Time Management

I write anywhere from 7-14 posts each week — both for my own blog and as a contributor for several other blogs… so I definitely need to have a “plan” in place to assure that I don’t duplicate topics, miss deadlines, or run out of things to say {although, I think Dave would tell you that’s impossible!}

And since a few of you have recently asked how I set up, organize, and manage all the posts I write on a weekly and monthly basis, I figured maybe I should share “my plan” with you!

As with most things in my life, I try to keep it as simple as possible… mainly because I have way too many things to do each week and I can’t afford to spend lots of time “planning” as opposed to “doing”

Here are the few basic steps I follow on a weekly and monthly basis:

1. I write down ANY new ideas.

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This is probably the most important thing I do… and I do it constantly. I always have a note pad and pen with me — I even keep one by my bed because I seem to get really good ideas in the middle of the night! Then ANY time I think of an idea that could possibly work with my blog, I write it down immediately. Once I’m back at my desk, I have a “master list” of blog post ideas for the different categories I write about.

I find that with most bloggers, the biggest challenge can sometimes be coming up with an idea to write about. I used to have bad writers-block and would sometimes be up at 11:30 the night before, trying to pull a clever idea out of my brain and then write a post about it before the next morning. Now that I have a baby… I most definitely have better things to do at 11:30pm (like sleep!)

By having my list of ideas available all the time, I rarely ever waste time wondering what to write about.

2. I take pictures of everything.

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Now that I have an iPhone (that I take with me everywhere), I have no excuse NOT to take photos of every aspect of my life. I do end up deleting many of the photos, but I like to have as many pictures as I possibly can because that makes my blogging life SO much easier.

I can almost always find a picture that relates to any post I’m writing, and I can quickly document my recipes and craft projects because the pictures are always available.

I’m definitely not a fantastic photographer — but that’s what my favorite photo editing programs are for… right!

3. I draft one week of posts in one morning.

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Every Tuesday morning, I take about 1 hour to draft any posts I need to write for the following week. I look over my “master list” of ideas and pull topics and ideas that are relevant to the season, date, and my current life situation.

When I draft my posts, I basically just type in a title and then “brain dump” any information about that topic or idea without worrying about formatting, spelling, grammar… or even making sense. I just type anything and everything that comes to mind.

I also make notes about any photos I will need to take or any other actions that might be necessary before I can finish writing the post {like make a recipe, finish a craft project, etc.}

Not only does this “draft” process help initiate my writing process (see below) it also reminds me to think about these topics and ideas throughout the week.

4. I write a full weeks worth of posts in one day.

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I find that I’m most productive if I can get in a groove and do the same thing over and over again. So taking one morning and afternoon to write out all of my posts for the following week has always worked really, really well for me.

After Nora was born, she wreaked havoc on this system {and my productivity} so I’ve started paying a college girl to come in on Fridays to watch  Nora while I go head out to our outbuilding and write. {She also cleans my house so it’s really a fantastic situation for me!}

I basically write, roughly edit, add all the images, links, tags, categories, etc. My goal by the dinner on Friday is to have all my posts scheduled for the entire week ahead… and then I close up shop for the rest of the day.

I do use templates to quickly draft posts like my recipes and Weekend Giveaways. The templates allow me to recreate a new post in about 5 seconds… and then all I have to do is input the new content and a few new images. SO much faster than writing those posts from scratch every week.

And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how good it feels to walk into a clean house and know that I’ve literally accomplished a weeks worth of work in one day. Yup, it’s worth every penny  I pay Nora’s buddy

5. I get Dave to proof-read my posts.

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Before Nora was born, I had much more time to proof read and edit my posts. And I know I didn’t catch everything (by nature, I’m a very poor speller) but it was good enough.

However, after Nora joined our family, my blogging time was limited, and I found that I was making more mistakes and wasn’t paying close enough attention to the details.

So Dave graciously offered to start proof reading my posts every Saturday afternoon {even though he has a million other things he could be doing}. And while I know there have still been times when he misses something, this system is better than nothing, and I really appreciate having another set of eyes read over my posts before they go live.

Plus, knowing that he’s ready and waiting to proof-read on Saturday makes it even more important for me to finish writing my posts on Friday.

This system has been working for me for quite some time now… so I’m sticking to it!

