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TIME BLOCKING

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ROBE / NOTEBOOK / PLANNER

TIME BLOCKING. 

Something that has changed my entire life.  We all have the same hours in the day, it’s how we use them thats important.  I was waisting a lot of time doing god knows what.  Ever since having Oaks, being a working mom, having house duties, and keeping my marriage good, I’ve had to really take  step back and look at my time efficiently.  Time management is one of the things I’ve really improved on since becoming a mom.  I wanted to be able to do it all still, so I just figured it out.  I’m going to share step by step how to do this.  The concept is very easy to grasp, but actually doing it, is the hard part.   Lets break it down.   Here is a list of what I time block.  

  1. I make time for one on one time with Oaks.  I put my phone in the other room and leave it on silent.  I will do this for 2 hours in the morning and at night.  If I need to get cleaning done, I’ll have him join in with me and make it fun for him. 
  2. I make time to clean.  
  3. I make time to cook dinner every night.
  4. I make time to meal prep once a week
  5. I make time for alone time with TJ
  6. I make time to get my most important work done every day aka this blog post for you guys!!
  7. I make time for myself
  8. Most importantly I make time for my family
  9. I make time to chill out (this is important if you really want to kill it hard all week)
  10. Of course working out

Step 1: PRIORITIZE:   Look at your day and grab a notepad. Then write down hour by hour what you did that day.  After that,  go over it the next day, or that night and see whats a priority and whats not.  Then write down what you want to get done and focus only on that.  

Step 2: SET YOUR TIMER:  Once you’ve done that, then here is when it gets fun.  If your phone is the biggest distraction in the world, set it in the other room, but set your timer, on the microwave, phone, whatever.  Start with task 1 and give yourself 30 mins-3 hrs to do it.  Whatever time you want really, then DONT DO ANYTHING ELSE BUT THAT TASK, for however long you decide to set your timer for.  Then once that timer goes off, you can take a break before the next thing, or go right into your next task.

This is so effective!  I do this for all those 9 things I just listed.  I don’t literally set my timer for some of those, but I definitely recommend doing it for the first little while, until you’re used to it.  Or whatever is distracting you from family time, put it in the other room.  Like your phone,  set it in the other room while you’re trying to get something done, or spending quality time with family.  My phone is the biggest distraction, so I have to shut it off sometimes when I really need to focus. 

BUT have self control and make sure you at least make a dent in the project you’re wanting to get done.  You can do it in 20 minute increments too.  So set your timer for 20 mins and then what will happen is, once that timer goes off, you’ll be deep into it and wont want to take a break.  It works, I swear.  

2 THINGS I ESPECIALLY TIME BLOCK ARE…

  1. My work (projects, emails, answering questions, dms etc)
  2. Cleaning

AGAIN: Set my timer, lets say, for an hour.  Clean as fast as possible, or do my work as fast as possible and nothing else, until that timer goes off!

I swear to you, this is how I get shit done.  It works so well!  Multitasking is distracting and makes you half ass your work.  Focus on one thing at a time to fully put all your energy into that one thing, doing it right the first time, and nicely done.   This also has helped me live in the present moment more, rather than thinking of 10 thousand things I’ve got to get done.  Focus one at a time, and pay attention to that one thing, then onto the next thing. 

Being present is something you have to work on, it’s a muscle you’ve got to exercise all day long, in order for you to fully live in the moment.  I’ve been mediating for 10 minutes every morning with my Headspace app.  Thats a whole other blog post, but it’s so awesome!  It really helps!  Once I’m about a month in, I’ll do a post about it for you guys.

Anyways, who else time blocks?  Any tricks you want to share?

Let me know how you liked this post! 

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XOXO,

SARA LYNN

MOTHERHOOD MONDAY: TIME BLOCKING

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TOP & BOTTOMS: OUTDOOR VOICES & CUTE HERE & HERE / NIKES CUTE HERE & HERE

OAKS OUTFIT: ALL ZARA

In the business I am in, it’s constant screen time.  I’m either on my phone or a computer.  I’m sure a lot of you can relate to this.  Over the past couple weeks I’ve noticed a difference in myself & how it’s affected everything.  As I’ve become busier, as Oaks becomes busier and is constantly learning and growing.  I feel that I’ve got two HUGE responsibilities.  For 1 making sure that I can be a good example to Oaks, and to help him learn and grow the best I can.  And 2 –help support my family, by following my dreams and what I LOVE, which is sharing all my tips for you guys, and helping you all live happy and healthy lives.   

So back to my reasoning on what I’ve noticed.  I’ve noticed a difference in my behavior.  Getting angry a lot,  feeling very overwhelmed and anxious… so I decided to put a stop to whatever is making me feel like this.  AND THAT IS MY PHONE.  I am in constant GO MODE.  I love what I do so much and LOVE talking with all of you so much.  I just get anxious because I want to respond to everyone, all while creating great content, but then I have a toddler that needs me 24/7.    I can’t have him trying to get my attention while I’m constantly on my phone.  Can you imagine if you couldn’t talk & you’re trying to get some food or a drink, but they aren’t listening because they’re distracted by their phone?  Annoying right.  

So what I’ve been doing is time blocking my day where I get my work done, answer any questions you have and talk with you for a certain amount of time.  Then I will time block my time with Oaks, which is morning before his nap & after his nap.  This is time I put my phone in the other room and leave it there.   THEN on Sundays I turn my phone completely off from 3pm- ON.  Don’t turn it back on until Monday morning.   This has helped me so much and helped me learn to live in the moment all while getting my work done when I time block.  It’s a WIN WIN.  It’s so affective and I get more done in the gap I time block, rather than trying to get it done in spurts all day feeling stressed out with a toddler at my feet.  

I was so inspired by this article on “The Powerful influence of Secondhand screen time on a Childs Brain”   This was huge eye opener for me, and realized I needed to change something.  I want what’s best for Oaks, and feel so bad for the times I am “to busy” to play.   Mom guilt was in FULL force when I read this article.  I just wanted to share it with you guys too, because I know I needed to hear it.  We live in a world of constant distraction and constant stimulation!  It’s nice to actual set it down and live in the moment, rather than thinking about how this person said this, what you need to get done, where you need to be at this time, how you need to respond to that text/email.. the list goes on.  It’s stressful!  

Our babies & kids need us!  Lets give them our full attention when the time is needed.  They grow up so quickly.   We don’t want to let their lives pass by and wonder where we were during those important stages of life.  They matter, and the quality time we spend with them matters.  It’s so important for their growth and their future adulthood.    

That phone call, text, email, DM, snapchat whatever it may be… can wait. 🙂

Hope you loved this!  I am going to be doing “Motherhood Monday”  and talk about motherhood every Monday, so send me your suggestions if you have any my way!  Would love to know what you want to hear about.

Have a great week!

xoxo,

Sara Lynn