Simple Steps to Great Time Management

Many of us are guilty of saying we don’t have enough time to do all the things we really want to. We profess we will have more time ‘when this is finished or that is finished, the kids are grown up, or we have more money, etc’. Whatever the excuse, it is simply that, an excuse.

We create reasons all the time that stop us from spending our time how we really want to be spending it. So what does it take to have good time management skills?

Great Time Management is How You Value Yourself

As a busy mum with two young toddlers and a growing work portfolio, I know there are days I get caught up looking after everyone else’s needs and forget about my own. Yet when I do this I find my day SO much harder to manage and certainly harder to enjoy. But when I start my day with some ‘me time’ before my family gets up or before my working day, I then spend the rest of the day, more at ease and doing more of what I really want to. I still have loads of time for my family and work but when I make my own well being the first priority of the day, I greatly benefit and so does everyone around me.

Creating Me Time

When can you create ‘me time’ each day? It may be taking time out first thing or after everyone has gone to bed, when you stop for lunch or some other time that feels right for you. Whenever it is, I am sure there are some activities you can let go of right now that would give you more time to do more of what you love each day.

Three Steps to Great Time Management

1. Choose an activity you would love to do daily or regularly each week (eg read a book, walk or run, meditation, catch up with a friend, express your creative side).
2. Take a look at your average day right now and decide where you are wasting time (eg sleeping in, watching TV all night, playing on the Internet, nagging or complaining to someone else (or yourself).
3. Now, choose to eliminate that unnecessary activity (step 2) and replace it with the one you would love to be doing each day (step 1).

We have the Power to Change our Lives

It’s that simple! We all have the power to change how we spend our time right now. When you make one little shift it will help you make bigger shifts. Before you know it, you will be doing what you love every day, week, and month of the year.

Remember great Time Management starts with you valuing yourself and your time. Your time starts now!