Efficiently managing your time
Have a Calendar
Now I know that this seems obvious but hear me out. May people have various versions of calendars – such as smart phone, outlook, and written calendar, but condensing down to just 1 will help reduce the stress, and the worry of potentially missing an event or important meeting. So take the time, condense down to one calendar. Trust me, you’ll notice the difference.
Have a daily to do list (time blocking to organise your day)
Daily to do list are a must! When you are a working mum, having to deal with the every day mental load that we carry around with us, having a to do list that you can physically see and tick off is a godsend! Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without mine. The feeling you get from crossing off those tasks is so satisfying.
Take microbreaks
Taking regular microbreaks where you can! These can be short or long breaks. Simply stretch, close your eyes or practice some deep breathing. Any or all of these simple techniques will give you enough of a break to pick up and carry on where you left off and will ensure you a re- energised.
Learn to say NO
This is a big one, and not so easy for some (including me). You cannot say yes to everything, so make sure that whatever you are asked to do, you only say yes because you want to do it, not because you feel you have to. The amount of unnecessary stress I’ve caused myself over the years is insane. So please for your own sake please practice saying NO!
Combine tasks
This is one of my all time favourite time saving tips! If you want to accomplish several goals / tasks in a day and you want to break up the monotony, try taking a break from one while you do the other, and vice versa, to break them up throughout the day. For example, as much as I would love to sit down and read a chapter of my book, the sad fact is that I simply don’t have the time, so now, when on the way home from the school run, or quickly nipping around the shop, I listen to Audible and or Podcasts. The great thing about this is that more often than not there maybe several distractions whilst out and about. If this does happen, simply press the pause button and continue again once said distraction has gone.
Delegate
It’s common practice for us to pull up our sleeves and crack on with all of the many tasks that need to get done each day, and this is on top of our work! So why not delegate? Did you know that lack of time is the most commonly used reason for not delegating. It represents the belief that delegating to someone else takes more time than doing the work themselves. But think of this another way… If you spent a bit longer at the very beginning showing someone how to do a specific task, the next time you need help you can just delegate. This will save so much time in the long run.
Breathing techniques
I know I have covered this topic before, but it is such an important one. There are several breathing techniques you can do but my personal favourite and the quickest is the in for 3 and out for 7. Take a deep breath and inhale for 3 seconds and then simply breath out for 7 seconds. Do this around 5 times and trust me you’ll feel the benefits almost instantly.
My advice would be to choose the techniques that you like the sound of and incorporate them into your daily routine. If you find one isn’t for you, swap for another and give that a go. Let me know how you get on!
Olivia x
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Olivia x
