Resolutions ... Admitting Defeat ... and Getting back on the Wagon

Ahhh ... I woke up this morning to the realization that my house is crazy town again ... You know how the stuff just sneaks up on you ... Really, last night it couldn't have been this bad!

I guess I haven't really been defeated by my resolutions ... after all my resolution was to be a better me, and earlier this week I just needed some girlfriend therapy.  You know when you just have to stop everything, pick up the phone and completely loose track of time while you vent, laugh, catch up, and ignore crazy town in the background and visit with a girlfriend who really does understand. 

I'm in the process of eliminating virtual clutter ... all of those online things that are sitting in the back of my head ... delete this, update the url's on that, get rid of that blog that was a great idea but I know that I am never gonna post there. 

And, this morning I am tackling the house ... Satisfied to say that I am typing this post to the hum of the dishwasher and clothes washer ... The laundry will be tackled today ... bathrooms will be cleaned ... Not sure if all of the vacuuming will be done, but the blankets that seem to have invaded the living room will return to the bedrooms where they belong. 

And, I will take photographs of all of these magnet boards that I have finished.  I have actually been productive this week.  Just not a balanced productive. 

This is one of those days when I realize how much simpler things were when I worked outside of the home.  Where work was somewhere that you went and left ... and the housework wasn't screaming at you the entire time you were at work ... and work wasn't screaming at you while you were trying to tackle the house.  The lines get crossed when you work from home ... home and work lines become blurred ... and you must focus at some point, but not just on one thing.  You have to have the ability to focus on both .. just not at the same time!

I know there are lots of people that wish they could work from home, and I do realize how lucky I am ... but it is not the glamorous life ... magical things don't happen ... and life is not perfect when you work from home.  It is a challenge ... and you must be focused and dedicated ... you must be able to manage your time.  I've been working on this all but one year of the last 9.5 years ... it hasn't gotten any easier!

Wish me luck ... at least I know the laundry doesn't fight back!

Time Management - 5 Minutes

Time Management seems impossible sometimes.  Especially when you are running around and working like a crazy person!

So, do you think you could carve out 5 minutes to work on Time Management?

Tonight, just sit down and make a list of what you need to do tomorrow!

Want a cute list?  There are several really cute free printables over on mommytracked.com ... and no, they aren't just for mommies!

http://www.mommytracked.com/downloads


Now ... Off to work on my list for tomorrow!  

One Week In ... How are your Resolutions going? Have you started to Tweak them?

So, We are one week into 2013!  How are your resolutions going?  What have you tweaked?  What have you let go?  Are you still on track?

As some of you know I started back on my card system to keep me on track with time management and keeping my house in order.  I actually started a bit before the first of the year because I wanted to have my brain ready and my system in place.  I have started to tweak and change some things though.

I haven't changed much with my weekly, monthly, or quarterly cards yet.  Although after scrubbing tubs and showers last week I thought that weekly might be too often for that job ... I think this is more due to that I don't like doing that and I would much rather put it off and not do it as frequently.  For now, I am leaving it as a weekly task as I do think that it will be much less of a time consuming (and less work) if I do actually get it done every week.  I will be making some changes to my daily cards though.  For instance ... I need to change wiping counters and tables - I currently have them on my morning list and I thought they were on my afternoon and nightly list too ... but they are not.  I will probably take them off the morning and move them to nightly.  I also have sweep kitchen/dining on both afternoon and nightly and I will be moving that to only nightly.   

I have also been thinking about the things that I need to do that are not already in the system.  Thinks like vacuuming my car, washing the car, and outside chores ... like hubby and I were just talking about trimming our fruit trees and both decided that we needed to remind each other in late February to do this ... probably something I could make a card for and increase the likelihood that I will remember!  The car chores certainly need to be done ... and I am seriously considering treating myself to the local car wash once a month ... especially if I am getting all of this other stuff done.  It would be a nice treat not to have to do that!

I need to give more thought to my work chores and how I would like to add them in.  I certainly have things that need to be done on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis ... but I need to give more thought about how I want to get myself on track.  There are several things that I do for work that need to be done when the weather is cooperating ... and I need to get organized so that when the weather is nice, I am able to do them without being buried in other things that have to be done immediately.

Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to get the weather to cooperate with my schedule ... so until then, I need to be ready when the weather is cooperating!

So, tell me about your resolutions!!  Leave me a comment!

