Time. Don’t we all wish we had more of it? I don’t know about you but by the end of the day I look back and feel like someone has been playing tricks with my clock. We’ve all heard the puns about time; “time is no mans friend” and “time waits for no man”, and do I ever feel that. So what can you do when you start to feel like time is sneaking up on you and you need to get back in control of your time?
-Be intentional with your family time
Now with more families working at home it can easy to commingle work and play. But our kids don’t want us to be attached to our phones while we are trying to engage with them. Try carving out a set time each day that you are dedicating to family time. Your kids will appreciate it, and trust me, you’ll appreciate this time too. Our kids are growing up so fast. Every time I look at baby pictures (which is honestly way too often) I am reminded of how quick time passes. We can’t get this time back so let’s enjoy it while we can!
-Delegate
We all want to be super-parents. We can do everything ourselves and don’t need to ask for help, but we don’t have to do that. For some of us delegating and giving up control is hard. I know personally I tend to do so much myself because I feel like it just gets done quicker and better that way. But I’ve learned over the years that it takes so much off my plate and gives me so much more time to do other things if I give up some of that responsibility to my spouse. So learn to delegate some of your responsibilities to your partner, your children, or even friends if possible.
-Learn to say NO
This is my absolute favorite one. The reason why is because we’ve been somehow taught to live in a YES culture. Where it is rude to say no. I am here to tell you that it is ok to say NO! You don’t have to attend every PTA meeting, chaperone every field trip, and take on extra work projects if you don’t want to. It doesn’t make you a bad parent or person at all. In fact, you are teaching your kids the value of boundaries which is something that is so important.
-Spend some time taking care of you
I know, I know. Everyone tells you this. But it is so so so important. If you don’t stop to take time to take care of your self, you will burn out. You can’t pour from an empty cup. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, maybe just a long bath, picking up a new book to read (alone), a coffee date out with friends, anything! But hey if you want to get extravagant that’s awesome too, I’m all for extravagance!
I get it. Our lives are crazy and hectic and it all can seem impossible at times. But you’ve got this. Try looking back on your past week and see what you could have changed, where you could have saved some time and where you can put in a little more time for you.