The number one complaint I receive from fellow working housewives when it comes to managing it all (household, work, marriage, kids) is there is not enough time in the day. Would you be upset if I told you that you have all the time you need to get it done? You probably would. You are probably thinking after you get off from work, cook, help the kids with homework, straighten up, and do whatever else it is that you do that you don’t have enough time to give to your marriage (at least the fun part of marriage, lol) let alone give to yourself. Trust me I know. Since becoming married I struggled with trying to figure this out. Then I had a child and boy did the struggle really begin. But what I want to share with you is that you do have enough time in the day. The problem is that we have what is called “time suckers” zapping up all of our time. The sad part is you don’t even realize it. You may already know one of them, Facebook. In this article I’m not going to tell you how to get rid of them, but I do want to share with you how you can find these time suckers so that you are aware of them and maybe you can get some of your hours back in your day.
The very first thing you need to do in order to find these “time suckers” is to be aware of what you are doing at any given moment. To do this start to log all that you do. I did this when I was trying to figure out what is that I’m doing all day in my business and boy was it helpful. You have to be completely honest with yourself (which is probably the hardest thing to do as humans). This log is not for me to look at or your neighbor. This is an individual log of how you are spending your time. You will notice how long you spend watching TV instead of actually folding the laundry. Boy was this a reality check for me. I can’t remember the exact time (hours) I spent watching television, but I did realize that the television was one of my major time suckers.
It’s important to keep a physical log for about 3 days to a week (a full 7-day week, it’s important to see how you spend your time on the weekend). Please make sure it’s a physical log. Write down the time started on the task and the time ended so that you are aware of the time spent. After your first day of doing this you may begin to instantly add more time to your day because you do not want to write in your log 30 minutes on Facebook 5 times while at home in the evening alone. Keeping a mental log will NOT work. Between the mommy brain, and the multitasking we will completely forget what we are doing and the facts are harder to face when they are written in black and white (or whatever color ink and paper you use). Once you have figured out what your time suckers are you will then be able to take action against it so that you can get more things done.
Please share with me your time suckers. I would love to know. My time suckers are television, and the internet. I can be on the computer for hours at a time and not even know it.
About the author:
As an Online Business Manager, Felicia Pratt supports women entrepreneurs who run their business online. She helps them streamline, automate, and build their online presence so they can increase their visibility and provide consistency in their branding and marketing efforts. Through various entrepreneurial endeavors including Real Estate, and the travel industry, Felicia has finally found her niche empowering women by helping them manage their time effectively and creating a work-life balance that works for them.
