Good Ole' Time Limits

My sister is in town from Colorado. YEA!!! Guess what, I wasn't granted any extra hours in my day to accomplish my normal everyday duties in addition to all the fun activities my sister and I have planned. Nope, not a one! So in order to maximize the time I do have, I'm implementing a trick that I've tried to do MANY times before; adding time limits to my To-Do list. Sounds elementary right? Well, in theory it is. However, if you know anything at all about me, you know that usually means squat!

Like I always say, if at first you don't succeed...try a few hundred times more! Seriously, I figured out a way to help me to stick to the time limits, and actual timer. In my case, I'm using the alarm on my cell phone, but a kitchen timer would be great. Before you get started there are a few things you need to do. If there any tasks that must be completed that day you need to gauge how much time each task will take to finish. You must then plan your other tasks and time limits around the priority tasks.

Now you can realistically set time limits for the other tasks on your list. This is what my list looks like today.

*Contact financial advisor at school
*Activate new cell phone
*Confirm dates for vacation w/resort owner
*Order new textbook
*Homework-1 hr
*Exercise-45min
Bible Study-30 min
Organize kitchen cabinets-45min
Work on Blog-20 min
Check email/fav. blog sites-30 min
Work on cheerleading dance-20min
Work on Sept. 12th event-1 hr

I indicate items that must get completed today with an asterisk. The first 3 items do not have time limits because they must be completed no matter what. The last two have time limits because although I want them to be completed today, it may take as little or as long as I want, so in an effort to keep my day running smoothly and again ensure that I'm able to do as much as I want without killing myself, I add time limits.

Some people add every little detail to their to-do list such as make up bed, read/relax, take kids to park. If you feel that is what works for you, by all means "add" away! I however, do not find that to be effective. I don't like to have a list that looks cluttered or makes me feel overwhelmed. Now, if you've just begun new things that you want to become a habit or are starting a new schedule, then it may be very useful to write out those tasks in the beginning. I used to write out all the rooms I wanted to clean each day. Now, that is has become routine to me, I have placed my cleaning schedule on the back of my bedroom door. Each day I look to see what needs to be completed and check the items off as I complete them. The schedule is laminated and I use dry erase markers to check off tasks. This works best for me so that I'm not writing the same tasks each day/week on my to-do list. Again, you have to do what works best for you. Also, I'm not one of those people that likes to add tasks to my list just for the sake of crossing them off. For me to be productive, my list needs to include only the things that I could easily forget to do or one that I want to be certain I don't spend too much time dong. (hence, the time limits). This way I won't feel stressed when the rest of my day is spent lounging by the pool, at the park with the kids, or shopping with my sister! Give it a try and see how it works for you!

Just a Quickie

I just entered a giveaway to win 4 Free tickets to Women of Faith this year. I absolutely love this conference and with funds a little short...this is right on time! Wish me luck! For your chance to win go to mommysnacks.net.

Just Let It Go!

The last few days, the hubby has been home so I haven't been able to blog much:)

I did however come up with a couple of awesome solutions for two of my major problem areas.
1. Too Many Magazines
2. The Kids Pictures, Report Cards, Certificates, etc.

I'm so excited about this because I NEVER want to throw away things my kids make. I feel like I'm breaking their hearts if I don't hold on to it forever! I've come to realize that I can still treasure their talents and gifts without keeping every piece of paper their little precious hands touched with pencil, crayon, or paint.
My solution:
Go through all of the items. Choose the ones that mean the most to you (you can enlist their help in making the decision if you choose). I recommend keeping no more than 3-5 pieces of art work from each period of their life. When choosing from certificates and awards, allow them to choose. Be sure to explain that you are incredibly proud of all of their efforts and that to properly display their accomplishments it's necessary that you condense. Tip: They may need a little help deciding. ex. Just because the perfect attendance award is the most colorful, you probably shouldn't pick it over the 1st grade Spelling Bee Winner award.

After selecting the items you plan on keeping, store them in a storage box that will allow for all future pieces to be stored as well. Be sure to separate them based on year and age before storing. Also, have a plan in place for showcasing the items you keep. I am making scrapbooks for my children to capture every year of their life.

To store the bigger pieces of artwork or projects, display them on shelves hung in their rooms or hallway. When a new piece is brought into the house, and older piece must go. Making this a habit will allow you to be the proud mommy and organized mommy all at the same time!

Now, the magazines! I have about 9 different magazines subscriptions (criminal, right?). I never want to throw them away because I liked an article or a recipe in it, so I keep them in magazine racks and baskets all over my house. They have become major eye sores! So what I did was throw out all the ones that I couldn't remember what I liked in them. DON'T WORRY THIS IS NOT MY SOLUTION! For me, I had to start somewhere because I just had way too many to go back through and reread to determine what it was I wanted to keep. Going forward, however I will implement the following:
1. Keep subscriptions to a maximum of 5
2. Read them within a week of getting them
3. Clip, articles, recipes, ads, etc. that you would like to reference/use
from the magazine
4.Throw the magazine in your recycle bin
If you like to keep magazines in your house for guests to read. I recommend following rules 1 & 2 immediately, then mark the articles, recipes, etc. that you want to keep. Wait to cut them. When the next edition of the magazine comes, it's time to discard the previous months.

Now, so you don't have loose articles all over the house. Get a 2 inch binder, dividers, plain or scrap paper, hole punch, and a stapler. Section your binder into categories. My sections are Organization, Kids Activities, Saving Money, Fitness, Things I Want To Do, and Future Purchases. I choose to keep my recipes in a recipe box. You can make your sections whatever you like. After you create your categories, staple magazine article to a plain piece of paper, hole punch and then place in the binder. I recommend going through the binder quarterly to remove things no longer of interest.

Remember the idea is to cut down on clutter and excess, so don't go filling up 5 binders of stuff! Hope this helps! Let me know any tips you have for getting rid of excess paper.

Relax, Release, & Reprioritize

Yesterday was such a productive day! I was able to accomplish almost all the items on my to-do list! Woo-Hoo!! Yes, I'm that excited...usually I carry 90% of my tasks over from day to day to day...to day! Talk about breaking the cycle, I was able to COMPLETELY clean and organize the office. By the way, after you've tackled cleaning and organizing a room, you may find that the storage solutions you had planned on using aren't as effective as you'd hope. No, sweat! There are tons of different options available to you. I suggest determining your need, your budget, and then browsing different options either online or in-store (if you prefer to touch and feel) and selecting the one that best meets your need. TIP: Always keep receipts for purchases made (small items for at 1-3 months and bigger purchases for up to year) in case you find it's not such a great fit.

How's today going you ask? Not quite as productive. Initially, I was a little frazzled by the interruptions to my routine, but I decided I had to settle down and re-prioritize my list. Your to-do list isn't going anywhere, and unless there is something dreadfully urgent on that list, you're life will pretty much be unaffected by the delays. So, when obstacles and interruptions come...and they will come, just RELAX, RELEASE, and RE PRIORITIZE!