5 Strategies to Help You Make Time for Family, Friends and Fitness

“Time comes to those who make it, not those who try to find it.” — Jen Sincero

Beverley Simpson
Aug 28, 2017 · 7 min read

In my corporate job, I thought I’d mastered the skill of time management, but it wasn’t until I became a working mother that I understood what time management really was:

We can control our mindset and how we effectively use time, but we can never get it back.

The value of where I spend my hours increased tenfold when my daughter Gwendolyn entered the world in 2015 and my motto rang true more so than ever: plan time to make time. I know what you’re thinking because I’ve been there. I’ve avoided using the restroom to give myself extra minutes to complete a task. So how on Earth are you going to sit down and plan your schedule?

Below you’ll find 5 strategies you can implement immediately to start using your hours more effectively. Download the workbook.

Strategy 1: Build Awareness.

What does that mean? Our mind and body work together as a machine designed for maximum efficiency. We are hardwired to take the path of least resistance, conserve energy and automate actions in everyday life. It’s not unusual for us to get caught up in a meaningless task or WORSE: give our energy to tasks we don’t want to do. In order to change, you must build awareness on how you’re using your time.

Start here: Record every detail of your day from the beginning to the end in a journal. It might look something like this:

7:00am — woke up
7–7:20 — checked email
7:20–7:45 — bathroom/shower time
7:45–8am — breakfast.

You may be thinking, “I already know how I spend my time”. That may be so but humor me on this task, you might be surprised by the information you discover about yourself and how you spend your time. Be as specific as possible.

Strategy 2: Turn Down the Defective and Turn Up the Effective:

Some important things I want you to notice:

  • What activities do you do daily without thinking about it?
  • What activities wasted time?
  • What activities did you use constructively?

Turn Down the Defectives

Now that you’ve determined how you spend your time let’s break it down even further. First, we’ll identify the ‘defectives’ and the ‘effectives’. Let’s start with the defectives:

  • What are the tasks that might be fun but you can reduce time use?
  • What are the tasks that you dislike doing and you’re doing them anyway?
  • What tasks took you longer than you anticipated, and can you delegate?

These are the tasks we can cross of the list, trim, and delegate in order to free up more mental space and energy to give to the effectives:

Turn up the Effectives

Consider these questions:

  • What were the activities that you did which moved your business/dreams forward?
  • What were the activities you did that you felt effectiveness?
  • How much time did you actually use constructively in your day?

Research shows in an 8-hour day only 2 hours and 53 minutes are productive. Yet we wear 60 to 70-hour work weeks as a badge of honor. Some call it the grind, but it’s an unprofitable rat race.

My clients and I talk about this idea a great deal and together we create a reasonable plan to help get on the path towards success. Find out more about 1 on 1 coaching here.

Strategy 3: Create Habits to Reduce the Use of Willpower

What is willpower? This can also be identified as Determination. Drive. Self-discipline. Self-control. Resilience.

How do we know we’re using willpower?

  • Are you having to override an unwanted thought, feeling or impulse?
  • Are you having to make a conscious effort to do something or focus on something for an extended period of time?
  • Are you forcing yourself to resist temptation for a long-term goal or delaying gratification?

These are examples of willpower use, and we use a lot of it on small tasks we don’t want to do. Sure, it’s possible to boost your willpower if you believe you can. But imagine how much mental energy, willpower and effort you can give to people, vacations, and tasks you LOVE if you just use the willpower you started the day with.

You don’t have to use your willpower on the small stuff.

We’ve all heard the jar story, right? Fill the jar with rocks and at first glance it looks full, but then we add pebbles. Now it REALLY looks full, but we can add sand. Now, there’s no possible way anything else can fit in there except we add water. Remember 3 steps ago when we thought the jar was full with the big rocks?

In the story the big rocks are our values the BIG things (family, health, etc.) and the pebbles are the other things that give meaning to those things we care about. The sand and water represent the small stuff that more often than not get in the way of us enjoying the things that are important to us. The moral of the story is that if we had started with the sand and the pebbles we wouldn’t have been able to get the big rocks in.