The Card System for time management - You expect me to do what, when, how??!!

If you read my first post and are thinking about starting the card system to help you get organized and better manage your time:

http://mooremagnets.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-card-system-to-stay-organized-and.html

You might be feeling a little overwhelmed ... asking me - You expect me to do what?  Exactly When?  How am I going to get this done?

I will admit that when you are first setting this system up, it is a bit of work.  Thinking of all of the things you need to do, and having a hard time getting it all done now.  Honestly, this is my favorite part of the card system, because I don't have to think about it all anymore.  I know that all I have to do is pull cards out, check things off, work a little each day, and it will all get done.  I also know that it isn't going to involve me rushing around and feeling overwhelmed that things have gotten out of control.

Today, I am going to take a closer look at my daily cards for you.  These are things that I do everyday to help me stay on top of things.  Your daily cards may look different as your problem areas may look different than mine.

The purpose of the daily cards is to maintain and to control your problem areas, and also to make the hard to keep clean areas easier when the day to clean them comes around. 

You may notice that I have a bit of overlap on my daily cards.  Like wiping counters, sweeping the kitchen and dining area, laundry and dishes.  The reason for this overlap isn't to make me do these things if they don't need to be done, but more to make me look at these areas and to be proactive in keeping them cleaned up.  About half the days of the week, I don't have laundry to do, but this way I am doing laundry one load at a time instead of 5 loads one day of the week.  In the past, I have set up my cards to only do laundry one day a week, but then I had to fold 5 loads of laundry in one day, and I hate folding laundry.  By breaking it up over several days, laundry doesn't pile up and I find it less daunting to fold them one load at a time.

Wiping the counters is also an overlapping task.  Keeping the counters cleaned off is one of the areas that my husband and I tend to bicker over.  He likes the counters clean and tidy, and I tend to pile things up there.  So, I try to focus on those as a favor to him.  It just makes the household more harmonious, and I know he appreciates my efforts. 

I have also made daily cards for my children.  Their cards contain their daily chores and we go over them each night.  At the end of each week we review and I hand out allowances.  There are other cards for them that they can do to earn extra money, but the condition is that all of their daily chores have to be met before they earn money for the extras ... if not there are deductions to their extra chores.  They know that they can't just skip picking up their dirty clothes and dishes to earn money from washing cars ... They also know that they can't just was the cars every day.

Since I made my cards, I have also found that I have some other tasks that need to be done less frequently, more frequently, and things I have forgotten about too.  So I will be adding those in.

Next time I will talk about some ideas that you might want to put as weekly tasks.

The Card System to Stay Organized and Manage your time

In keeping with my goal of accomplishing more in the new year,  I am finding a real lack of any sort of organizational system to keep me on track.  I need to stay organized and I need a time management system!  For the last several months I have done really well at staying on task with work and not letting the house fall into shambles.  However, I feel like I don't really have any sort of system that keeps me on track.  I'm just doing what has to be done everyday on an as needed basis, instead of being proactive and preventing messes along the way.  Over a year ago, I developed this card system to keep me on task and not let the house stuff get out of hand.  I've decided that it is time to bring it back.

I'm not a professional organizer, or time management guru, but I do feel like I am a fairly productive person who manages to accomplish a lot while still getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night.   There are certainly other systems that you can use, some are similar to this one and I was inspired by quite a few.  However, most of them require bulky binders or are a bit too complicated for my liking.  There are also others that seem to require lots of repetitive things to help you develop habits and I never felt like they were concentrating on my problem of maintenance versus just cleaning up messes.  Then there are systems that involve setting timers and cleaning like a mad woman ... and truthfully I don't want to work like that every day ... it is fine when I have company that is showing up in 30 minutes though!

This card system is designed to be used daily - and for everyday tasks.  This system is not designed to help you tackle large organizational projects at one time or within a short amount of time.  What it will do is allow you to complete what you need to do in your allotted time and then stop.  You can feel free to go about the rest of your day knowing that the other items are already scheduled and there is no need to eat your elephant all in one day. This system is certainly adaptable to other schedules, and adaptable so that you can accomplish those bigger tasks, although I won't be talking about that until after we are finished.

I don't do well putting off house cleaning for one day per week.  For me, I work better, feel more relaxed, and I am less likely to procrastinate if I know that I only have to do a little bit each day.  Using this system, I know that things will get done, and without me cleaning like a mad woman for an entire day.  If you do prefer to work that way, then I encourage you to read, adapt, and share what you will do differently than is presented.

