5 Ways to Create More Time for the Things That Really Matter

Does this sound familiar....

​You wake up and your first thoughts are, “I have so much to do.” You quickly hop out of bed hoping you can at least get the coffee going before the kids wake up. Because the minute they wake up, you’re in the hustle.

Then you’ve got breakfast to make, lunches to make, bags to pack, the tortuous task of getting them ready, then you’re out the door. You drop the kids off with a kiss and a wave and then you’re on your way to work.  You spend another day behind your desk in a job that doesn’t light you up, but it’s “good enough.” You make it through the day hoping that you’ll have time to sneak out a little early so you can run that quick errand before you’ve gotta go pick up the kids.  You grab the kids, head home, and it’s straight to making dinner, feeding the family, cleaning up the mess, homework, baths, and bedtime.

And, if you don’t fall asleep putting them to bed, then you plop on the couch to watch a show or two on Netflix that you kinda like before passing out…

You head to bed and as you fall asleep you’re thinking, “what happened to my life. There is so much more I want to do, but how can I possibly fit in anything else?” You’re yearning for more, for a bigger life, to FEEL more alive, but you feel discouraged because you don’t know how you can manage any more.

Heck, you would be happy if you could just fit in an hour to devote to your passion project, or that knitting project you've been dying to do, maybe it’s just getting time to dig into a really good book.  

Or, maybe it’s big…

Maybe it’s creating the business you’ve been dreaming of for years.  Maybe it’s finding the time to fit in studying so that you can confidently take that class you’ve been wanting to take for so long, the one that’s going to be the jumping off point for the next chapter of your life.

Maybe it’s just carving out an hour a day to just be, for self-care, connection, space to breath.

Whatever it is, you deserve it! 

And, you’re going to have to create the time to make it happen!  You are going to have to make what you really want a priority enough to fit it into your days!

But, don’t worry I got you! 

Here Are 5 Ways to Create More Time for the Things That Really Matter

Check Your Priorities

I am someone who really likes to have a clean house, it has been commented often about how “tidy and neat” my house is even with a small child.  I feel better in a clean and organized space. And, what I found is that my first priority was always cleaning my house and then I had little time left in my day after all the hustle and “life” things that I didn’t end up having any time for me.  There came a point where I had that “a-ha” moment and decided that I was making my house more of a priority then my happiness and immediately made a switch. I now put blinders on when I need to in order to focus on what I truly want to be doing and I illicit more help around the house then I ever did in the past.  This brings me to my second point. Are you making everyone else’s needs, wants, and comforts more of a priority then your own? You gotta check that girl! If you don’t prioritize your own happiness and filling your own cup first then you will not be showing up for yourself or the people you love in the way that you really want to.  The best gift you can give your family and the people that you love is your own happiness. So make it a priority!

Inventory Your Days

Often, when my clients come to me and tell me that they don’t have time to fit everything in or feel overwhelmed by their to-do list, I invite them to do an inventory of their days.  And, if you’re feeling this you to do this simple exercise- track your days for the next two days in a row... write down everything you do from the moment you wake up to when you go to bed.  It’s without fail that my clients find times throughout their days that they are engaged in habits that aren’t supporting them or the life they want to create (cue FB scrolling and Netflix bingeing).  It’s such a good way to to gain awareness of how you’re actually spending your time and what you can let go of to create even more time for the things that are actually going to fill you up and make you feel good.

Plan Your Week and Days

Choose a day to map out your week and put all your tasks into your calendar (I love the passion planner), and make sure you schedule in the stuff you actually want to do.  Give yourself at minimum a ½ an hour or even better an hour every day to devote to what you really want to do, whether it’s diving into a good book, your morning routine, or working on your side business or passion project.  Schedule it into your calendar. Then if you get the passion planner (here’s a link to the 1 I have), take all the stuff from your week and schedule it in day by day. I literally schedule my days hour by hour. Write in each day of your calendar that ½ an hour or hour a day that is solely devoted to things things you really want to do, that are going to fill your cup, and move you closer to feeling your best.

Make Your Calendar Your Boss

Whatever you write in your calendar you do.  Yes, there will, of course, be times that you aren’t able to get to everything you’ve written into your day done, things come up.  That’s okay, don’t beat yourself up. Just find a place to add what you missed into the next day or week. 

Give Yourself Reasonable Expectations

This goes hand in hand with the last point. If you over schedule your days then you are going to increase your level of overwhelm and feel unsuccessful because you jammed yourself to full.  You want to create a reasonable schedule for yourself that supports you in feeling successful and reduces your sense of overwhelm. Only give yourself a few tasks a day (beyond your regular routine) that you really want to get to and make one of those your personal hour that is non-negotiable!

Get Up Earlier (BONUS)

If you’re a mom like me then you have very little “free” and alone time.  That is why I get up 2 hours before my daughter. That gives me 2 hours to do whatever I want (which is mostly my morning routine/self care stuff).  If getting up 2 hours earlier sounds crazy hard then start with 30 minutes. And, if you are really resistant to the idea of getting up early because “you’re a night owl” and like staying up late, but all you end up doing at night is binge watch Netflix, then I invite you to go back to point 1 and check your priorities.  Go to bed a little earlier so that you can get up earlier! Or, if you are legitimately​ your best at night then make sure you take time after the fam has gone to bed to do whatever it is that fills you up in your personal hour. The TV turns on only after you’ve done the things that truly matter to you.  

Finding the time and not getting overwhelmed by your life and schedule is a real thing for everyone!  Just recently, I was really feeling it and stressing about how I was going to get everything done that I wanted to do and then I realized, 'oh wait....I know what to do!" I put all of these practices back in place that I had slowly let go off and, Voila! I feel more calm, more productive, and more in purpose!

I hope you find the same to be true for you too.  I am betting you will if you truly take this 5 ways to heart and really implement them into your life!  I would love to hear how it works for you!  

with so much love,

Shaina

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