Time Management Without a Schedule
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photo sourceRemember the love-hate relationship I have with schedules? Well, a few months ago I gave it a go. I really did. I wrote up a schedule and I ran it through the paces.
And ya know what? It really didn’t support what the players on my team were doing. It wasn’t good for morale. It really rankled the coach. So, I cut it from the team.
Yes, yes, I did.
But, am I throwing all caution to the wind? Have I thrown in the proverbial towel? Have I given up in the last quarter of the game? No, no, I haven’t. But, I’ve found a way to manage my time without an hour-by-hour schedule.
And it. is. amazing.
Time is Our Currency
Years ago, this song by Chris Rice was on my regular playlist. And even then, I wondered how to budget my time. We’re given 24 hours. How do we spend them? At the time, I was really struggling.
I remember that season of having moved cross country, selling a house, and knowing no one in a new town. I remember having a newborn. I remember having six children under twelve.
But, I really don’t remember much else. It’s all a blur. And, it has been really, really hard to get back on my game.
Yet I know the days are fleeting. My eldest child is going to be 14 in a few months. Surely, he was just a newborn. I don’t want to miss out on these days.
One help has been to put my household notebook in order. Every six months or so I need to give it a makeover, but a household notebook and planning pages help me keep things in order.
Another thing to help me manage life better has been to investigate other methods of time management. I’ve consulted with friends, read helpful posts, and examined books on the topic.
Between things that I’ve learned from my friend Crystal and what I gleaned from the ebook, Tell Your Time by Amy Lynn Andrews, I’ve put together a little system that I is helping me, basically it’s a time budget.
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Budgeting My Time
Following Amy and Crystal’s lead, I made a list of all the regular things I do in a day:
- Sleeping
- Bible Reading/Journaling/Praying
- Reading
- Exercising
- Shower/Dressing
- Laundry
- Schooling
- Coupons/Meal Planning/Shopping
- Writing/Blogging
- Meal Prep/Meals
- Housekeeping
- Margin (Crystal had to remind me on that one)
Then I alloted each of those activities a time limit or allowance. The numbers had to total 24 hours, no more and no less.
And quite honestly, it took me awhile to learn this. I read Amy’s book. I read Crystal’s series on Time Management. It wasn’t until Crystal and I were on the phone talking about it that it finally sunk in. That’s when she reminded me that it all needed to add up to 24 and that there needed to be margin for error/emergencies/whatever. Apparently, I really was trying to accomplish more than 24 hours of stuff everyday.
Yes, I’m a little slow.
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Having an allowance
I tend to be an “all or nothing” kind of person. I want to finish all the laundry. I want to give the kitchen a thorough scrubbing. I want to answer every email.
But, if I did that, nothing else would get done in a day. So, by limiting myself to 30 minutes of laundry each day, I am able to work on the task and feel like I can mark it off my list, even if I haven’t matched every sock. I’m doing the laundry. I’m just not doing all the laundry.
This allowance of time helps keep me efficient and moving from one task to the next.
Not only that, but I feel the freedom to spend time on things I wouldn’t normally think I had time for. For instance, I gave myself 30 minutes for shower and dressing. Each morning I set the timer on my phone for 30 minutes. If I’m showered and dressed, but the timer hasn’t rung yet, then I have time to do “extras” like give myself a facial, paint my toes, or put on lotion — things that I usually neglect.
Since I’ve given myself this “allowance,” I’m feeling more “put together” and practices that I had relegated to the “pre-children years” are happening again.
But, I don’t have a “schedule.”
The one thing that I’m not doing is assigning times of the day to when these things should happen. I’m not even creating a sequence of when these tasks should be done. No schedules, no “routine.” THAT makes me always feel behind.
I realized in all this time management study that if the important things are getting done, then it doesn’t really matter when they happen or in what order.
This has been so freeing to me.
Remembering to DO it
Now the trick to any kind of budget, whether it is time or money, is to actually follow it. And I confess, since I am slow and easily distracted, some days I forget my time budget exists. But, there are increasingly more days when I remember. And I’m trying really hard to remind myself.
I even went so far as to print it all out on a card so that I could remember what I needed to be doing throughout the day. It’s a condensed version of my daily to-do list. And I carry it around with me. It’s small enough to fit in my pocket so I have no excuse for not consulting it.
Yes, I am slow and easily distracted. But, this helps me.
Living without a “schedule” but still being productive and responsible in my home is a great feeling. I haven’t “arrived,” but I feel like I’m on the right path.