This system takes into account that not all tasks need to be done daily, and provides a way to keep up with things that need to be done twice a week, weekly, monthly, quarterly, every six months, and even annually.  All you have to do is take cards out, check them off, and return them to their proper location.

So, now, onto the card system. 

What you need:
Colored note cards (I use the 3x5 colored index cards - you don't have to use colored ones, but I like the visual cues)
Dividers - I purchased a pack of abc dividers and put a sticker on top of the abc's (you need 19)
Something to keep them in - I use a recipe type box that is made to hold 3x5 index cards
A notepad or piece of paper
Pen or pencil

The first thing you are going to do is to make a list of everything that you need to do.  My system is to mainly help me keep up with household tasks and cleaning so that is a lot of what you will be seeing on my cards.  Take your notepad or piece of paper and make your list.  I found it easier to break my list up by room and then physically go into each room and look around while I made my list.  Once I was done with each room, I made a list of other general things that need to be done that weren't in a room.  My list looks like the picture to the right.

Once you are finish listing all of your tasks then assign a time that they need to be done.  Write your times as an on-going basis ... meaning that just because their are cobwebs in your corner, it doesn't mean that you need to dust that corner every day.  You are also not assigning priorities to things.  It will all get done, so don't worry about what needs to be done first right now, just write down how often you would be doing them in a harmonious perfect world.

Also, don't worry if you forget something.  This system is flexible and you will be able to add things later.  You can also cross things out and move them around if you decide that something is being done too often or not often enough.

Next you will want to pick one of your colors of note cards for Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, etc.  You may also have 2 times per week (I use the same color as weekly for those), Every 6 months (I use the same color as Quarterly), and once per year (I use the same color as Quarterly)

For the "Daily" tasks I actually have 3 cards that are broken up into Morning, Afternoon, and Evening (or Nightly).  I found that it was better for me to work in small chunks of time a few times per day versus trying to do everything at one time or spacing it out throughout the entire day.

On your Daily tasks you will want to write all of the tasks that need to be done daily on the daily cards.  You may want to write down which room the task is for also.  I have columns with dates on them so that I can check things off ... I LOVE to check things off and feel like I have accomplished things, so this gives me a way to really feel like I am accomplishing a lot.  Perhaps it is bad that I have written down "Breakfast", "Lunch" and "Dinner" ... but really, sometimes I forget to eat ... not a good habit!

For the weekly tasks you will want to go by room - at least that has been the easiest thing for me.  Once upon a time, I did things by task - such as vacuuming all in one day.  However, I found that there were too many times that the vacuuming didn't get done because I had the pick up the whole house before I started and I used all of my vacuuming time picking up instead of vacuuming.  Now I just focus on one room at a time.

An Example of one of my weekly cards is on the left.

** For tasks that are done more than once per week but not daily, you will want to make one card for each day you will be working on that task.  For instance, if you need to vacuum the living room twice per week then you will want to make 2 cards that say vacuum living room.

Before we move onto the monthly, quarterly, and remaining tasks we need to go ahead and put the cards you have made into your card file.

Take your dividers and re-label them - one for each day of the week, and one for each month.

Once you have done that you need to give some thought as to how often you want to be cleaning.  Do you want to get it all done in 4 days, 5 days, 6 days, or do you want to be working on it 7 days per week?  I do daily tasks 7 days a week, and I get all of the weekly tasks done Monday through Friday.  Saturdays (or Sunday's if I feel like it) are for working on monthly and quarterly tasks (I don't currently have any that are 6 month or annual tasks, but if I did they would also be done on Saturdays or Sundays).

You will then want to divide all of your weekly tasks and put them behind the day of the week that you want to get them done.  I have tried to batch mine by the rooms that are close to each other and also batch the tasks so that I am spending about 30 minutes per day (or less) working.

Next you will want to make your monthly, quarterly, and annual cards (as well as other times that you have noted on your list).  I put one monthly task per card, and one quarterly task per card.  I write the months on the quarterly cards that they need to be done - Such as January, April, July, October is on top of the things that get done in those months.  If some of your monthly and quarterly tasks have recently been done then go ahead and write the date that you did them on your card.  Leave room for writing other dates, as you will write the dates that you do them in the future so that you know that those things are done.  If you haven't done something in a while then you will need to decide if it needs to be taken care of immediately or if it can wait and go in the rotation until next month. 

