Homemaking Organized Blog

Archive for the ‘Time Management’ Category

Okay here is your free Printable Calendar for May 2012. You can thank me later. Or just leave a note in the comments.

Click on the image to download.

This is my to-do list for today.

-Take my mother grocery shopping.

-Homeschool day (Math, English/Reading, Spelling, Bible Truths)

-Iron Curtains (I washed ‘em so I have to iron ‘em)

-Do 2 loads of laundry (Does it ever end?)

-Workout (6 days a week for 2 Months! Go me!)

-Wash bed linens

-Biz work

- plant potato multiplier onions (they just came)

-Assist hubby in gutting garage (nice fall weather project)

What’s your to-do list look like?

I got antsy and changed the template at Homemaking Organized. In fact I’m still messing with it but true to my end of year nature I’ve felt the need for change.

If you’ve been getting the feeling like you would add more hours to your day. That you may be taking on too much. That you shouldn’t be so tired at 10am. Pick up a copy of 101 Time Management by Crystal Paine and Co.  Download in full color or a printable version here => 101 Time Management

Did  you know that January is Get Organized Month?

Gotta love it. I do.

Well we all have areas that we would love to get organized and busy mothers might feel like there is no end to the disorganization.  But there is. (Just think of your older female friends who’s children have flown the coop. Notice how neat an organized their homes are? How about how they have all this time for crafts and hobbies. See it does get better .)

Well the secret to much of this being organized stuff is knowing when YOUR time is. The time when mom can refocus, regroup, plan, and organize.  For busy moms that time is usually morning.

Morning is that time when you want to stay in bed. Let your kids wake you begging for breakfast. Tell them to help themselves. Get another few minutes of shuteye time. But if you take control of that time it can be the most rewarding of your day.

To help you get started Kat over at Inspired to Action has put together a totally free and incredible ebook to help you start planning your mornings, using them wisely and getting more done. It includes morning devotional ideas, checklists for your day with meal planning and errands and much more. Just click on the cute button below.

Menu Planning Software

If you’ve been looking for a good Menu Planning Software Shop’NCook 4 is here. Compatible with both Macintosh and Windows it’s the perfect supplement for your Menu Planning.

There are three versions depending upon your needs. In a nutshell here they are…

• Shop’NCook which will let you organize your recipes with nutritional analysis, and plan your grocery shopping list.
• Shop’NCook Menu which will let you organize your recipes with nutritional analysis, plan your menus, and pull together an organized shopping list
• Shop’NCook  Pro which will let you organize your recipes with nutritional analysis, plan your menus, pull together an organized shopping list AND do a cost analysis so you know what you are spending.

There is much more to each software program including the ability to add recipes VERY EASILY and send your shopping list to your phone or something which I haven’t quite mastered yet.

Find out more Shop’NCook Menu Planning Software

Sarah Zeldman is looking for 8-10 women to join her “Beta’ Family Manager Coaching Group for FREE.

The group will run for 8 weeks and will feature one teleclass per week, recordings of the sessions (in case you miss one) and an exclusive forum where you can track your progress, get support from the group and have liberal access to me.

In order to join this group you will need..

1) Patience: As this will be the first group, there may be some snags along the way.

2) Feedback: Your comments, concerns and grievances.

3) Testimonials: A testimonial from you and a review on your blog. (Be honest, but gentle please!

and one more little thing…

4) *Optional, but strongly recommended* — Please pick up a copy of Kathy Peel’s latest book The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home: Fast Solutions to Hundreds of Everyday Dilemmas. Each coaching session will be focused on the content of a chapter of the book.

If you are interested in joining the Family Manager Makeover AIM “Beta” Group  simply send Sarah an email send her an email and let her know that you’d like to join.

You can read more about Family Manager Coaching here=> http://www.solutionsforbusymoms.com/family-manager-coaching/

A close relative of mine who is in the same age bracket…well a teeny bit above it, called me this afternoon while my timer was going off. Today is Wednesday and as much as I dislike it I schedule 15 minutes of office work to pay bill, and file papers. My relative, who is also a close friend and we rib each other a lot, proceeded to ask me about it and then made a point to ridicule me over the phone with her coworkers who thought it was…”overdoing it”, “too much”, “silly”, etc.

Now these are people in the workplace who’s daily schedule is already timed out for them. Be at work as such and such a time. Lunch is at this time.  You do this report on this day at this time. And by the way you log in over the phone when you get to work and log out at the end of the day.

But I digress…

I have taken ribbing all of my life for my homemaking ways and while it is irritating it does not bother me too much because you see this is the same person who every night calls me while standing in her home saying she…

1. Needs to clean up her bedroom
2. Find time to exercise
3. Start that project for so and so’s birthday which passed 6 months ago
4. Organize this or another area of her life

I may get ribbed but I get things done. You see as much as I like organizing I’m not perfect at it and I need little pushes and reminders to see to it I don’t just lay here on the couch eating chocolate chip cookies. So tempting but it’s why I rely on a timer. I use my timer for certain tasks during the day like 15 minutes for whatever I’m supposed to be focused on which today happens to be the office. Or to see how long it takes me to do something. And especially when I bake since I tend to move on and forget I’ve put something in the oven (it has happened enough to make a time a must for me in the baking department). It can also be a real help when I get bitten by the procrastination bug.

While it is certainly not advisable to run your entire day by the timer it can help to give you that extra push you may need at times.

Now excuse me. My daughter is down for her scheduled nap and it’s time for my 20 minute workout.