Consider that your willpower is what pours these items into the jar. So, if we use our willpower to fill up the jar with sand and water first where will the BIG rocks go?

Luckily, our brain and bodies take the path of least resistance and our system automates our decisions into unconscious daily routines.

Imagine how much available willpower you would have left if you make the most productive decisions part of your automated daily routines.

Here’s how to make this a reality:

Strategy 4: Define and Execute your Daily MITs

MITs stands for Most Important Tasks.

I picked this tip up from Eric Bach who got it from Leo Babauta, author of Zen Habits and The Power of Less.

This small step implemented daily changed the rat race for me. When you have to 24 hours worth of work fitted into an 8–10 hour work day, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and shut down.

Doing my MITs heightened my awareness, sharpened my focus and helped build my confidence to create the necessary space to focus on doing more of what I love to do.

Here’s what to do:

Pick up a notebook and a pen and before you go to sleep plan your THREE Most Important Tasks that must get done the next day. Make them clear and concise. Sure, you can plan them first thing in the morning, but I like to get them set up the night before because it’s a good period to the end of the day. I can evaluate how I did on that day’s tasks and set up for the next day.

Will you get more done than just those three tasks?

Probably, and that’s great! But knowing you have been successful in three tasks builds positive momentum to keep you driving towards the success that you deserve. Each small step with one foot in front of the other is what propels you forward.

Some important things to note:

Make at least one of your MITs related to propelling your goals forward. The other two can be anything, but dedicate one task to making your dreams come true. Making this part of your routine on a daily basis will create a habit that your brain accomplishes automatically without using any of your willpower.

Another key thing to keep in mind: try to accomplish your MITs first thing in the morning. The longer you put them off the busier you will get and you’ll run out of time to do them. Imagine how accomplished you’ll feel if you get them out of the way right at the start of your day. You might even feel amped to cross more things off your list, but the pressure to get other things done will be gone because the MITs are complete.

Strategy 5: Carve out and Commit to Productive Time Blocks.

Create a realistic time plan for tasks you must accomplish and focus solely on it in the time you set. Do you know the magic number of productive minutes for you? If not, research suggests no more than 90–120 minutes is the most focused productive amount of time a person can use for one project before needing a break. One study showed that the breakdown is about 52 minutes of productive time followed by a 17-minute break. Try and figure out the amount of time that you feel you can maintain your focus and the amount of time you need to recharge, evaluate and adjust if needed.

Let’s say you given yourself 45 minutes to get your workout in. Great! Leave your cell phone in the locker and focus only on getting your workout in. If you are in a demanding job, how tempted will you be to answer the email that just popped up? If you’re really concerned about the daycare not being able to get a hold of you, give them the gym number — they can page you over the loudspeaker.

Instead of making yourself available 24/7, create a 90-minute chunk of time that you will dedicate only to answering emails. Leave social media alone and don’t worry about your text messages; just focus on answering your emails. Give yourself a hardtop time. Take your computer out with you and don’t bring a charger.

Make sure that you take at least a 10-minute break in between your time blocks.

Remember this is a process and you might discover some tasks take longer or less time than you anticipated. That’s ok. Stay focused and adjust.

Implement these strategies today and start enjoying your time in as stress-free of a mindset as possible. Take the time you need to devote to your fitness, spend time with family, go on vacation and drink some wine when the kids are sleeping, or do whatever you feel you need to so you can decompress.

Need help? I’ll be taking on a few hybrid and online clients and would love to get started on your customized program. Apply here and if we’re a good match, we’ll get started ASAP.

Want more of my best tips, tools and strategies delivered to your inbox? Sign up here.


Originally published at bsimpsonfitness.com on May 12, 2017.

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Beverley Simpson

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I help mamas lose fat without body hate in a crazy schedule http://bit.ly/2xqS3di

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