There was a time when time management wasn’t such a big issue for me. It was pre-motherhood, pre-juggling two jobs and pre any responsibility other than school and my social life. In recovery, we are re-learning many of our practical life skills and time management can be on the top of the list of things to relearn. Here are 5 ways to recover your time management skills and get back on track.
Establish a Routine.
Making a list of tasks that you need to get done on an average day is a good first step to getting your routine going. Waking up and going to bed at the same time every day will not only help organize your time but also improve your energy levels and give you lots of energy to get everything done. Organize each task in time order and then give yourself an opportunity to get everything established. After a month of practicing this routine you will feel less stressed, more energized and more in control again.
Setting Reminders for Your Tasks.
My phone regularly emanates a variety of sounds on a daily basis. At one point I even had a reminder set to eat my meals. It was easy for me to forget to eat with so many things to take my attention away from myself. The school run, bill payments, errands and endless chores can all get forgotten easily. Having reminders can be a real bonus when it comes to organization and time management. Taking time to set up a weekly to-do list and set reminders each day for those tasks allows us to function without stress and jumbled thinking.
Include Everything!
Including everything in your day is important, even time to read, relax, go to meetings and meet friends. It is very easy to include all the mundane tasks which will take up every second of your day if you let them. Scheduling downtime and days off from routine is essential for your health and wellbeing. A lazy Sunday can be a major recharge and set you up for a busy week ahead.
Allowing Flexibility.
With the best will in the world, we can’t predict the unexpected and things will crop up from time to time that are out of our control. Being flexible is necessary for everybody’s life. Regardless of our best efforts, we won’t always get everything done. We don’t want to get too rigid and become obsessed with keeping things in order either. There has to be time for fun and switching things up too.
Delegate.
An even bigger issue for me than time management is delegating. I used to think it was a waste of time because I’d have to follow up to see if what I had delegated was actually done. However, the checking up doesn’t last forever and delegated tasks become part of the delegated persons routine pretty fast. Believe it or not, I don’t ever have to check my kids rooms anymore to see if they are clean and tidy, it’s automatically done. From my initial checking up on them they now prefer to live in clean and tidy conditions, so my job here is done.
I hope you find these tips helpful when it comes to recovering your time management skills. If you have your own tips, please share them in the comments. We all need some new suggestions from time to time.
