The advent of the internet and mobile phones means that you have very little down time. It means being permanently connected and can be a huge time waster in the process. The refrain “I’m so busy!” can be heard from parents everywhere. This isn’t surprising given that we are not only managing our own lives but those of our children as well. It’s important to make time for oneself and then use it effectively. If we identify and eliminate time wasters it is a positive step forward in caring for our own needs.
Spend 3 days jotting down how you spend your time. 3 days is enough to give you a snapshot of what things are taking up your valuable time. It might be the demands of a newborn bub, or completing a work contract under deadline.
This is where you take a close look at exactly how you are spending your time.
Break down your log into 2 parts, it might be useful to use a couple of highlighter pens for this process.
Part 1: Others time: how much time do you spend on the needs of others? Are you spending time caring for a newborn and when they’re napping are you trying to spend quality time with a toddler sibling? Are you working part or full time? How much travel time is taken out of your day?
Part 2: Me time: what part of the time you have spent is on yourself? Do you make time for exercise or to spend time catching up with friends? Are you browsing Facebook or Pinterest? Highlight the times that you have had for yourself.
Remember this is about you taking control of your time and how you spend it. This is not the time that you know you can’t negotiate with such as feeding your child or the hours you need to spend at work. This is about the time that doesn’t fall under those conditions.
This is where you start to thinking about how you are choosing to spend time rather than being caught up in thinking you really need to check your emails or answer that phone-call. Instead, take a deep breath and step back from it all. Set yourself some goals about how you are going to manage your time more productively.