I know this post is old but I just have to comment.
“yes, I’m slow and easily distracted”
I have never related to someone so much in my life! I am a working mom who REALLY struggles with multitasking and daily routine. It’s actually killing my productivity and my presence at work (I am a manager!). I feel restricted with any kind of schedule, which leads to me to have unrealistic expectations on my capabilities for the day, and at the end of it all I don’t accomplish much because I’m not measuring my time against anything and I get overwhelmed and distracted. I have also noticed my 6 month old gets more and more worn by the end of the day and I think it’s because every day looks different for her (though I am learning her limits and reading her better by the day).
I think you’re on to something with that time budget, for the woman who opposes schedules but craves productivity and efficiency! I’m going to give it a try!
Hugs to you, Kayla! Please keep me posted as to how it’s going.
This is exactly the type of thing I have been thinking about. I sat down the other day with an hour by hour schedule and tried to put all my daily to do’s in it and what I found was I had no time for sleep and I still wasn’t getting the important stuff done. I am not a schedule kinda girl and i hate routine so I love this post and it helps me to let go of the should do and focus on the can do!
Love your idea. I have struggled with schedules. I think this might work for our family! Thanks!
Thank you for this! Just today I was trying to figure out to myself how do I get better at this time management thing without feeling like I’m stuck in an awful routine!
Great article! I was in the same situation. At this time I couldn’t fulfill my given tasks on time anymore. I was juggling so many balls I didn’t know where to start. I addressed my issues to a professional online coach and got some really helpful advice to improve my time management effectively (I really can recommend Your24hCoach). To successfully manage your time you have to get organized in your life. Make a list of what should be done. Include in this list both urgent and non-urgent things so as never forget or ignore something again. Include an estimated time frame for each action and the date by which each task must be completed. It is very important to set your own realistic deadlines and try to meet them. You should also include in your schedule time where you stop everything, relax and recharge your batteries. Your tips and the ones I have received from my personal coach helped me a lot and in time I got use to it. Good luck, everyone!
I really appreciated your post! I think a time budget will prove to be helpful for me as well. 🙂 I introduced the idea to my reader-friends as well and added a link back to you.
Thanks!
-H
This is awesome! I’ve been working on just getting a basic rhythm into our lives since having baby #3. But I’m not getting much done. Strict schedules have never worked for us. I have a very spontaneous husband, which is very fun, but hard on schedules. I think this time budget might just work for me. Especially when limiting things like screen time. Thanks for helping me be a better mom!
Such a great post!! Hoping some of these suggestions will help me. I am a big to-do list type of person….love checking things off my list 🙂
Like you, I can’t seem to handle time blocks and scheduled by min or hour. However…I find we do kinda keep a loose structure or routine to our days…certain things done before lunch, or dinner etc.
I LOVE this idea of time allotments….can’t wait to try it out!!
Thanks & I’m stumbling this posts!
Denise @ Creative Kitchen
Have been looking to re-prioritize and simplify and this system sounds like one I can work with! 🙂 Was wondering though…how do you account for activities outside the home? I don’t see anywhere in your example things like we do like swim class at the YMCA or Girl Scouts.
I went into more detail on that kind of thing in this post on weekly routines, under “other.”
Hi – I loved these very thoughtful and open insights on scheduling, thank you. I am wondering when do you do time alone with your husband? I assume sex can be fit in during the “sleep” period, at least on the nights you’re actually alone in the bed 🙂 But what about emotional connection, intellectual discourse, not to mention discussion about logistics? It’s a regular challenge for us with our four beloved little ones. I’m interested in your experiences/ideas!
You raise great questions. This isn’t a super rigid time budget, in the sense that I have lots of wiggle room, esp with 2 hours of “margin.” We usually have lots of time to talk in the mornings while he’s getting ready for work, when he comes home, multi-tasking laundry and dishes or whatever. I strive for this budget probably 3-4 days a week, and that keeps things on an even keel. We have a weekly date night which excuses me from meal prep and a host of evening chores. 😉 Plus, on the weekends we don’t do school, so that gives us lots of time for couple and family time. It’s definitely a balancing act. But, this is the closest I’ve gotten to get routines and “schedules” to work for me with this range of children.
@Jessica Fisher, Your thinking reminds me of Stephen Covey saying “put the big rocks in the bucket first.” I guess your Time Budget is the big rocks, you make sure those are taken care of on a weekly basis and the other pieces can fall in around them. Thanks for sharing.