I can’t even remember the last time I was up late writing a post for the very next day, and I certainly never sit around trying to think of ideas anymore. Not only do I save so much time by drafting and writing all my posts in one big batch, I also save loads of last-minute stress.

If you’re a blogger, I’d love to know how you set up your writing schedule.

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Most of you know that I am a HUGE advocate for getting enough sleep. I know for a fact that Dave and I are so much more productive if we regularly get a good night of sleep… not to mention the health benefits of getting enough sleep. For as long as I can remember, I’ve needed a lot of sleep — which is just one more reason motherhood is so rough on me. I never even had a curfew in high school because my parents knew I would be home in order to go to bed on time (yes, true story!)

However, I’m also big on productivity and “getting stuff done”… so with a new baby who rarely takes naps during the day, I’m often forced to use the time when she’s sleeping at night to get stuff done.

Since I’m most definitely a morning person and basically can’t do any quality/focused work after 10:00pm, I’ve started going to bed around 10:00pm (or earlier) ONE night a week… and then getting up around 4:30am the following morning.

That still give me about 6 hours of sleep {with one baby feeding in there} PLUS, I get at least 3 hours of totally uninterrupted time to work and be productive before Nora wakes up in the morning.

Even though I’m a morning person, I definitely couldn’t wake up at 4:30 every day {nor would I recommend you do this either}, but I can handle doing it ONE day a week. And while it’s difficult to actually get my butt out of bed, it’s worth it for the amount of stuff I can accomplish in such a short period of time.

Obviously, I have to do activities that are quiet so I don’t wake others… but I’m always amazed at how much I can accomplish during MY hours!

• draft, write, and edit blog posts
• edit photos / work on digital photo albums
• respond to emails and clean out my Inbox
• Virtual Assistant work
• laundry
• sweep/dust
• pick up the house
• cook/bake/prepare food
• clip coupons
• make my grocery list
• create our weekly meal plan

I’m trying (really hard) to be more productive after Nora goes to bed (usually around 8:30 or 9:00 pm), but I can still do almost twice as much per hour when I work in the morning. So until Nora starts taking naps… I’ll continue to wake up really early ONE morning each week.

I’ve decided that one night of less sleep is worth it to have a full block of uninterrupted time… and it’s the best solution I have at this point! 

Of course, if you are a night person, you could try doing the opposite and stay up until 2:00 or 3:00 am one night a week to get stuff done then. Or if you work better in the afternoon, you could consider hiring help for 2-4 hours one day a week.

Also, this idea would work well even if you don’t have children, but frequently get distracted throughout the day. I can almost guarantee you won’t have visitors, telemarketers, or many other distractions at 4:30 am

Do you know when you’re most productive? How do you utilize that time?

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Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Instagram, Quora, Digg, YouTube, etc. etc. There are so many different social media venues… I find it impossible to keep up with them all!

While I think it’s absolutely essential for small businesses to utilize the massive {and totally free} advertising and promotional opportunities provided by social media, I’m also the first to admit that they can be a HUGE time-suck.

I could literally spend my entire day learning, doing, trying, promoting, and using these different social media applications… but I don’t.

The key for me is to do as much as I can in as little time as possible.

If you share my social-media philosophy, then head on over to the Turnstone blog to read my Five Social Media Time Savers.

What are your best social media time-saving tips??

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Last week I talked about how we {myself included} often complain about “not having enough time for______” when really, we just aren’t MAKING enough time.

And based on the number of {positive} emails and comments I received, I think the post resonated with many of you!

It’s hard to admit that we might not be managing our time in the most appropriate ways — but it’s even harder {at least for me} to figure out just how we SHOULD be allocating the 24 hours we get each day.

Seriously, wouldn’t life be so much easier if we could just have a few extra hours!

Anyway… I like to think that I’m pretty good at managing my time, being productive, getting things done, etc. etc. However as much as I might try, I can’t do it all. I have to make choices every day about what I will and will not spend my time on. Sometimes, they’re easy choices; other times, they’re not. Many times I make wise choices, but other times I don’t. It’s all just a balancing act I suppose.

So since a few of you asked, here’s a short list of things I do and don’t MAKE time for…

What I DO Make Time For

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Family:

Dave and I are pretty close with both of our families, and now that we have Nora, we can’t even go a week without spending time with each of our parents and whatever siblings happen to be around.