Once your quarterly and monthly cards are done, then you will place all of the monthly cards behind this month (or the upcoming month if this one is almost over), and your quarterly cards behind the first upcoming month that they need to be done.

Using your cards -


Your daily tasks should stay in the front of your card holder.  You will take these out each day and check off the tasks that you have completed.  You will also take out the cards that are filed under the current day and write the date on them (leaving room to write future dates) once you have completed them.  Once you have completed them they will be filed back behind the day of the week so that they are ready to do again the following week.  For monthly and quarterly tasks you will move them forward to the day of the week that you are working on monthly and quarterly tasks - remember, my day is Saturday or Sunday.  I generally like to get all of my monthly and quarterly tasks done in one Saturday of the month so that I can leave the others free for family and fun.

Accounting for vacations or other bumps in the road.  If I am leaving with my family then generally I will just skip doing the tasks that are scheduled for those days and come back to the on the next week.  I highly doubt that the house will fall in if I miss vacuuming ... especially if we are not here tracking in dirt.  However, if I find myself constantly too busy to get things done and putting them off ... then I need to re-check myself and re-evaluate what I am spending my time on.  I know that using this system really only takes about 30 minutes each day (sometimes more, sometimes less) - and really that is accounting for things that are going to make my house a better environment for me, my kids, and my husband.  I also know that most days it only takes about 30 minutes and that lots of these things will be done by boys that want to make extra money doing chores. 

I've read about other systems that claim that you can keep your house clean in 10 minutes a day ... but realistically I haven't found them to work.  I tend to skip over things when I have a timer set with the mindset that .. oh, I will wipe behind those canisters tomorrow ... and that is fine for one day ... but when you are doing it every day then it just doesn't work. 

Whew!  That was a long post!!  Please leave me a comment, if only to tell me that you made it all the way through!  Also, please let me know if I have made typos or not explained something ... I have been writing-deleting-editing-writing etc... so I am certain that I left something out!  I would also love to hear if you have adapted the system or have a different system that you use - I'm always open to making something better!

I will talk next time about adding tasks to your system, and also accounting for those big projects that need to be done.  I will also explain some of the things on my cards.

Resolutions ... and Plans to Make them Happen!

I've been working on this post for a couple weeks now. Like I said before, I don't like to make and start resolutions on January 1st. I like to take a couple weeks to really make a well thought out plan for resolutions and even give myself a chance to drop some that seem fly-by-night and don't have a well thought out plan.

So ... Here is the list!

Get the art and pictures out of bins, boxes, and files and get it up on the walls! - I am so terrible! I have bought several pieces, and even been given some pieces of art that are still sitting in bins and boxes and have not been displayed. All along I have been saying that I need to paint first ... cause our walls look terrible. However, painting hasn't happened either! At least the art would cover up some of the holes, handprints, marker doodles! So, as I am going through boxes I am getting that stuff hung!

Take more pictures of my kids! Seems that I am always taking pictures of products ... not so many of my kids. I am actually saving for a new camera - but that is no excuse! I have got to take more pictures! They are growing so fast!

Streamline ... everything!  I feel like I have to much stuff that does the same general thing.   There are so many areas of my house and life that this is relevant to that you will just have to follow along!

Make my workspace a more inspiring place. Right now it is so full of "stuff" ... all sorts of stuff ... I want a workspace like you see in a magazine ... which is probably not really going to happen ... but I can make it more desirable and less junky! Given some of my recent posts you can see that I have already started clearing out!

Increase my business - Business growth is always on my mind, I'll be spending more money on ads this year and really working on getting my name out there! I would also like to support some of my amazingly creative friends with this too, so I'll be asking them if they have a button or something to put on my blog! I have amazingly creative friends that can sew, paint, make toys, needle felt, draw, sculpt ... the list just goes on and on! And who knows, maybe they will return the favor! We have to support our friends! Love them!

Have fun! This is always a goal of mine, and it is funny that I feel the need to remind myself to do this. I had such a good time with my boys, my hubby, my friends - on beach trips, hanging out at pools, building forts, roasting marshmallows, going to the zoo, and generally just having fun. I am continuing my efforts to finish work by 5pm and take weekends off (except for craft show weekends). Life is too short not to have fun!

