Time Management Tip

Time Management Tip: How to Prep the Evening Before a Scheduled Work Day to Make the Mornings Easier to Get Ready 🌷

Preparing the evening before a scheduled work day can help to make your mornings less stressful and more efficient. Here are some things you can do to prepare the evening before a work day:

1. Pack your lunch: If you bring your lunch to work, take a few minutes to pack it the evening before. This will save you time in the morning and ensure that you have a healthy lunch to eat.

2. Lay out your clothes: Choose your outfit for the next day and lay it out in a visible location. This will save you time and energy in the morning and help you to avoid the stress of trying to find something to wear.

3. Prepare your breakfast: If you have a busy morning, consider preparing your breakfast the night before. This could be as simple as packing a bag of granola or as elaborate as preparing a full breakfast casserole.

4. Gather your essentials: Make sure that you have everything you need for the next day, such as your keys, phone, wallet, and any other items that you use on a daily basis.

5. Do some light cleaning: Take a few minutes to tidy up your space, so that you don't have to spend time doing it in the morning. This can include wiping down counters, putting away dishes, and making your bed.

By preparing the evening before, you can start your work day feeling organized and ready to go, rather than rushed and stressed.

8 Steps To Managing Your Time

 

Are you an individual who can’t seem to properly manage your time? If you are having problems at home or at work, there is a good chance that your problems may be caused by your inability to properly manage your time. The good news, however, is that there are a number of steps that you can take to improve your time management. In fact, eight simple steps that you can take are highlighted below.

1 – Know That You Have a Problem

Knowing that you have a time management problem is the first step in changing your behavior. Although it is typical to be late for work or a social event on occasion, it is something that should not be happening on a daily or a weekly basis. If it is, it is time for you to realize that you may have a problem.

2 – Decide To Change

Knowing that you have a time management problem is important, but wanting to change is even more important. You need to set goals for yourself, as these goals can help to provide you with a source of motivation. Sample goals include showing up to work on time for a whole month, being on time for all dinner dates, and so forth.

3 – Stick To Your Goals

Creating a number of time management goals for you to meet is advised, but it is important that you don’t give up right away or when you are faced with complications. Setting goals simply just isn’t enough, you need to stick with them.

4 – Create Daily Task Lists

Creating a to do list for yourself is an easy way to properly manage your time. In fact, it is one of the easiest approaches that you can take. Outline what you need to do throughout the day. Be sure to list your tasks in order of importance.

5 – Rely On Time Management Tools

Properly managing your time is important, but it can be hard for many individuals to get use to, especially right away. If you are one of those individuals, you will want to consider using time management tools to your advantage. In fact, did you know that many cell phones and computers come with alarm clocks, alerts, and so much more?

6 – Learn How To Say No

In all honesty, there are times where you may not be able to refuse a project at work or a task at home, but try to not take on more than you can accomplish. If you must, look into using outside help. In the home, this outside help can come from a housecleaner. At the workplace, this outside help can come from a coworker.

7 – Get Organized

Organization is key to being able to properly manage your time. If you are unorganized, you are likely to waste a large amount of time. For example, in the workplace you can waste time by searching for lost or misplaced documents. The same can be said for the home; if you are unorganized, you can spend hours searching for your glasses or car keys.

8 – Consider Hiring Professional Help

As previously stated, if you are overwhelmed at home, you may want to call on a professional housecleaner. In addition to taking this approach, there are other professionals that you can target. There are individuals and companies who specialize in teaching others how to effectively manage their time and stay organized, such as professional organizers.

A Calm, Clutter-Free Home Office Environment Conducive To Work

The home office is often the foundation of the modern day family. Moms and Dads routinely use the home office to pay the bills, plan and coordinate schedules, appointments and calendars. Moms may organize recipe files and family photo albums. These tasks can all be done on our computers or on paper. 

It is actually becoming very popular for one or even both of the parents to work remotely from home. Moms have become very savvy with their social media and blogging skills. More people of all ages are taking advantage of creating their home businesses.

Here are some great ideas for possible work-at-home opportunities: blogging, affiliate marketing, direct selling, data entry, freelance writing, medical transcription, medical coding, customer service, proofreading, virtual assistant, bookkeeper and more. Many individuals are make a living from home. 

It is easy to understand with so many different activities happening in a home office, it can become the most disorganized and cluttered area in the house. So, if you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed from a messy, disorganized office it can be helpful to develop a plan for making your home office clutter-free and conducive to work. A clean organized desk and home office can help you save time and stress, especially if you work from home. 

An accumulation of mail may be the biggest contributing factor to cluttered desktops. Get in the habit of sorting through your mail on a daily basis. You can easily place those items that may need to be shredded into a shredding bin and routinely shred them once per week. File items away properly. Make sure that you keep your own filing system updated with folders for current years or months. 

It is a good idea to keep certain computer storage media, such as CDs and DVDs properly labeled and placed in a protective storage cases. You can even categorize them for easy access. 

If your home office area is commonly used by all family members, it can become cluttered with coffee mugs, snacks and even a few dirty dishes. Since computer equipment can easily be damaged should something spill on it, it’s probably smart to impose a rule about no eating and drinking while using the computer. 

If you spend a significant amount of time during the day in your home office and your office space is roomy enough, you could create an area far enough away from the computer and other electronic equipment where food and drinks could be set down without the fear of ruining equipment if a spill would occur. 

If you use a bulletin board, take the time to keep the items posted up-to-date. Make sure your calendar is always current so you can see the month’s scheduled activities and appointments. 

An over abundance of office supplies have a way of cluttering up a workspace as well. Make time to clean out and organize desk drawers if needed and make sure all office supplies have a home other than the top of your desk. 

With some good planning and ongoing maintenance, your home office can become an organized and productive workspace that you truly will enjoy everyday.