Every mother is faced with the ultimate challenge:
you're working, raising your kids, and addressing an endless list of domestic
chores. What you need is a daily schedule that will allow you to balance your
unique set of priorities and responsibilities. No two people have precisely the
same idea of what constitutes perfect time management. The final determinant is
simply whether your relationship with time is a happy one that enables you to
meet your professional obligations, enjoy the company of those you love, and
take good care of your most important asset-your health.
While there is no standard plan for managing your time, there are some basic
guidelines that can be applied to a wide variety of circumstances. Follow these
ten steps for busy mothers and you may find a little more time in each day.
1. Forward Planning. Planning is
the fundamental building block of time management. What you must remember is
that the plan you create must be a plan you can implement. This means being
accurate about the day-to-day realities of your work and other
responsibilities; allowing for the usual interruptions, delays and crises.
2. Prioritize. Decide on the
activities most important to you and which you can live without. These can be
tough choices, but not making them deprives you of the time you need to really
enjoy your life. Once you've set your priorities, do not add a new activity
unless you decide against carrying out one. If you put in extra hours on the
job regularly, or bring home unfinished paperwork, you may need to discuss your
workload with your boss or explore other career options.
3. Track your progress. All major
projects require their own schedule, timeline, or timetable identifying the
milestones on the way to completion. If you have set realistic target dates,
your progress should match your plan. If unforeseen developments place you
behind your projected dates, you can either alert your boss or client and set a
revised completion date or take steps to hasten your progress and make up the
lost time. (Always leave room on your schedule for work-in-progress updates.)
4. Delegate what you can. You are
probably undertaking tasks that can be handled by others. Start with the
routine, time-consuming jobs you know someone else can do. Recognize that
teaching someone else the ropes will take a bit of time, and allow for a reasonable
learning curve. The benefits to you however, in terms of increased time and
decreased stress, will more than repay your efforts.
5. Learn to say "No".
Almost everyone ends up working late or bringing work home once in a while.
However, if you find yourself doing it more and more often, it may be time for
you to start saying no, not only to others but also to yourself. Regular long
working hours upsets the balance between work and leisure that is essential to
your health and well-being.
6. Group tasks according to the skills required.
In order to maximise your time, try to do the jobs requiring maximum
concentration and peak efficiency when your attention and energy levels are
highest. Likewise, try to schedule your routine, low-level tasks for times of
the day when you find it hard to concentrate. The trick is to pinpoint your
hours of peak performance and schedule your work accordingly.
7. Be adaptable. Always find,
adapt, and apply efficient new techniques to the responsibilities you carry
out. This will save you time and also cut down on your overall workload. In the
process, you will project an image of efficiency and control. In fact, the
longer you have been doing a job, the more it is to your credit to devise and
explore improved techniques and streamlined procedures.
8. Manage big jobs smartly. It is easy to
put off jobs of huge proportions. For example, spring-cleaning the house may
appear to be a daunting task. However, if you manage the job smartly, you will
move towards that goal in stages: select the room you will begin with, buy the
essentials you need, and begin work on the curtains first for example. By
breaking a big task into manageable steps, setting a timetable for doing each
step, and chipping away at the project, you can accomplish almost anything-and
with a lot less stress than by trying to do it all at once.
9. Leisure activities. The best time
management plans encompass the whole of your life, rather than just your
working hours. Don't leave it to chance that you'll spend a leisurely weekend
with your kids, go on a date with your spouse or pursue a personal interest.
Allocate time for family, friends, exercise, special interests, or special
projects instead of just enjoying these essential elements with the remaining
time you have left after the usual daily grind. Doing so will allow you to
examine your present ratio of work to home and leisure time and help you
restore the balance in your life.
10. Relax. Finally,
learn to relax. Stress breeds stress. So don't let yourself stay so keyed up
that you forget to smell the roses during the free time you have created for
yourself.
Source: http://www.jobstreet.com.ph/career/editor/sophia_su.htm
