Be Your Own Time Management Trainer And Take Control Of Your Day

As a busy mom, I wish I had more time in my day. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could wave our magic mom boss wand, and piff, puff, poof, we have more time in our day to get All. The. Things done. When I first started my virtual assistant business, my husband made this observation. He said to me, “You are great at managing other people’s time but not very good with your own.” I was a little surprised by the observation, but truth be told he was probably right (don’t tell him I said that). But it made me realize that I needed to be my own time management trainer.

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It is much easier to tell someone else how to spend their time, then to apply those same principles to your time. Most of my “in office jobs” were spent telling others how and when to spend their time. Whether it was as an executive assistant, a project manager, or managing interns. I had a lot of opportunity to manage other peoples’ time. Now that I am a free agent, I have discovered that I need to be my own personal time management trainer.

3 Traps to Avoid as Your Own Personal Time Management Trainer

It is important to understand that you aren’t managing time, but managing yourself and how you relate to time. If you are like me, you want to take on the world and conquer it in an hour. As hard as you may try it just isn’t possible, you need at least two hours to conquer the world, after coffee of course. Since, you need to be your own time management trainer it is important to first recognize the traps.

1. Excuses

This can go both ways. You can look for excuses not to do something or look for reasons to keep doing it when you really need to take a break.

As a time management trainer are you making excuses for yourself? Are you coming up with all the reasons that you need to keep working on something? There is always just one more thing to do. Or are you avoiding things that need to get done? Let’s face it, not everything you do is pleasant, fun, or fulfilling. Anyone else make excuses to avoid the dishes?

There are a lot of things on your plate, and it is important to figure out the best way to manage all the things for you. This includes giving yourself downtime, or time to be creative, or whatever it is that helps you relax. When I need down time I really enjoy painting or reading.

Managing your time means managing your workload, your downtime, and family time. Watch out for the excuses to keep working and not taking a break. Or the excuses to play more, when we actually need to finish the project. You are the queen of your schedule and your own time management trainer.

2. All the little things

Mom, it is so easy to look at EVERYTHING that needs to get done and try to do it all at once. Your day is easily sidetracked by seeing everything that needs to get done. Although these are little things they are still important and need to get done. But don’t try to accomplish them all at once because that will leave your energy depleted, and then your time isn’t used effectively. And you are too tired to do anything at all.

3. Paralysis by analysis

It is so easy to fall into the trap of over analysis. Yes, paralysis by analysis is a real thing. Honestly, I would love to keep doing research and take another class, instead of doing what actually needs to be done. There is always one more thing to research or look into that you can keep going and going and going. But you do need to reach a point in your project, when you shift gears from research to action. 

You will never research everything as thoroughly as you like. So make the decision to put action to what you’ve learned. You will probably surprise yourself.

3 Tips to be Your Own Time Management Trainer

It is very easy to fall into these traps, especially when you are master of your time. But how do you counteract these traps and keep our sanity?

1. Write it down

Write down your to-do list and schedule. Whether in a notebook or planner, there are so many benefits to writing down all the things you need to do.

Writing down your to do list or ideas, gives your brain permission to stop thinking about it. Your brain switches from, I need to remember this, to I can stop thinking about it because I know that it is in a place to remind me. Get a fun notebook because nice things help and start writing down all your world conquering ideas and to-dos.

Keeping track of your time gives you a very clear picture of how you spend your time, and where you have down time. If you struggle with taking a break (like me) then you may need to schedule it.

However, be careful not to over schedule. It is easy to fill up every time slot with something, but then it leaves no room for flexibility in the schedule. There will be things that you cannot plan for. Such as, the unexpected trip to urgent care. Definitely, not something planned for, but it happens. Leave some flex time in your schedule and come to terms with the fact that the unexpected will happen.

2. One bite at a time

Growing up I am sure you were asked this question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer, “One bite at a time.” This is the same answer to when you are trying to accomplish everything at once. Or are overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done. Take a deep breath and start with one bite at a time.

You will get more done by consistently working at it every day, then working at large chunks sporadically.

3. Create habit that you do every day

Habits are a great way to consistently work towards those things you want to accomplish. You can read more on the science behind it in Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is important to know the difference between goals and habits, and how to create habits as the process to accomplish your goals. Check out the Mom’s Realistic Guide to Setting Goals and Crushing Them.

Conclusion to be Your Own Time Management Trainer

Managing yourself in relation to time is something that we can all get better at. What are your tips for managing your time? We need to hear your ideas, so share in the comments below.