Preparing for Resolutions ...

So, have you all started your new year's resolutions? How are they going? What did you resolve to do, not do, or do differently this year?

Well ... I haven't started any resolutions yet. For the last few years I have actually resolved to have a "cooling off" or "preparation" period for any new year's resolutions. Generally I take the first 2 weeks of each year to really prepare to get resolutions off on the right foot.

I guess that I could do this preparation the last two weeks of December, but between work, school vacation, family visiting and visits, and the holidays ... that preparation just doesn't happen.

So, one of my resolutions is to step back and prepare to get off on the right foot. Some years this has meant a good cleaning of the house, organizing paperwork, cleaning out the junk food from the pantry, getting those things ready for an exercise regimen ... generally just putting things in place to make it more likely that I will succeed in making my resolutions happen.

So this year my resolutions will start on January 17th, just after the Martin Luther King holiday.

How do you set yourself up to make sure that your resolutions happen?

Time Management - Expectations

Now, you may think this is an odd topic for a time management post, but keep reading and you may understand.

I used to go to a restaurant once a week for really good Chinese food. I would always take my son, because he loved the food and trying to eat with chopsticks. Now, it was a little pricey, but the helpings were large so I was always sure to have enough left over for lunch the next day. One week we went there for dinner, and the helpings were really small. I commented to the person serving me that normally they gave us a much bigger scoop. The server commented back that they had been making a mistake before, and these were the correct proportions. I was very disappointed, and after that experience my son and I found a recipe, bought some chopsticks, and started eating our weekly Chinese dinner at home instead of at the restaurant. We have gone back a couple times in the last year, but we are no longer regular weekly customers and we have also turned the rest of the family onto our yummy homemade Chinese dinner.

My point here is that this restaurant created an expectation for me, and then changed. My opinion isn't a bad one of the restaurant, but because of their drastic change in portion sizes I no longer visit the store as a weekly customer.

From a business and time management perspective, I am here to tell you that YOU create expectations for your customers. You create these expectations in your descriptions, prices, policies, words and actions. You have the ultimate control over how your customers perceive your customer service and product. You need to set your business up with systems that are manageable for the long term and account for busy times, slow times, growth, and rising supply costs. You don't want your regular customers to visit your shop not knowing what to expect this time. You want your regular customers to know exactly what they can expect based on their experiences with you, and you want to set up systems that you can maintain.

From a time management perspective this means setting up times to respond to customers - will you respond to them in 2 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours? Set a schedule that you can conform to on your busy times, however perhaps not your extremely busy times. You may state that you will respond to people in 24-48 hours and the 24 hour mark is what you do in normal and busy times, but the 48 hours is what you do when you are extremely busy. Put these times in your policies, and also tell people when you will respond back to the with answers to questions and quotes that are not immediately available. Then - stick to it! If you are constantly late, then consider extending the time that you give yourself. However, you also don't want to be consistently very early either. You don't want your customers used to you responding to them in breakneck speed and then all of a sudden they don't hear from you for 2 days without some sort of announcement that you are out of town.

Set up appropriate times to complete orders and shipping ready-made orders. When you do this give yourself a buffer to account for bad weather, a sick day now and then, and also things that come up in life. You don't want to be cutting it so close to deadlines that you are constantly having to tell your customer that you missed a deadline that you ultimately set for yourself. You also don't want to be always sending orders days ahead of schedule and it to feel like you are late when an order is sent out on time.

Scheduling realistic times and deadlines for yourself can help you plan custom orders into your regular order routine, save time by consolidating like tasks, and to give you and your customers a solid system to expect for the long term. So, be nice to yourself, give yourself the time that you need to complete your orders and communications without being in a time crunch constantly.

Next week I will be writing about working in batches, small runs, and one at a time.

I'm a paper girl ... I can't help it!

 I promised to come back today ... and really I tried to give Cozi another chance ... It is really a fantastic program that you can update online, on your smartphone, ipad, laptop, etc, but at heart I am a paper girl.  As much as I wish I could just give my life over to technology there is something about putting pen to paper that is so satisfying for my soul.

So, I actually MADE something for ME today - only me - you cannot buy it from me =)

It is a nice big weekly planner (8x10) with a pocket and a whole page for one week ... and get this ... a WHOLE page for notes and lists for that week!  I even gave Saturday and Sunday as much space as the other days cause we always have busy weekends!  Plus I put 40 more pages in the back for lists and notes.  The notes and lists pages are not all sectioned off, so I can put anything I want there without feeling like I am breaking the "planner rules".

