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	How To Milk Another Hour Or Two Out Of Your Day

	by Lisa Jay

Time management seems to be an issue in almost everyone's lives as there never seems to be ENOUGH time in the day to complete all of the day to day tasks. Whether you are a stay at home parent, a work at home parent or you work outside of the home, I am sure that you could use a few more hours in your day. Here are several time management tips that will help you to use those few precious hours that you do have WISELY.

GET ORGANIZED

I can't stress this enough. This is the FIRST thing that absolutely needs to be done to improve your time management skills. Think about all of the time that is WASTED looking for things; looking for papers, phone numbers, supplies.....your desk top. A good way to start the day is to use the first 15 minutes of your morning to organize your work area -- and then go over your "To Do" list and organize the things needed to accomplish them.

IDENTIFY YOUR MOST PRODUCTIVE TIME

You may be a morning person or an evening person -- neither is right or wrong, but the key is to make the best use of your HIGH energy periods. I do all of my most difficult tasks when I am fresh in the morning -- but my husband tends to get more done at night after the work day is over.

MAKE YOUR TO-DO LIST THE NIGHT BEFORE

Know what you will ACCOMPLISH the next day. That way, you start out with a goal in mind first thing in the morning rather than wandering around aimlessly. Divide your "To Do" list into several pages; one list for things to do tomorrow, this week, and one for things to do this month. As you accomplish these goals, CROSS them off and move other goals to your short-term lists. I write my monthly goals on my calendar to keep them in the front of my mind.

FIND MORE TIME IN THE DAY

Need an extra hour in the day? Get up an hour EARLY and have your first cup of coffee or tea as you work on items you have a hard time getting to later in the day -- correspondence, balancing your checkbook, a project for work. If you need to get things accomplished while your kids are around, use your child's nap time or one hour of "television time" for your kids to do your most DIFFICULT tasks.

SCHEDULE IT AND STICK WITH IT

Write ONE thing that you will accomplish on each day of the week on your calendar. For instance, I file every Monday, do my on-line banking every Wednesday, update my web site on Friday. This is like the old way of doing things when we used to have baking day, laundry day, ironing day -- just applied to our modern responsibilities.

AVOID THE BIG DAY WASTERS

Forums, TV, surfing the web, and talking on the telephone are all huge "day waters" if not used properly. These are all great things, when used in MODERATION, but can become very addicting and you can seriously lose hours and hours of your day with all of them. Limit your "day wasters" to one hour of your day. This is a huge time management tip!

HOUSEHOLD CHORES AND HOUSE CLEANING

Clean one thing every day. Clean the kitchen one day, vacuum one day, clean the bathrooms one day -- this keeps the housework from piling up and becoming OVERWHELMING. And it's particularly easy to wash one load of clothes every day. Load the washer the night before. Start the load of cloths washing as you head to the coffee pot first thing in the morning. Dry the load while you are doing your other household chores or just before you go to work, then hang and put it away in the evening. One load is so much more manageable than three! And always make your bed and do the dishes before your day gets started. Tidy the night before so that you wake up to a NEAT house and are ready to start working.

DO DOUBLE DUTY

Do you sit in the carpool line or WAITING for a meeting to start for half an hour? Read your longer e-mails, or newsletters that you have printed out from your computer. Read your mail that you saved for this time. Do you have a small child? Try to schedule time for work and time for play. I work most of the morning, fix lunch and then we head outside. We play for a while and then I sit outside while our daughter swings or rides her bike and use this time to read, study or draft ideas for my newsletter, jewelry or website. Have your smaller children do their daily reading while you are cooking. I have my 1st grade daughter sit on the kitchen counter and read to me while I am cooking. I can hear her read, and can help her with any words that she is having problems with. Have your child do their homework while you are cleaning up the dinner dishes. This way you are already in the kitchen and can help if your child needs it. You can be productive and still give your family the ATTENTION they need.

LEARN TO JUST SAY NO

I have run into the problem of people (hubby is my biggest diversion!) assuming that since I am a stay at home mom, I don't do anything all day but read or sit on the couch with my bag of potato chips and watch the soaps. I am often asked to run errands, watch someone's kids or volunteer. If I have a full week I simply tell them that my week is OVERBOOKED as it is and I can not do it. You can do the same thing in an office environment -- with co-workers and colleagues who tend to delegate their work in your direction or ask you to join meetings and committees -- draw some BOUNDARIES around your time so you can focus on your own work.

AVOID INTERRUPTIONS

Let the answering machine pick up your PHONE calls. Do your call backs while you are sitting outside with your kids or sitting in your car in the carpool line or waiting at the dentist's office. Double duty! Turn your E-MAIL off. Only check your e-mail in the morning, at lunch and at the end of your day. E-mail is a major interruption. If you are trying to work at home, explain to family and friends that you have work to do and will not be available between the hours of 8-4 but would love to hear from them after that. You choose your HOURS. And in an office environment, shut your door or reschedule drop-in visitors for a time when you have finished the project you are working on.

By following a few of these simple time management suggestions, you should have another HOUR or two of time in your day to get your work done or to just spend it enjoying your family.

Lisa Jay is a freelance writer and the jewelry designer behind Lantana Designwear. Visit her website at www.beaded-gem-stone-jewelry.com.

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