A Lesson in Time Management

This week I made a goal to evaluate my time management.  The first step was deciding what exactly I should be doing with my free time.  I found this great image:

Now, typically  my weekends were spent doing laundry, paying bills, cleaning the house, and prepping for the coming week.  All the wrong decisions according to Forbes - go figure.  Now, the one that really caught my attention was number 7 "Avoid Chores".  How on earth was I going to make this happen - I don't have time during the work week and I can't exactly ignore my house and laundry.  In addition, growing up, Saturday was ALWAYS clean the house day!  So the next question I pondered...where can I find more time during the workweek?  My day begins at 5:00 AM and doesn't seem to end until a go to bed.  I found this little gem about gaining control of my "free time" and it really made me think, what am I doing during the workweek?

So between my list of what not to do on the weekends and regaining control of of my free time, here is the chore schedule I created for myself this week.

Monday: Living Room and Guest Bedroom

Tuesday: Laundry and Bathroom

Wednesday: Upstairs

Thursday:  Kitchen and Grocery List

Friday:  Laundry and Grocery Shopping

Now, when I started this I quickly figured out that I still needed time to run each day and play with my son, and perhaps have a conversation or two with my husband!  So, take a deep breath, I started my day at 4:00 AM.  I began with a small breakfast, ran on the treadmill and put dishes away.  By 5:00 AM I gave my son his morning bottle, laid him back down and began to get ready for work.  By the time I left the house for work and to take him to daycare, everything was picked up and dinner taken out.

After work, I would pick Miles up, cook dinner, have some play time and reading time with him and then followed his bedtime routine.  I would then spring into action and do my chores.  I found that with all that being said I was still done by 8:30 - 9:00 ish.  

This weekend has been great, no laundry, no house cleaning, just time with my family and focusing on my personal goals.  Lesson learned:  it works for me!  Not only did it work, but if I did not have the morning routine (which happened on Thursday) my entire day was off.

Now, this schedule may not work for you.  You may look at the 4:00 AM start and think "oh hell no".  The key is to think about what you want to achieve on the weekends, what needs to be removed to do so and find time during the workweek to get those done.  Good Luck!