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When it comes to time management, there’s no other person I look up to than my wife. She is a superwoman (and I can already picture her totally tickled pink with this revelation). She does everything in our home, and everything is orderly by the time I arrive. What’s her secret? She manages her time effectively and allocates maximum time for most productive work.
So for this post, I have her as my resource person. I will take her examples to prove my point that one of the most important time management skills is to dedicate most for your time to work that will bring you most value. But knowing this is not going to help you, unless you learn to assess and rank your tasks as per the value proposition. Its a skill only you can master your own way. I can only guide.
Be committed to it
No matter how much you allocate time for everything, if you’re not dedicated to managing your own time, you can’t expect any positive result from all your efforts. As she says, “I always try my best to be very conscious. When I get tired, I just think about you and this home, and I’m already rejuvenated.” Now isn’t that so sweet of her?
Ask for help
We don’t have any relatives here in the United States, but she has plenty of friends to help her out. She invites them over to plan special parties or other occasions. She hands the rakes and pails and paints and other what-nots to me during weekends or when I’m not busy. This way, she’ll be able to focus her remaining energy on other important things.
Plan for it
You should have seen her calendars and checklists. My dear wife has an excellent memory, but she doesn’t completely depend on her brain when she has to remember several things. She writes them down. She has plans for spring cleaning, doing laundry, and other activities. She has created her own checklist or template for cleaning and doing groceries. They are stored in your computer, so she doesn’t have to write all these things all over again once she has ticked off all the boxes.
Use technologies
I’m glad my wife is never afraid to use certain technologies such as mobile phones, tablet PCs, and laptops. She recognizes the importance of all the gadgets around her. For instance, she doesn’t fall in line in banks anymore to pay off bills or move some funds. She can already do so online. She shops using online coupons to enjoy incredible discounts without the hassle of skimming through endless pages in dailies and magazines. She brings the phone with her anytime she’s outside the home, so she can keep in touch with me and with her friends.
Spend some time alone
When she says she wants to have some me time, I definitely respect that unless there’s trouble and I need her help immediately. She works as hard as I do or even more than my efforts, so it’s only right she gets some time for herself. She actually spends an hour doing something she loves most, such as reading a book or having her nails done. By the time she’s done with these things, she feels motivated and inspired again, and she’s able to accomplish a lot of things in only a short period.
Wake up early
Do you know what time my wife wakes up? She’s out of the bed as early as five in the morning! She stretches out, do some light exercises; then she goes on to prepare breakfast and my clothes for work. At the end of the day, she’s able to complete a lot of things and enjoy some wine during dinner.
Take care of yourself
You can’t expect to be productive if you’re constantly sick, right? My wife gets sick too, but she tries her best to take care of herself. She sleeps very early, so when she wakes up, she feels well rested and happy. She acknowledges stress and slows down when she has to. She visits her doctor and dentist regularly or at least once every six months. It’s very crucial to remain happy and productive at work, whatever you do.
Learn to say no
I think everyone struggles with this one, even my superwoman wife. But I think she has more guts than I when it comes to this department. Perhaps it’s because she knows her priorities. It’s her family’s needs over everything else. If a request gets in the way of fulfilling her duties at home and to her family, you can definitely expect her to say no about it or perhaps tell you she’ll do it but not anytime soon. If you can wait, then good.
Do it well the first time
Always give everything your best shot, so to speak. When she cleans the bathroom, she spends hours on it, but by the time she’s done, she’s officially over with it and move on to something else. She then waits for another week or two before cleaning it again.
Readers, this was a story of ordinary housewife. I am sure the fundamentals she follows can be applied to critical business problems. How do you boost your productivity when you need some?
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Make sure you are working on the right thing. Completing something well that need not be done at all is complete waste of time.
Congratulations on finding such a wonderful wife. She will make a great mother when the time comes.
You are lucky to have such a wonderful woman. I like getting in work before anyone else so I get in about 1hr before everyone else. It is just amazing how much you can get done when there are no people to bother you. Getting up early having a plan and using technologies are good. I would also say that know when you need help. You are not always going to be the best at something but if you can find the best people to do the job it makes your job a lot smoother.
I can attest to the success of writing things down to get them done, regardless of how good memory is. I can remember everything I need to do but that does not in anyway motivate me that I have to do it. Writing it down gives me something that I have technically already started because I wrote it down. I feel far more compelled to do it. However at the same time if it is just written down it really doesn’t mean anything unless it is done consciously. Adding time slots or deadlines to events and work are very effective. I like many, thrive at getting things accomplished at the very last minute. Thus if I do schedule a very short amount of time to accomplish a task I do have much better luck at finishing it and finishing it well.
I get the most done when I strategically look at all I have to do. When I get home from work, I know I have 15-20 minutes so I do all of the things that are going to take 2-3 minutes each to do. Then when I have more free time, I tackle the most important thing that I identify first. The real key is to avoid being distracted. My girlfriend will be doing work and when I look over, she’ll be on Facebook or Amazon. I avoid all of that so that I can focus on the things I need to do.
It’s really necessary to know how to manage your time very well and to focus on more productive work. It’s not very easy to get things done if you’re not going to plan things. Thanks for the wonderful tips on time management.
Yes it’s really important to know how to manage time for productive work. And the points you mentions are really important specially the commitment or wake up early to spend more time on productive work.
I find setting priorities helps. It makes me concentrate on the stuff that is due the quickest. I also try to eat well, sleep well and exercise. This way I am the most alert and able to concentrate.
Being a home-based worker, wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend rolled into one. I understand how important it is to manage our time properly. Likewise, I know a lot of people and freelance workers who know that time management is indeed important. They have a schedule of daily activities but their main problem is sticking with it. Who else can relate?
We all have been so busy in our lives that we hardly get anytime to look after ourself. Taking out some time for yourself and doing something that interest you is one the way to dedicate some time for productive work.
I find that the thing that really helps me stay productive is to make the most of “dead time”. For example, if I’m watching TV, I might do some blog commenting during commercials or go peels some veggies for meals later. Or if I’m brushing my teeth, sometimes I’ll walk around the house and pick up and clothes or dishes that are not put away. It’s small things, but they add up for me.
Simple but very helpful tips!
I couldn’t agree with you more. There are a lot of reasons why we procrastinate or don’t commit to our schedule. If you have a lot in your plate and you’re trying out a lot of different tips on time management, it would just make everything more complicated. The simpler, the better. We should just maybe try one of those strategies above, one at a time and see what fits you best then stick to it.
One other simple tip to make more time is to avoid those time wasters, even if it wastes just a little bit of your time. Whatever it is, may it be chatting with co-workers or checking your social media accounts, you should do something about it and fast. 🙂