I realize that not everyone has the luxury of family living close by — and we really do enjoy this time {and their help!}

We also make plenty of time to do things with our extended family members {grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.} and love getting the whole gang together for holidays and other fun occasions.

Clutter Control:

I know that some of you might say that an organized home isn’t important… but it is for me! {hopefully this doesn’t make me sound like a horrible person with no priorities.}

I’ve always been very aware of my surroundings and I literally can’t function if there is clutter everywhere. I’m much more productive if my home is picked up, organized, clutter free, and when everything is “in it’s place”.

Now, this doesn’t mean I spend all day making sure my house looks perfect. It just means that I spend about 15 minutes every night cleaning out the dishwasher, picking up the toys, taking out the trash, clearing off my desk, defrosting food for tomorrow’s meals, etc.

Meal Planning / Clipping Coupons:

I know that spending a couple hours each week planning our meals and clipping coupons will save me SO much money, SO much time, and SO much stress. I can get in and out of the grocery store in record time and I never have the pressure of wondering “what’s for dinner” at 4:30!

Plus, you know me — I just love saving money and getting the deals, so I always make time for meal planning and clipping coupons each week.

Blogging / Business:

I saved the best for last! Yes, I spend a large amount of time on my blog and my business — but it’s my job. I love doing what I do — and I make money doing it!

Yes, it takes time away from my family — but so does watching TV and zoning out to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. {and I don’t make time for those activities} so I don’t feel that bad.

I’m also fortunate enough that I can do my work whenever it’s convenient for me {while Nora’s sleeping, when Dave is home, nights, weekends, etc.} which is probably the only reason I can make it all work!

What I DON’T Make Time For

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Cleaning:

This might sound contradictory to what I said about organizing above — but cleaning and organizing are VERY different. My house is almost always neat, tidy, picked-up, and organized. I always know where everything is and we can find whatever we need, whenever we need it.

However, my house is not necessarily always “clean”. I don’t always dust, vacuum, or sweep my floors as much as I should; I don’t always wash the sheets or clean the shower as often as I should, and the kitchen is never as clean as I’d like it to be… but I’m OK with that!

The crazy thing is that I actually really like to clean {and I love a clean house}. However, I’m just not willing to make the time to have a spotlessly clean house at this point. I’ve even hired a college girl to do some of my cleaning and play with Nora one day a week {best decision ever!}

Gourmet Meals:

If you’ve paid attention to any of my weekly meal plans, you’ll quickly notice that I’m not into fancy, gourmet meals! I do cook a lot from scratch, but I also do a lot of “baking from a box” when I’m short on time.

I know I could spend a lot more time preparing organic, 100% from scratch meals — but as long as we’re eating healthy, nutritious meals and have plenty of snacks for school lunches, I’m happy!

Social Media:

Yes, I’m quite active on Facebook — both for Simple Organized Living and for my own personal page — but I honestly don’t do much with any other forms of social media.

I feel like my time on Facebook is well spent because it’s a way to connect with family and friends, share pictures of Nora, and grow my business {all of which are important to me and things I choose to make time for}

However, I could go weeks without checking Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, or any of the other number of social media resources out there. Yes, they are valuable; yes, I probably should be doing more with them; but right now, I’m not willing to make the time.

Volunteering:

OK, so before you start thinking I’m the most horrible person ever, let me just assure you that for the past 6 years of my life, I was on more committees, attended more meetings, and was involved in more non-profit organizations than almost anyone I know!

And now I’m taking a break! 

I’m still on one committee at church and Dave and I still help out with a few things at school — but other than that, I don’t make a whole lot of time for volunteer work right now.

Extra Curricular Activities:

I’m honestly not sure how to word this one — I thought about saying “I don’t make time for FUN” but that’s not exactly correct!! I still make time for fun, just not in the way I used to…

Life with a baby is just so much easier if we are home, so while it might be fun to go out for dessert, we might opt for Culver’s ice-cream via the drive-through window instead. While Dave might just want to go for a run, he might opt to walk with a stroller instead. While it might be fun to go to a blogging event, basketball game, or any number of events, it’s just easier to stay home and spend time together {which actually can be pretty fun if Nora isn’t too crabby!}

Obviously, I could add many things to both lists, but at this point in my life, these are a few of the things I am {and am not} willing to MAKE time for — which just goes to show that it really IS all about the choices we make.

