foodie? ho hum. try being a time snob.

What do you never seem to have enough of?

Time.
Money.
Matching socks.

Ok, well I can only help so much; those socks are up to you.

But how about your time?  
Yeah, you've heard of time management, but doesn't it seem like you're at the receiving end, being managed by some other force?  


A force which apparently hates the thought of you having time to yourself, of ever feeling relaxed. 

So let me shed a little light on this conundrum.  
Let's take back the reigns to your calendar, one step at a time.

---

First, it's time to face the hard facts.  
Let's just go ahead and rip off this band-aid.


Step One: time for a Time Audit


Your homework, should you choose to accept it is to track your time. 
All your time.  All your activities.  
Try doing this consistently for a week, but even a few days will be quite revealing.
(here's a few apps for fool-proof, forget-me-not time tracking, here, here and here)

Attempt to track all your waking hours, noting everything that took more than a few minutes of your time.


What do you see? Any patterns? Anything surprising?

look familiar? you're not the only one

Getting a few days or more under your belt will help you get the best picture of how you spend your time.


Like money, time can be spent, invested, wasted or saved.  


Are there areas where you could be spending your time a little more wisely?


Step two: craft your own inner time snob


After you have diligently tracked for a week or so, let the next week be all about time analyzing.  

Scrutinize your time spent in every area of your life.  
It's all about values and priorities.


Here are some areas where I help my patients find more time:


-- time for self care (exercise, sleep, hobbies, play)
-- time for cooking healthy meals
-- time for rest, restoration, nurturing and downtime when necessary


And where are we going to find all that time?  
It doesn't just grow on trees, ya know.


Well, let's run through an example.
Say you can't find the time to spend an hour cooking for yourself on the weekends, but you want to prepare a few batches of food for quick-to-reheat workweek lunches and dinners.  
(in slim down & happy up, I share with participants my exact steps to minimize kitchen time for maximum meal impact).  

Alright... where are we going to find an hour?  
How about cutting email time from six (or is it twelve?) times a day to three?

Or limiting facebook time to a twice a day indulgence 
(or better yet, just dump that app from your phone and remove the impulse entirely).


The success of time re-organization comes from you. 
Your input and your investment in its success.  


If you take a keen eye to how (and where) you use your time, you'll be surprised where all your free time is hiding out.

Now that I've given Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja the boot, watch out Rachel Ray!

Step Three: staying on top of it all


What's a sure-fire plan for failure? Lack of planning, and being stressed out.  

What can help both of those? 
Having a game plan, of course.  


Have a deadline, project or other event looming on your calendar? Then it's time to bring your best inner time snob and stay riding that to-do list wave (it's better than drowning in responsibilities, after all).


As someone who pretty much always has a full schedule, I definitely have to practice what I preach here.  


Since the last thing I want to do is add a huge list of tasks to an already bursting-at-the-seams schedule, I go into much more specific detail about my approach and strategy to do it all while keeping sane (and stress-free, in fact!) in slim down & happy up.

The fall session is just about open for registration, join us on this next round and find a healthier lifestyle for yourself and your family.

I'd love to hear what kinds of creative time planning you use, so please leave a comment below.


To your good health (which includes plenty of rest and play time!),

Haven't heard? 
Join me for slim down & happy up, a unique stress-reducing and healthy weight-achieving program crafted especially for you, the busy lady. 


More great stuff by me:
Just who do I think I am, anyways?
Bulletproof balance (make room for this in your schedule and you won't be sorry!)

photo credit: BeverlyLR