How Do You Manage Your Time?
March 24th, 2008 | 
Author: Before I do share anything, I need to mention a few things… (1.) We don’t have kids yet. (2.) Neither my DH nor I have an 8 to 5 job or any type of regular work schedule so our days are very flexible. (3.) I have tried over the past year or so to set up a daily schedule and menu planning – neither work for me. I don’t know why; they just don’t.
Probably the most important thing to managing time without a schedule is to work in time chunks. I tell myself that I’m going to do ____ for ____ minutes. For example, if I want to redecorate the living room for spring, I’ll give myself 10 minutes to pack up the winter decorations, 5 minutes to clean, and 10 minutes to redecorate. If I don’t accomplish the complete task in the set time, I sometimes continue til I finish and other times I save the rest of the task for later. Not finishing usually doesn’t happen because it is amazing how much can be accomplished in 10 or 15 minutes.
Another part of working in time chunks is to reward yourself. If I spend 15 minutes cleaning, I’ll reward myself with 10 minutes of blog reading, checking email, or some other non-work task. I like the work/reward system because it varies my time. I’m not spending an hour cleaning or an hour reading stuff online. It helps me not be sedentary for long periods of time, forces me to make the most of my time, and allows me to do the things I enjoy before I’m too tired to do them.
The largest portions of my day are reserved for work. I typically spend about 3-4 hours a day working on editing and writing projects for my business. And most evenings also include 1-2 hours of online tutoring. When I’m working on projects, I try to take 5-10 minute breaks every 20 minutes or so (the work/reward system). Sometimes I prep dinner, straighten a room, wander outside, play with the puppy, plan a shopping trip, or whatever else I can think of to refresh my mind. This also allows me to accomplish small projects throughout the day while working. In reality, my days are very non-structured, but if I’m working on a deadline, everything else is forgotten.
Cleaning has always been a non-favorite task of mine, but fitting it into my work “breaks” makes it manageable (short time segments) and even enjoyable at times. As far as a cleaning schedule, I sort of have one. I try to vacuum the whole house on Tuesdays and Fridays. The living room floor is sometimes vacuumed every day. I used to have a laundry day but that was too overwhelming. Now I try to do 1 or 2 loads a day 2-3 days a week depending on the size of the laundry mountain. 
Dusting is done on an as needed basis but at least once a week.
Besides whatever cleaning I accomplish during the day, every night I make a 5-10 minute “clean sweep” of the living room and kitchen before I go to bed. I fold all the blankets on the chairs, pick up the puppy toys (replace “puppy” with “kids” if you have children!), clean off the coffee table, put the remotes back – just make it look neat. After the living room, I straighten the kitchen. This might mean putting a few dishes in the dishwasher, wiping the counters, or returning miscellaneous things to where they go. Personally, this quick “clean sweep” makes me feel so much better. There’s nothing as depressing as waking up to a messy living room or a dirty kitchen. One benefit to “clean sweeping” the living room is everything is put away in the morning making it much easier to dust or vacuum.
The final tip for this post (I may do more in the future) is to plan your week but be flexible. In the beginning of the week, Jerry and I go over our appointments for that week and/or any places we want to go. We set a tentative day for shopping if we don’t have any appointments that take us to town; however, the shopping day may change if he isn’t able to make the trip. Because of Jerry’s RSD, I’ve learned to be very flexible in my plans. Some days he just isn’t able to sit in a car for 45 minutes, walk around a store, and ride home again. On the days we are home, I try to get as much done in the house (laundry, vacuuming, dusting – general housekeeping), so when we can make a trip, I don’t feel overwhelmed by what I’m not doing at home.
Flexibility in a schedule is so important. When I got married I promised myself that I wouldn’t be so stuck to a schedule that I would miss out on life, family and friends. How did I come to this decision? When I was teaching in Florida, I would go home to Pennsylvania twice a year – Christmas and a few weeks in the summer. I had a really good friend in PA who I always looked forward to spending time with. She was married with a young child so I realize demands on her time were different than mine, but she took her schedule way too seriously in my opinion. If I wanted to spend time visiting with her and catching up, I had to go along with her on her errands or visit with her at her mother-in-law’s or watch her clean (nothing like trying to carry on a conversation over a vacuum cleaner). Why? Because those things were on her schedule for that day of the week. I asked her about it once and she told me that her world would just fall apart if she didn’t vacuum the downstairs on Tuesday mornings, and if she changed her schedule, her child would be upset. Yipes! If someone calls and wants to visit me in three days, I rearrange my schedule so the time on that day is completely free. I’ll get up a half hour earlier to vacuum or even vacuum the night before! I would also prep my child that a special guest was coming and make it exciting to the child so the disruption of the schedule wouldn’t cause a problem. Moral of the story: be flexible!
If you are interested in learning how others manage their days, especially those with children, check out Fishboys and Biblical Womanhood. If you have any suggestions for how you manage your time, please leave a comment!
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Thanks, Kara! Those are great ideas, especially about being flexible. Kids (and puppies) do need routine, but they also need to be flexible, and so do I. Sometimes I have to sacrifice my time cleaning the house to read my son a book or help him with play doh… a worthy reason for my house not being perfect! And once my kids (there’s another one on the way) are older, I can do other things I don’t have time to do now.
Dianne