Time Management Parents Episode 412
There is hope! Are you ready for time management that will help you to reclaim your day and feel good at the end? Is this too good to be true? No, it is a reality, and if I can do it, you can as well. How does it happen? Well, very easily with one sheet of paper and four squares. Today I will help you figure out the main issues that steal your time and the hope on how to reclaim it.

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Let's get our time management back!
Does your day lack focus? Are you overwhelmed with the shuffling of papers, trying to get school "done," and keeping up with the household chores? You can see why there is such burnout among moms, especially moms who homeschool. Even at the beginning of the year! I have to say I struggled with this for many years, and it left me feeling tired, defeated, and like I wasn't getting anything accomplished each day. I felt like a young mom with little children. If I kept everyone safe by the end of the day, it was a win!

However, I wanted so much more. Especially for those who are new to homeschooling or even if you are a pro, you need the help that comes from getting all of your ducks in a row. Let me cut to the chase here. I was out of time because my time was managing me instead of the other way around. What was interrupting my day? What's getting in the way of time management?
Easy, three things:

* Talking on the phone (substitute social media here and texting).
* No set schedule for household chores.
* Disobedient kids

I had a defeatist attitude and could not wait until my husband came home so I could dump all of my daily woes on him, and guess what? That didn't work out too well. My husband ran his own business and often needed my help to do the payroll or help with management and the details of filing payroll taxes, filling out forms, and so much more.

Fast forward, and we raised five kids and have not one but three businesses that we run out of our homes successfully. How did this happen? Believe me, it was not overnight, but now I can share those tips and techniques with you, and these are even better than what I had in my toolbox at the time.
Rules are made to be broken, but sometimes you can look at them as good suggestions, so take heart as I share some quick ones with you.

* Just because you get an idea, it does not mean you have to act on it right now. Write it down and look at it at lunchtime or after dinner, and plan for it. Quickly one thing I do not do, even with a business, is looking at emails in the morning - emails such the life and my day away from me. Unless I have planned for this, I don't do it until after lunch. People who really need to get hold of me quickly know how to do this. Everything else can wait.
* I learned my time wasters. See number one - but there were others. I let myself get sidetracked, and once I learned the keys to keeping myself on track, it worked.
* Make a plan and stick to it - I know, for those of you kindred spirits that are spontaneous. But believe me, it works.
* Every self-help book or how to get organized is not going to help you get organized if you refuse to do what it suggests (same with this broadcast)
* Seek help when needed.

I think that is important to note that many times we think an issue is one problem when it is really something else. Another issue with time management is that we have false expectations or, perhaps, no expectations at all! So first, it is homework time.