I could choose to make more time for volunteering or extra curricular activities, but then I’d also have to be willing to  spend less time with family or on my blog. I could choose to make more time to clean my house, but then I might not have the time I want for meal planning or organizing.

Until someone figures out a way to add hours to my day, I will continue to make choices every day… and so will you! 

What would be on your lists?

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Since I work from home (and since I work for a handful of other companies, blogs, websites, etc.) it’s important for me to track my time.

Obviously, I need to accurately track all my “billable hours” so I know how much to invoice the people I work for; but I also like to track the time I spend on my own website so I know where all the hours in my day are going… and if it’s all worth it.

How I Track My Time:

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Over the years, I’ve tried a few different methods of tracking my time but I always come back to the simplest way — paper and a pen. I simply list each day of the week/month on a piece of paper and then use hash marks to indicate what areas I’m spending my time {and how many hours I’m working for different companies}.

Then at the end of the week or the end of the pay period, I simply look back at my paper and bill for the appropriate hours.

This method also works well for my own website — even though I can’t always bill “by the hour”.  Tracking my time helps me to visually see where my time is going. If I see that I’m spending tons and tons of time responding to emails and comments, then I try to figure out a better system for dealing with the many emails and comments I get each day. If I see that I’m not spending as much time writing quality posts {and then my ad revenue goes down as a result} I might choose to spend more time coming up with better ideas and more quality posts.

Even before I had a baby I was very protective of my time. In my opinion, time is one thing I can NEVER get back, so I’ve always been careful not to “waste time” — and hat doesn’t mean I never do anything fun, or that I’m always working. It simply means that I work when I’m supposed to work, and I “play” when I’m done working.

If I have a job to do, I’ll do it — but I also don’t want that job to take me any longer than it has to. Tracking my time helps me be as efficient as I can be, which is probably one of the reasons I’m so good at what I do

Have you ever physically tracked your time?

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Each month, I write a few posts for other blogs… and for the month of January, my guest posts were all about setting, managing, and reaching your goals {fitting for the first month of a new year!}

So if you are still searching for the motivation you need to set and achieve your goals this year, I’ve got some helpful tips that just might help!

1. A Fresh Start for the New Year

It’s still January which means we practically have the entire year ahead of us… a clean slate, just waiting for another long list of goals and to-do’s. If you haven’t taken the time to think about what your goals are for this new year, there’s no better time to start than right now!

Head on over to the Turnstone blog for a few ideas to get you thinking…

2. Do You Know When You Are MOST Productive? 

Ever since Nora was born, I’ve been working hard to be the best mom I can be, while still being productive and accomplishing my to-do list each day. One of the ways I’m able to do this is by working when I’m MOST productive.

I can almost guarantee there are certain hours each day when you are always very productive and other hours when you consistently struggle to stay focused and get anything accomplished.

If you’ve never thought about when you are the most productive, click here to read more!

3. The Importance of Reachable Goals

I don’t like to fail (no one does!) so while goals are supposed to challenge us and push us to be better, do better, work harder, etc. I still want my goals to be reachable.

Setting goals that are too lofty, too ambitious, or not realistic is a pretty good way to fail. And if you fail to reach your goals, you probably won’t be extremely motivated to set new goals for yourself (believe me, I’ve been there before!)

Need some help setting reachable goals? I have a few tips that just might help.

4. How to Reach Your Huge Goals

As I mentioned above, I always try to set reachable goals for myself… however, there are still situations when facing a huge goal is inevitable.

Those huge goals can seem overwhelming, unattainable, and even impossible… unless you have a plan!

If you have a huge goal that you absolutely have to reach, the key to achieving it is to break it down into several smaller, more-manageable {and reachable} goals. I’ll show you how to do that over here.

What goals have you made this year?

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Ever since we brought Nora home from the hospital {7 weeks ago today!}, I’ve been diligently trying to figure out the best way to schedule my day around the intense needs of a newborn.

It has been a bumpy road so far, and we most definitely do not have it all worked out yet; but I recently got an email from a reader who sensed my frustration and told me about how she implemented a “block schedule” to help her better manage her time with small children.

She explained that instead of making one long to-do list every day, she would instead have a few smaller to-do lists for the different blocks of time when her children were napping or otherwise occupied.

