getting rid of stuff until you are down to only what is in use at this time.

too much stuff is the prison of modern life.

move every 5 years, that helps you get rid of stuff (and less drastic than my mom’s suggestion, burn it down and start over).

 

[puzzleannie]

i have described this on other threads, but can’t find the links, and I still do it to an extent, but it saved my life at the time (this was pre-flylady days).

I still have the original book it is from the dollar store, intended for 4x6 photos, plastic sleeves bound in a book.

I got colored 4x6 index cards, one color for each week, white for quarterly or yearly jobs.

so I have seven pink cards for week one, 7 blue for week 2 and so on.

On each day I list the jobs that have to be done each day. yes literally, if dishes is not written down they won’t get done, because kids have to be able to look at the card for the day and follow it when they are old enough to help.

then I write the jobs for that day, just as examples, do what works for you
Monday, laundry and clean the bathrooms
Tuesday, ironing and mending and clean the bedrooms
Wed, clean kitchen first, making shopping list as you go through the refrigerator wiping the shelves (not a huge cleaning, just wiping spills and stickies), and the pantry, then go grocery shopping, and run any other errands (treat yourself to lunch out on this day).
I still have to keep a cooler and some baskets in the trunk so groceries don’t roll around this really helps by the way.

thurs, clean the dining room, living room, den whatever are the least used rooms, and do one of your monthly chores–windows, baseboards, garage, patio, whatever you choose

friday–clean the family room or most used rooms, get ready for weekend activities (make sure sports and hobby equipment is where it should be, permission slips signed, carpool assignments understood etc). do filing and office work, bill paying.

Saturday and Sunday–family demands will take care of that time
schedule the monthly and seasonal jobs the family can do together, but be sure to give each of them their own card
clean garage,
rake leaves
paint trim
whatever

I don’t do yardwork, but if you do, build it in the schedule

try to plan one relaxing task–gardening, writing letters, whateever it is for you, on a day when you also do a strenuous task

so each card has the daily tasks
one or two weekly tasks
and one or two days also have a monthly or seasonal task.

key to this is if you have a bad day–flu, meetings at school whatever JUST SKIP THE CHORES for that day, except the necessary ones. Get take-out, use paper plates whatever it takes. you’ll pick it up next week, it’ll get done sometime, relax.

then you do the same thing for menu planning, color coded cards
basic template
Monday, pasta meal
tuesday, beef meal or pork or lamb if you like it
Wed. since this was shopping day it was a leftover, stew, soup type meal
thurs a chicken or turkey meal
Friday a fish or meatless meal
Saturday a family fun meal–pizza, chinese whatever
Sunday-whatever is traditional in your family (my mom made it I Don’t Cook on Sunday day)

then plug in your 4 favorite recipes, one each week where it fits

key to this is serve the same basic breakfast on busy days, save cooked eggs pancakes etc. for easier days (maybe weekends, maybe not) or special occasions. and pack the same basic 5 lunches for school and work–don’t bother being innovative, pack what they will eat.

then you also have a shopping list card for each weeks menues (color coded of course) in your purse so you know what to buy. you have this in your coupon organizer if you do coupons. that was way too much for me to keep track of so I never did it.