5 Tips To Managing Your Time Better!

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I woke up this morning totally unprepared….

The Rancher and I went out of town 2 weekends ago and it always takes me some time to get back into my normal routine. So, that means I didn’t do my normal nightly routines to be prepped for the morning. And on top of that the morning started off on the wrong foot….

I hit the snooze button 1 too many times and woke up late….

The 2-year-old came out of her room earlier than normal while I was still in my PJ’s trying to suck down coffee since I was late getting up.

I waltzed to the kitchen to look at my “Meal Plan” (these are the moments that I give myself a little pat thinking “I just love my Meal Plans”) and see oatmeal. Instantly I knew this was not good…..

You see, 2 out of my 3 girls love oatmeal and breakfast goes just fine. But the one who doesn’t, whines, complains, and pouts her way through breakfast. In our house we have a rule, you eat what’s provided or you don’t eat. Now, before everyone thinks I’m a mean mama I do give them toast with it so the one who doesn’t like it only has to eat a couple bites of oatmeal and will feast more on the toast. BUT here is where the problem lies….

I didn’t have any bread made ☹

Had I done my nightly routines I would have seen the menu said oatmeal and planned accordingly.

So, aimlessly racking through my brain on what to do, I see 4 left over pieces of homemade gluten free baguettes I made the other night. Perfect! I’ll slice these bad boys up even smaller so everyone can have more than one and toast them. They will be little toast bites and the girls will think I had this planned all along! Deciding I’ve become genius and it won’t be such a bad morning after all I pop them into the toaster.

Toast bites were popping up perfect, all except one…. The smallest jagged little piece that slipped down past the toaster rack and was at the bottom.

Another strike on my already unprepared and unorganized morning. As 6 beady eyes were starring at me waiting for their breakfast I started feeling discouraged, feeling like I can’t get it together and feeling like sometimes there just never seems to be enough TIME to get everything done. As I’m wallowing in my self-pity and using a butter knife to fish out the small piece of bread out of the toaster it hit me……

Sometimes I can feel like a burnt piece of toast, stuck at the bottom of the toaster just waiting for someone to come fish me out!

But here is the reality…. NOBODY on this earth can fish you out. The One who created us is the only One that can.

Than this verse pops into my head:

1 John 4:4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

And just like that God checks me…..

He puts me back in my rightful place….

He gives me the strength and encouragement to press on even when I feel like I am floundering and can’t seem to keep up.

You see, deciding to lead a healthier natural lifestyle is not the easier way. It takes time, planning, and thought. And sometimes all of that seems too far out of your reach! So, you don’t do anything. But I’m here to say please don’t give up! Be encouraged to press on and try making just 1 change at a time to a healthier life and you won’t regret it….

Now I don’t have any “special recipe” to give you more time, I mean wouldn’t that be awesome if that was even a thing?!?! But what I do have is 5 tips to help you MANAGE your time BETTER!

People often ask me, “how do you have the time to make all that you make?” And the answer is very simple…. It’s a process.

I didn’t wake up one morning and decide to do ALL of it right then and there. I slowly grew to where I am today, and it took time. Each new skill you are learning takes time. So, give yourself that grace and be patient. Press on even when you feel like its not worth it… trust me, there is nothing worth more than the health of your family!

So here are 5 tips that I do every day to help maximize my time:

1.) Make a To Do List That’s Reasonable

I have a day planner that sits on my counter, that is my lifeline. Every Sunday when I am looking at what my meal plan says for the week and making a grocery list, I also fill in my day planner. I go to the week on hand and I fill in a to list for every day of that week.

Make sure to add every little thing on the list (phone calls, bread making, household chores, paying bills etc.).  I know if I do 1 load of laundry a day, I will stay caught up, so I make sure to always add laundry to every day. For me, if something is on my to do list, I will do it so it’s important for me to put every little thing on the list.

But as important as it is to put every little thing on your list, it’s also just as important to keep it reasonable. You can not fill your to do list up so heavy every day that you get so overwhelmed you don’t do anything. Start with the basics you need to do for the week and plug them into a day. Once you have that, you can see how much “free” time you have in your week and plug in projects as you see fit.

2.) Only Learn One New Skill at a Time

This one is so very important! You can not do it all and do it all well. I learned that the hard way! My advice if your starting out on this journey of natural homemaking, pick one thing you are going to learn to do that is healthier for your family and learn to do that well, so it becomes a habit. For example, making homemade bread for your family. People are always amazed that I make all the bread we consume in my family (yes, that even includes hamburger buns!). I have not bought store bought bread in almost a year. People ask often how I have the time to make homemade bread every week.

It’s simple, I have done it so much it is embedded in my head. I do it so often I don’t even need a recipe anymore because the recipes are memorized. I know exactly how much time I need from start to finish and I plan it in accordingly. Now bread making isn’t another chore to do, it is a habit and it fits right into my day with all my other daily habits.