Here are some pictures for you!!

This was not the easiest thing to make and I have not decided if I will put them in my shop yet.

Leave me a note and tell me what you think!

Clean Up the Crap Wednesdays - Juggling

This is a picture of my kids' juggling balls.  I unfortunately have failed to learn how to juggle, but my husband can and he is always trying to teach the boys to juggle.

I however, have the privilege of juggling all of these other things in my life ... learning how to do that is equally as difficult and frustrating as trying to learn to juggle those balls!

So, I have decided to bring back "Clean up the Crap Wednesdays", and today I am tackling my calendar.  I would show you a picture of it ... but currently it is in my head ... and you really don't want to see that!

I am going to give the Cozi calendar another shot ... let's see what happens!  I will let you know either the end of today or tomorrow!

Time Management - Business is taking over my life!

I heard from many of you that you really need help shutting your work off and spending time with friends, family, or just doing personal things. I am here to tell you that it is not easy. The good news is that it means that you really love what you do, or that you are super busy with a booming business. Now, if you are super busy with a booming business then it is time for you to think about hiring a person or a service to do some things to free up some of your time. This might mean getting a housekeeper, bookkeeper/accountant, someone to help with shipping, or even hiring a company to take over some of your online presence and social networking. However, if financially you just can't bring yourself to hire someone or your busy but your sales aren't busy, then you need to get real about what you are doing and how much time you are spending on it.

It could be that you are spending a lot of time avoiding the things that you should be doing, and indulging in the freedom that you are giving yourself. So, if you are the boss, would you hire yourself? Are you being a good employee? If not, then you really are going to have to step things up and take your business seriously. Playtime is over, and it is time to get to work ... so that you can have playtime later!!

It could also be that you are spending a lot of time doing a lot of things that really don't have a big or meaningful impact on your business. Lots of social networking activities and sites are a great way to meet up with people and find a lot of information, but you need to make sure these things are bringing value to your business for the time that you spend doing them. If you think this is the case, then try to evaluate them using the following matrix.

You really want to avoid the things that fall in the lots of time/little impact. These are things that you spend a lot of time doing, but you really don't have any measurable results from doing them. You also want to be careful with the things that are little time/little impact - these things can add up to be a big time suck. All of those 5 minute activities add up to hours at the end of a week, and you can lose valuable time without knowing it. Your focus should be on the things that have a big impact on your business, and you want to make sure that the things that fall into the little time/big impact are incorporated into your daily routine. The items that fall into your lots of time/big impact can be increased and reduced to control your workflow - so you would do them more when you aren't very busy, and do them less when you are very busy.

I wish that I could tell you what these things are or will be for you, but unfortunately these are all different for each person and each business. This is when it comes down to who and what you know. Some sellers spend an enormous amount of time making treasuries on Etsy, and that translates into big sales and big exposure, others spend enormous amounts of time making treasuries but the results are only lots of exposure but not so many sales. There are also sellers that have the same experiences with twitter, facebook, blogging, etc. So, you really need to be honest with yourself and your business about what things you are doing that are worth your time doing them.

In my own business the little time/big impact items are purchasing ads on blogs. I spend time each month looking for blogs to advertise on, and when I purchase ads I don't always get sales, but through experimentation I have been able to find blogs that work for me and my business. So, basically this activity has moved around in my matrix so that now it is in the best category. The activity that I find to be the lots of time/big impact is creating and listing new things. This is the one activity that I if I give up my business slows down and if I spend more time on it my business picks up.

All other activities fall into the low impact areas on the matrix - All facebooking, tweeting, blogging, etc have fallen into these areas. Now, I have not stopped doing these things completely as I think they are important for my business presence, but I do not put them at the top of the list of things I need to do in a day. These are fillers that I do when I have a few extra minutes during the day, when I have coffee in the morning, or when it is rainy outside and I don't have other things going on.

I have also recently found a good way of incorporating these social internet sites into the other business and social activities that I enjoy doing. I have recently discovered some business minded groups on twitter that have a bi-weekly meeting and I try to attend that meeting. This activity keeps me on track with my business, I meet great folks on twitter when I am there, and I am also being active on twitter for social networking time. All of that in 1 hour twice a month! Groups like this are also popping up on facebook and other social networking sites. Consider talking to groups you are already involved in and see if you can take some of your chatting to a social internet site so that you can essentially accomplish two things at one time - a nice chat with friends as well as maintaining that social network presence.

