As I stated in a previous post my one little word for 2010 is balance. I find I have all these design commitments, creative things I want to do, digital things to design, housework, fitness, study, dogs, husband, and now goals to get back to creating, photographing and documenting our lives, and also getting out and about more together! Plus I'd really like to get back into the garden and get the garden productive again, but how do we fit it all in when we only have so many hours in the day? Well, we become more productive in the time we do have!
One of the creative blogs I follow is
Craft Leftovers. Kristin
recently wrote a post about being more productive by scheduling her time more, and this really hit a point with what I was trying to do in December, making subtle changes to my day that would hopefully make me more productive. So I am going to write out the goals/steps she outlines in her post but for my own life, we apparently we have a lot in common :)
Step 1: Set your Goals
1. Work 5-6 hours a day
2. Take time to workout
3. Take time to cook healthy food
Step 2: Make a list of all the activities you have to do on a regular basis
Work - Fitness classes
Work at the office – 5 hours a day
Workout – 1 - 2 hours (including shower/change) (longer in Summer as I swim also)
Take time each day to prepare healthy meals ahead of time, whether meal prep or cooking for the week ahead
Weekly dinner with Bob (date night)
Chat with Mum Thursdays
Boxer projects weekly
Scrapbooking.com article monthly
chores/housework
walk dogs twice a day minimum
bi-monthly lunch with girls
Step 3: Analyze the things you CAN change and schedule them where they make the most sense
I tend to waste a lot of time in the morning that could be used more productively. I get up considerably earlier than Bob (he's a night owl, I'm a morning person). I have 2 1/2 hours from rising to working out that I seem to waste on an average day. I mentioned this in my newsletter but I started sitting at the dining table for breakfast last year and that seemed to help keep me active (till I got out the habit and slouched back in the lounge for breakfast), this also helps me focus on the kitchen/dining room and do dishes/laundry etc rather than sitting in the lounge.
My laptop broke (ok I broke it by dropping it on the floor, Bob is trying to fix it), since it broke I've had to find other things to do in the mornings (usually my iphone for checking Facebook etc). If I sit at the dining table for breakfast I don't use the phone or laptop in the morning and my time is more productive :)
When laptop is repaired do research online after dinner, usually have a 30 - 60 mins window before walking the dogs. Use this time to prepare blog posts, or for scheduling work ahead.
Bob and I like different foods. I'm very much a health nut and he likes all things carb based. Often for lunch I have the same thing everyday as I need good healthy carbs, and protein to refuel after working out. So instead of cooking this daily, recently I've taken to cooking ahead. On Mondays I make enough to last the whole week and simply reheat. This could work with some evening meals too! Learn to use the fridge/freezer more for cooking.
Step 3: Mapping it out
Taking all that into account, here is what I came up with:
6:30 – wake up and walk the dogs
7.00 – Breakfast, feed dogs, do daily household chores (laundry etc)
9:00 – Workout, shower, change
11:00 – Do weekly household chores/Gardening
12:00 – lunch (30 minutes)
12:30 –Work
6:00 – Dinner prep, eat and clean up
8.30 - walk dogs then feed dogs
9:30 – take the rest of the evening off, read/tv/movie etc
11:00 – go to bed
All sounds good right? I started this at the beginning of January and so far so good! I am certainly more productive, the house is a little cleaner and I feel like I definitely achieve more in a given day.
Update since writing the blog post.
I had this post scheduled already and of course though life has it's own way of throwing spanners in the works and I find myself sitting here thinking I may have to revisit the schedule as things are changing in my life now. I am gradually getting back into my fitness career and have instructed my first class this week so it's all change with the focus and now I have another little tweak to make to the schedule. Each afternoon that I work from home I plan on focusing on a specific subject, for example:
- Monday - fitness accounting and routine planning
- Tuesday - Digital Designing
- Wednesday - Paper Scrapbooking
- Thursday - Blog prep
- Friday - General Paperwork, emails etc
By focusing on one subject a day I hope to get more achieved, hopefully this will also mean the blog doesn't become focused on one topic.
I also decided that I need to get the dogs out for another walk in the day. Found out yesterday that River is 60lbs! Fat little bugger! So yeah they were already on a diet, now they go on a fitness plan too! lol!
Looks like more balancing required as life changes around me, but I
WILL get there!