If you were to try and add making bread, making cleaning products, making snacks for your children, cleaning the house, growing your own food, and getting chickens to have your own fresh eggs all within the same month…. Then you have just set yourself up for failure.

One new thing at a time until it becomes a habit  and you will be amazed at how much you can get done in a day.

3.) Make a Schedule / Routine

Since we have chosen to homeschool our girls this part is so very crucial to get everything done. Without a good solid schedule or routine, we would never be able to fit it all in.

I plug in my “must do’s” into my schedule and then try and give myself 1 or 2 projects to work on a day, for long projects then I will work on the same project each day. By project I mean, something new that I am learning. So, for me bread making is now a habit and falls under the Must Do category. However, water bath canning fresh fruits and vegetables is a new skill I am learning so I will plug this into the blocks of time I have set aside for new projects.

Here is a rough sample of what my Daily Schedule looks like:

5:30am wake up

6:00am get dressed

6:30am prep breakfast and start cooking

7:00am wake girls, eat breakfast, start a load of laundry, clean up breakfast dishes, and start a loaf of bread to rise (if needed), make any household product that’s needed for the morning chores.

8:00am do morning chores (both girls and I)

8:30-11:30am School with girls (I switch my 1 load of laundry to the dryer during snack break in this block of time)

11:30am prep lunch

12:00pm lunch

12:30pm clean up from lunch

1:00-3:00pm My Time, this means I read, blog, work on a short project, or check emails while the girls nap and do quiet time.

3:00pm fold and put away the laundry started from the morning (girls help)

3:30pm snack time for the girls and prep to leave for out of the house activities if we have any

4:00pm-5:00pm The girls and I will work on any project I’m doing for that day if they don’t have an activity.

5:00pm dinner prep

5:30-6:00pm dinner time (this varies on The Ranchers schedule)

6:30-7:30pm dinner dishes and shower for the girls

7:30-8:00pm family time

Now again, this is a rough schedule of what my day looks like and I am not that strict on the times for everything. I do try and follow this as best as possible though because the girls work well knowing what to expect and I stay less anxious knowing I have a plan.

4) Get Your Children Involved

Now, I will be the first to admit I am not the best at this. Sometimes I just want to do it all myself because I am a perfectionist and want it done my way. BUT this is so important for not only myself but also my girls. It may take longer initially, while your teaching them, but in the long run it pays off. Like I said before, you can’t do it all and do it all well. So having lots of happy little helpers is such a blessing and you can get so much done when you let them take some of your items off your plate!

The hardest part for me is letting go and letting them learn how to do it their way. I have found when giving them a project, it’s best to explain what you expect them to do and how to do it and then, walk away! Let them know this is their project but if they have questions they can come ask. When they have completed it praise them for their wonderful efforts and give them gentle suggestions of better ways if it was not done quite right.I have found that my 7 year has picked up so quickly on how I load the dishwasher just by by either watching me or I will remind her a couple times where things go. Now she can take a new item to be loaded and figure out which rack to put it on and most of the time its what I would have done anyways! Really…. they learn fast! 

When I have a task that needs to be done, I always think, “who is the youngest one that can do this?” I want to make sure they are all growing in their skills, so I want to make sure I am giving them more complicated tasks to get involved in as we go.

Here are a few things my girls help with around the house and on the homestead (ages 7, 5, and 2)

• Fold clothes
• Put clothes away
• Do dishes
• Sweep floor
• Wipe tables and counters
• Dust
• Feed animals
• Water plants
• Make beds
• Weed the garden
• Pick fresh fruits and vegetables in the garden for me
• Pick up toys and items (in our house we call that a “quick clean!”)
• Wipe baseboards

When you make it sound exciting and important they will be excited to have an “important job” to do!

5) Do Not Turn the TV on During the Day

This has been a personal preference of mine for a couple years now and I believe it is so crucial to managing your time.

Our TV typically does not get turned on until evening, after supper, when The Rancher wants to watch the news. There are times during the older girls “quiet time” (that’s what we call it during the 1:00-3:00pm hour) that they will watch a movie occasionally but typically it doesn’t come on.

This has probably been the best decision I have made yet in maximizing my time. I was never a huge TV watcher; however, I could get involved in a show and next thing I know I have watched 5 episodes and it is 3 hours later. Same with my time from 1:00-3:00 when the girls are quiet or napping. I choose to do something other then TV because it is very easy to get lost in the time and then you look back and you’ve wasted the whole block of time you had set aside for other things.

So, there you have it!

My best 5 tips on managing your time and getting as much done in a day as possible!

Below, is a link to the best book I have read in managing your time and creating a schedule that works for your house. It is called, Managers of Their Homes by Steven and Teri Maxwell. This is a home school families guide to daily schedules, so some items won’t apply to everyone BUT it gives you templates and a general idea on how to schedule your days. I learned a lot on how to put my daily schedule together from this book!