Once you have done the matrix exercise and really identified the things that are big impact items and little impact items, try to re-focus your workday. Make sure you are doing those big impact items, and don't put so much importance on the little impact items. Leave work at an appropriate time and remember to do some of those big impact items in your personal life! Also remember, that just because you love your business doesn't mean that the people you love, love your business. Making time for yourself, friends and family does have a positive impact on your business, and prevents that dreaded thing called BURN OUT.

Next week I will be talking about expectations from a time management perspective.

Time Management Series - The LIST

So, I have tried to write this article on time management so many times by now that my deadline for getting it done has sufficiently passed! You may be able to relate to this - that you are over scheduled, and so much so, that even the things and maybe especially the things that you like to do get shuffled to the bottom of the list ... doomed to never be finished!

The truth is that time management is easy for some, and downright impossible for others! Unfortunately, no one sells extra hours, a magic pill to make you super organized, or an easy button to get all of your things done. Well ... maybe a magic pill but not without horrible side effects or possible jail time! The only thing you can do is either do it yourself or pay (or bribe) someone else into doing it, and unfortunately money gets in the way of hired help for most of us.

I don't have some earth shattering system to introduce you to or some new way of completing all of those mundane things that you hate. However, I have come up with a way of doing things that actually motivates me and helps to keep me on track.

So, What is this system? A LIST

Now the way that I keep and do my list is a little different, but at the end of the day I get things accomplished and I feel good about what I have done, and any good motivator will tell you that this feeling of accomplishment really is the most important thing.

So, go make a list of everything you want to accomplish, but also include things that you want to do and get enjoyment from doing ... even things that you would otherwise consider indulgent! Things like watching your favorite TV show or spending time with family or friends are just as important as scrubbing toilets and mopping floors. These are the things that will energize you, calm your soul, and keep you going to get the less appealing things completed.

Now some people will tell you to prioritize and do the most important things first, but I am telling you to just do something on the list! You may not feel like doing the most important thing first thing in the morning. Having your coffee and reading a book or magazine might be more motivating to you first thing. Just do one thing on your list and get it checked off! Just the act of checking something off on your list will most likely help you to continue doing something else on the list.

Now go ... make that list!! Start checking things off!!

Next Tuesday I'll be talking about workaholics and making time for fun stuff!

Is Business Taking over your life?

I am blogging today for the Aspiring Artisan's Guild! The time management topic for today is Business Is Taking Over My Life!

Go Check it out!

Time Management Daily Post

I am one of the writers over on the Aspiring Artisan's Guild blog, and I am starting a time management series. Here is a link to today's post: Time Management Series 1

While you are there, you ought to check out the blog and other talented artists who are either working their businesses full time or working their way to that point!

I just want to find my keys!

I don't want to live in the neatest, most organized house on the block. I just want to be able to find my keys!

I have a lot of people fooled. They think I am so organized, so together. They think that I do as much as 4 people!

Well ... let me fill you in ... I am not that way at all! Really, most days I just feel like I am treading water in the housekeeping department, barely getting all of my priority todo's done, and running out the door without makeup on. Most days, I feel like if I have done those things then I am doing okay.

Well ... this year I want more than that. I actually want to keep the house clean, get more than just the priority todo's done, and at least occasionally put make up on and fix my hair.

How am I going to do that? Truthfully ... I have no idea! I didn't grow up in a neat house, my mom was the perpetual "run around like a chicken with it's head cut off" kind of mom. Now, don't get me wrong, I had a great mom! She was just busy, always busy, never ever do I remember when my mom wasn't busy, and now I know that she regrets being so busy.

I don't really want to be that busy mom. I want to have time just to sit down with my kids and play a game ... and I do ... However, I haven't escaped the nagging voice in the back of my head that is constantly reminding me of the 101 other very important things that I should or could be doing in that moment. I keep telling myself that the game IS a very important thing and I SHOULD be playing with my kids ... darned conscious!

So, how am I fighting off everything I learned as a child?

