Treating life more like a marathon than a sprint is often easier said than done. As wives and mothers, we are often running around from one thing to the next. Trying to get our to-dos done, run our kids from one activity to the next, and trying our best to be loving and attentive wives.
In the midst of it all, it often seems like time just gets away from us. While also changing any of the productivity that we may have felt at one point during the day to either just busyness or overwhelm.
I have often found myself running from one thing to the next. Then at the end of the day feeling like I have not gotten too much accomplished. While also feeling like the things I actually want to do, I just do not have enough time for. This was the most evident for me when I became a stay at home mom, SAHM.
I thought becoming a SAHM would give me all this extra time. Wrong! Yes, I may not have been working outside of the home, but that did not mean that I had all this free time. Then once all my girls started going to school full-time, I once again thought I would then gain all this extra time. Wrong!
Yes, I have more time away from my girls during the day, but I was still feeling like by the time 3pm rolled around I had not gotten nearly as much accomplished as I wanted to.
Then I learned one important thing about time and productivity that changed everything for me and will for you as well.
Productivity Is Not About Having More Time, It Is About Using Your Time Wisely
Just like you, we all have the same amount of time in a day. So it is often not about having more time, but how we use the time we have.
Make the most of every opportunity.
Ephesians 5:16a (NLT)
In order for you to make the most of every opportunity, you have to use of your time wisely. Therefore helping you to take your productivity to the next level. You want to go from letting your to-do list overwhelm you and letting time get away from you, to you making time for your to-dos and telling your time what to do.
As wives and mothers, we spend a lot of our day telling others what to do. So why cannot we do the same with our time? We certainly can, and the best way to do that is with time blocking.
Time Blocking Will Help You Take Your Productivity To The Next Level
By using this simple tool, you can all take your productivity to the next level. While also finding the time you need to not only do the things you need to do, but also want to do. Time blocking is simply taking all the hours of the day and giving all your needs, wants, and to-dos space within the time you have to get them done.
To help you get started, print your copy of this simple and cute printable.
(Before you download, please remember that these printables are free and for your personal use only. They cannot be sold, distributed, or marketed for monetary gain in any way. Thanks for your cooperation!)
You will start to no longer wonder where the time is going. Instead, you will be finding the time you need to get more things done. You will not only be taking your productivity to the next level, but also finding time to take your life, marriage, and parenting to the next level as well.
I’d love to hear other ways you use to take your productivity to the next level in the comments!
I love making lists and time sheets; it holds me accountable!
I love the scripture you highlighted. It’s a great reminder to take the opportunities and enjoy the blessings that I have, instead of being frustrated that I can’t do all the things right now.
Nice post. You’re right when you say that productivity Is not about having more time but it is about using time wisely…and I still have to learn a lot but I’m doing my best x
I’ve been throwing around the idea of time blocking for awhile now especially when it comes to running my business! I am all over the board and it takes a toll on myself and my business ALOT! I’m definitely going to make this happen!
Time flies when you love what you do, and time blocking is a great way to stay on track. Thank you for sharing! (PS…Your daughters are darling! 😍)
Allison
I need to use time blocking more frequently. When I do, I am so much more productive!
Couldn’t agree more with we don’t need more time — just need to manage it better. Great post!
I’ll be honest, time blocking doesn’t work all that well for me. I am sure it would once, for example like you said, my kids are all in school. My kids are 6, 3, and 9 months, and their demands happen at any given moment throughout the day, and how much time I actually have to accomplish anything ebbs and flows throughout the day.
I 100% agree! I work from home now and have noticed that I get just about the same amount of work done as I did when I worked full time because I don’t use my time wisely. I definitely need to give time blocking a try!
I love time blocking! It’s such a great way to be productive. I gotta say though, my son is 18 months old so I’ve been looking forward to his school years and dreaming about all that time I’ll have… Apparently not 😂
I’m still in the beginning stages of working on my blog. I find that when I sit down to work – I’m all over the place. I’ll be on Facebook then venture over to Twitter, then the Internet doing research. By the time I’m done “working” I feel like nothing was accomplished because I was traveling too many roads at the same time. As a teacher, school starts back soon so that means I will only have the evenings to work on my blog – maybe only the weekends. So, time blocking will be crucial. Thank you for this. This will be most helpful to me.
Thanks for this Ayanna! I’ve really been practicing ‘time’ as freedom and flow. Working and doing, without feeling the pressure, need or hustle. I have time blocked before and think it’s a good tool! I am currently ‘off’ all time related schedules and simply listing the things I desire to accomplish each day, moving each hour the next item. It’s been freeing!
You gave some implementable tips. I do time blocking as well since I work from home and need to make sure i don’t get lazy or procrastinate.
I’m always looking to be more productive in my business and I think I should finally look at time blocking!! Thanks for the reminder and the great advice!!
I like the idea of time blocking during busy weeks. I might try that for some upcoming blog content that needs to be done.
I was really good at this but got out of the practice. thanks for the motivation to start again!
Love your weekly calendar. It’s hard to find a daily calendar that has such early times (I start my day early!) and includes all seven days of the week. Perfect! Thanks for this!
Some days I definitely don’t feel like I’ve made good use of my time. I really like this time blocking idea. I think it would definitely help keep me focused and productive.
Loved reading this!!! So helpful, thank you xx
I very much have related to this post. No matter transitioning to SAHM or when the kiddos start school time gets away from us if we don’t plan well. Thanks for the reminder.
I’ve been working really hard because I’m going on holiday soon but that means that I have to use the hours I have in a very productive way, need to try time blocking
Time blocking sounds like just what I need! I feel like most of my days are spent running around putting out fires instead of getting done what I had planned. With my boys grown, you would think I would have plenty of time but it just seems like I have plenty of time to waste now. 😉 BTW, your site is gorgeous!
Time block is such a great idea to be more productive and you are totally right: productivity is not about having more time, it is about using your time wisely!
I agree, we dont need more time, we just need to know how to manage it. I manage every second of the day as best as I can. no excuses! 😉
Time blocking seems like a great way to schedule your day. I had a day yesterday where I felt like I was constantly moving and got little done. Time blocking would have at least helped me feel as though I accomplished lots!
It is so true that even when the kids are in school the day goes fast and I wonder what I have done all day!! I need to time block!