The idea sounded relatively simple to me, however I was a bit skeptical that it would actually work for me. But as I mentioned before… I was getting pretty frustrated by my new schedule {or lack of} so I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

And guess what… it’s working! 

Obviously, we still have a ways to go, and I’m sure once we finally get a schedule down, Nora will go ahead and change things on us again. But for the past week or so, I’ve been using a block schedule and feeling much, much more productive!

Block #1: Before Nora wakes up

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This block is one of the hardest ones for me because I’m usually REALLY tired and just want to stay sleeping. However I know that if I don’t get a few things done before she wakes up, the rest of the day won’t go as smoothly.

• Get dressed/get ready
• Make the bed
• Eat breakfast
• Check emails — respond to anything “urgent”
• Wipe down the kitchen counters/sink/etc.

This might sound like a long list for a tired new mom, but it usually only takes me about 20-30 minutes to do it all. However, if she goes to bed at 1:30am and wakes up at 6:30am like she did the other day, I definitely don’t get it all done!

Block #2: During her morning nap

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Much to my dismay, Nora still isn’t on a great sleeping schedule. However, the one pretty “constant” thing she’s done since she was only about a week old is take a good morning nap. She will usually sleep for at least 3 hours so this is MY TIME to “get stuff done”!

• Start a load of laundry and/or clean out the dishwasher
• Make sure I have what I need for dinner and defrost anything that’s frozen
• Do one household chore {vacuum, sweep, dust, bathrooms, shake rugs, more laundry
• Finish checking and responding to all emails
• Make phone calls or schedule meetings {if applicable}
• Write/edit blog posts
• Work on Virtual Assistant stuff
• Eat lunch

Of course every day is different, but this is by far my most productive time of the day.

Block #3: During her afternoon nap:

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The afternoon nap is never a “for sure” thing, so I can’t necessarily plan on getting much done in the afternoon — especially if she’s being fussy! So during this time block, I try to schedule things that don’t HAVE to get done, but that I would still like to do.

• Run errands {if she doesn’t take a nap or after she wakes up}
• Work ahead on blogging stuff
• Edit photos and work on digital photo album
• House projects and other mics. things around the house
• More emails {I also get email on my phone so I can stay on-top of my email throughout the day}

Nora is getting better at entertaining herself too, so sometimes she will be content to simply sit next to me in her swing or lay on the floor with me sitting next to her. So even if she is awake, I can sometimes get a few things done.

Block #4: When Dave gets home:

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Dave and the girls usually get home around 4:00 or 4:30 and then he takes Nora for a while and watches TV or reads the paper. This is the time I usually get dinner started and/or do any baking. Then after dinner and after we clean up the kitchen, Dave and I take turns with Nora so the other person can be productive.

• Grading and lesson planning {Dave}
• Virtual Assistant and blogging work {Andrea}
• Shower and get ready for bed {both}
• Make to-do lists, pack lunches, and get ready for tomorrow {both}

We do TRY to take some time in the evening to just relax… however, this is also the time when Nora is the most fussy {and hungry} so one of us is almost always needed to hold, rock, feed, change, entertain, etc.

Block #5: After she goes to bed:

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When we first brought Nora home, I was so frustrated when she wouldn’t go to bed at 8:00pm {All our friends have toddlers who went bed around 8:00… so we figured an infant would also go to bed early}. I knew she would wake up frequently to eat, but I seriously thought she would go to bed at a reasonable hour, which would then allow Dave and I to get a bunch of stuff done in the evening.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! {yes, you can all join me in laughter!}

Boy was I wrong! I learned very quickly that newborn babies don’t have a bed time. They sleep when they are tired and they don’t sleep when they aren’t tired… and there isn’t really anything we can do about it. So need-less-to-say, by the time we FINALLY get her sleeping at night, we go right to bed!

Sometimes she doesn’t fall asleep until 1:00 or 2:00am, and then Dave goes to bed and I stay up with her. Those are long nights! Fortunately, Dave gives me a break on the weekends and stays up with her while I go to bed early!

So even though Nora is kind of a stinker about going to bed at night, the block schedule thing has most definitely helped me to get more done and feel SO much more productive each day.

Oh, and I know I’m bias… but isn’t she just so cute when she’s sleeping

Do you have more tips for being productive with a newborn?

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