It was last week. About 12:30 am and I was working away at
my management homework, thinking to myself “There’s gotta be a better way…”.
But sometimes, time constraints mean the only logical solution is to stay up
until 1:00 am every night in order to do what needs to be done. Between working
full time, having a 2 ½ year old, and going to college, sometimes the thing
that has to give, is yourself.
Time management is one of those things that you can think
you are doing great at until something happens that makes you realize you have
no idea what you’re actually doing. I was like this before I had my daughter. I
still worked and went to college, but I had time to do whatever in the
meantime. Now, bed time = homework time. Not that I’m complaining, because
honestly, being a mom is the best thing that ever happened to me. But it really
makes you think about how you spend your time and how to get the most from it.
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| I mean, look at this face. That's my Brooklyn. 2 1/2 years of cuteness right there. |
Do I go out with friends? Go to the movies? Go shopping? You
bet I don’t. No time for friends or movies, and shopping is done online.
Sometimes opportunities will come up, and time management makes you say no. Making
trade-offs can be tough, and definitely something no one wants to do. But the
thing with that is, it makes you enjoy the fun times so much more.
Check out this video from Marissa Roberts for some great tips. I use time-batching and it really helps increase productivity.
Christmas was just a few weeks ago, and it signaled the
break from some of the busiest months I’ve had (dare I say, ever). I squeezed
everything I could into that Christmas break. We baked cookies, saw Santa, went
to about 7 Christmas parties, watched movies, played in the snow, made crafts, made
a gingerbread house, just about every Christmas-themed thing you can think of.
And you know what? It was awesome. It was so fun. Nearly constant time
constraints really make you appreciate the fun times.
So, what was my reaction when the cat wanted to destroy the
Christmas tree? Or when my father in-law’s Christmas gift was delivered late
(back to that online shopping thing)? I learned to deal with it in a reasonable
way. I didn’t sweat the small stuff. After months of being hyper-pressed for
time, I didn’t want to spend my free time as an angry elf. I didn’t sweat the
small stuff.
It’s all a balancing act. Seeing what works and what doesn’t
work. But I’ll tell you what, learning time management has taught me just how
much I am capable of, and it’s awesome.
Look for me on Facebook or Twitter too, just search for
Dupre Dynamic!
💗
Ashley
I can identify with this! Looking forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear that I am not the only one who tries to manage his time but it just does not seem to work out. Just yesterday, I got into a little argument with my wife because she was mad that I didn't read a rubric carefully (response and update every week). All I kept saying is that I missed it because I was too busy catching up to school, work, house chores... well catch up to life. I thought I had everything under control (and read) until I realize that I am rushing through things because I am just catching up. You are right as you cannot sweat the small stuff and become an angry elf. Sometimes you just have to be honest with yourself and realize that you are just one person doing the very best that you can.
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