I don’t know about you, but time management is a big issue in our home. I am almost never on time anymore – and I used to be the person who always showed up 5-10 minutes early. Then I met my husband and we still stayed on time for the most part, but it got a bit harder. Then we had kids. Soph was a bit of an adjustment, but I still did pretty good with my time…but once Gabe and the “T” came along, it was out the door!
Living in a house where 4 out of 5 of us struggle with ADHD (amongst other things), time blindness, hyper focus, and distractions are a constant challenge. We have calendars, we have a plan, but POOF the time vanishes and we are scrambling. Or we are working on schoolwork and we look away from the screen and 30 minutes have passed with no work being done. Can you relate?
I have found that we have to be really intentional – well I do and then I drag the rest of my family along with me. I have tried so many systems and hacks over the years trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. So, I thought I would share some of my favorites with you.
- Picking out clothes the night before. This is a great way to empower your younger kids, but still keep things on track. Before bed, let them pick out their clothes and their shoes. Give them 2 choices – do you want to wear the red shoes or the blue shoes, the blue shorts or the black ones, the red shirt or the green one? This is something that I did with my kids through elementary school, but once they were old enough I just told them to do it and I checked when I went to tuck them in to make sure it was done.
- Alarms and Timers. This was a game changer for me – when I embraced my phone’s ability to set multiple and repeatable alarms and the timer feature. We set repeatable alarms for medication – daily at the same time M-F and a second one for the weekends. This way we don’t get sidetracked and forget to take them while trying to get out the door in the morning. We set timers for activities and chores. This allows us to know that doing something we don’t like has a finite time period, or it reminds us to do the next step in something – like moving loads of laundry from the washer to the dryer.
- Using our calendars to the fullest. For me personally, I use my calendar to track tasks and as a reminder to follow up – pay this bill, call this person, sign this form. We have a family calendar that we use that I can color code per person and set multiple reminders (3) for each event. This allows everyone to access the calendar and know what is going on for the family. For work, I not only color code by clients – this visually lets me know what I need to work on, but I also time block and then go into the notes section and list out the things I need to be working on during that time. It helps me to stay on task and focused on what needs to be done so I don’t get to the end of the day and feel like I have nothing accomplished.
There are other hacks and tips out there, and we will share more over time, but these are my top 3 game changers for our home.
Time management can be a real struggle. When you have one or more people who struggle with time living in the same household, it can seem overwhelming to figure out how to get on track. First, give yourself grace and don’t beat yourself up when you get out the door behind schedule – we all do! Second, when you find it is a consistent problem, take a look at where you are getting off track and see what little habit you can change to make a difference. Is it picking out clothes (pick them the night before), is it getting ready in the morning (timers for tasks and alarms for major activities like breakfast, medication, getting your stuff and heading to the car), is it knowing what is happening and when you are supposed to be someplace (embrace your calendar)?
You can do this, I believe in you! Remember that we are working towards progress over perfection.
Talk soon!
Jill
English