Well, we made it through the holidays and a wedding here. To say the least our small family is exhausted!
With that in mind it is time to finish up the unfinished business we all seem to have. This will be this weeks challenge for each of us to complete. The final week of our “Taking Back Your Time” challenge is all about completing those tasks that we constantly push off until later.
Remember that list that you made way back in weeks one and two? The one with the goals of things that you wanted to get done. How many of those tasks have you completed?
If you are like me far too few would be the answer. So now is the time to do something about it! Follow these easy steps to help you complete some unfinished business.
- First, get out that list of goals or projects that you wanted to complete.
- Second, review your list see if there is anything that you have completed and check it off. YEAH YOU!!!
- Next, is adding anything that you see that needs to be done or is really getting under your skin. For me that would be the top of our fridge and finishing the binding on my sons John Deere quilt.
- Prioritize your list in one of two ways:
- By time to complete: This would be based on the amount of time each task would take. I would suggest going for those that take the LEAST time to complete first so that you are encouraged to keep going as the time passes.
- By importance: These are the tasks that seem to bug you because they are not completed. It does not necessarily mean that it is important to others but more so that it is simply something you really want to just check off of your list.
- Take a look at your schedule and figure out a time of 30 minutes every week to help you work on that one project. It is important to do those thirty minutes of work on the project and only that project. Spreading your time out in other areas can lead to chaos as well since you are not focusing in all of your energy into one task.
Breaking down the project into such manageable steps looks easy. Remember completing anything in life can be a challenge. Take your time and just focus your energy.
If you are feeling like you need help in completing something have an accountability buddy! Ask your spouse or a friend to make sure that you are following through.
They do not need to see your work daily or anything like that. A simple phone call or asking at the dinner table will do just fine. All they need to do is ask how your project is coming.
For me this last eight weeks has been an adventure in taking back my time. I’m happy to report that I have made some progress. I have also had some set backs, after all I am human.
I’m looking forward to using our schedules to keep my three year old son, Tractor Man, on task with his homeschooling. I’m also looking forward to family time and parents only time. This is something that we added into our schedule after a couple of weeks.
If you are a parent remember that bedtime was created so mom and dad could have alone time. Even if alone time is a simple bowl of ice cream.
I’m shocked more and more about how I let my schedule take away these moments of pure happiness and simplicity that my family and I so crave. I am working hard to keep our lives balanced, simple and happy.
I’m so thankful for spending the last eight weeks creating schedules, planning, organizing and ultimately taking back my time. Now I can spend it on the things that really matter to me, I hope you all can too.