- Stop, relax, really look at my list and decide what is really important and what things do I perceive as important.
-Evaluating the time commitment of the things on my list and being choosy to what things I sign myself up todo.
- Remembering what I did in the past and deciding if those are things I would like to repeat, or if those things need to be eliminated.
- Be nice to myself and my children. Remembering that taking care of myself sometimes does mean that I am taking care of my children.

Reaching your breaking point

So, Fall is approaching briskly and the holiday's are much closer than I care to admit. My blood pressure has been elevated much more than usual lately, and I am about to reach my breaking point!

Yikes ... sounds like it is time for a bit of a re-adjustment in my life!

At some point I am going to have to face the facts that I just cannot keep juggling all of these balls, wearing all of these hats, and keep all of these commitments.

It isn't easy giving up something and re-adjusting the things in your life.

Any suggestions? Lists aren't working anymore =(

Clean Up the Crap Wednesday's

Sorry I have been out of pocket for a few weeks. I have felt rather overwhelmed with things going on in life and business.

But....

Alas, the messes in the house don't stop just because mommy is overloaded!

So, for the last couple weeks I have been doing a 15min clean up. I am always amazed with how much I can get done in 15 minutes. I have also started involving the kids. My 5 year old loves to set the timer on the stove to start us out, and then we basically run around like crazy picking up things for 15 minutes. He will run into the kitchen every minute or two and announce how many minutes we have left. I try to make the process fun by acting silly and running around in circles a few times, but all the silliness aside, we are cleaning up!

To set up our 15 minute clean up we start by talking about what we are going to work on before the timer is set. Next we talk about the fact that 15 minutes is not a long time, so we must work as fast as we can, and finally we go into the kitchen and start the timer.

I probably would not set the timer for a whole 15 minutes if my son was any younger, but I also don't set the timer any longer for our teen and tween. It has definitely helped get the boys jump started about cleaning up, and they are happy that they don't have to clean for more than 15 minutes.

My son also gets a kick when I announce that I need another 15 minutes, and generally he leaves me alone to clean during my extra time.

So - set your timer for 15 minutes - you will probably be amazed at how much you can do!

Mommy Time Monday

So, it is Monday and I am thinking about what I need to accomplish this week. Since the year began I have been working really hard to stay on top of the messes, paperwork, laundry, dishes, and getting organized. I have had a few slips, but in general, I have done a really good job. The hubby is happy and the boys are starting to realize that they just can let toys run rampant through the house. However, like most moms I know, mommy time just never seems to make it on the list. I am just so busy doing for everyone and everything else, that I just don't seem to make it on the list. Which is exactly why I started Mommy Time Monday!

So, this morning I made a mental list of what I need to do today.

Blog
Wash up a few dishes
Cover some new magnet boards
Glue up some new magnets
Make decisions about what craft shows I am doing this year
Send off craft show applications

It is really going to be a full day! However, you see what is lacking on this list?!! - I haven't scheduled any time to do something just for me! Sure, I love what I do, and making magnets and magnet boards is really fun, but I really need some time to just relax and do something that is non-work related.

So, what is it going to be. Perhaps I can carve out an hour to watch last weeks episode of Lost that I missed. Perhaps I can crack open that book I have been eying. Perhaps I can read that magazine that I got on Friday that hasn't been opened yet.

What do you do for yourself? If you don't, why not?

Motherhood is hard, but I have found that the hardest part is keeping my own identity. I get so wrapped up in my kids and my husband that sometimes I really loose sight of who I am and what I enjoy. It is really a bad thing, and I need to schedule some time for me - even if it is just one hour per week!

Tomorrow Never Comes!

So, last night I was making a list of all of the things that I needed to do today. It was starting to get really long and I finally succumbed to the fact that I was never going to get that much stuff done in one day. So, I thought, "Hey, this is a great time to plan out my week!" So, I moved some of the not as urgent stuff to Wednesday. Then I realized that I have a meeting tonight, so I moved some more stuff to Wednesday. Then I realized that some of those items really needed to get done on Tuesday so I moved different items to Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday were still pretty empty, so I decided that I could move some things to those days. Only to again realize that there were yet more things that needed to be done on Tuesday - that HAD to get done. Also, I remembered that I had a Dr. appointment on Friday, and that I completely forgot about the kids activities. Oh, and don't get me started on scheduling some time for me to do shopping, clean up, cooking, working on my website, completing craft show applications...

I think I felt better when there was no list - I feel even more overwhelmed now! Sheesh!