How To Have More Time

Whether you're trying to keep up with a new side hustle, you're a parent with a full-time job, or even someone just trying to fit in a workout once a week, time management issues are something a lot of us face. 

Sometimes it feels like there just aren't enough hours in the day. And it's easy to point the finger or place blame on the ones around you when your commitments become overwhelming. 

If there's one thing you do now, take an evaluation of yourself and how you spend each day. Scroll down for four ways to have more time, and remember to be open-minded.   

Use a Digital Calendar

This one can hurt a little if you're a huge fan of handwriting your schedule in beautiful planners. 
Trust me, I get it. I've been a huge fan of Day Designer planners for years. It's actually the Christmas gift I look most forward to each year. #nerdalert

But after I took a step back to reflect, I realized that I wasn't filling it out everyday, and most of my to-do's weren't yet checked off. I was writing them down and then not looking back at my schedule to remind myself of the things I needed to get done. 

When I heard how much more effective 
a digital calendar was,
​I was intrigued. 

I don't know about you, but I hardly go anywhere without my phone. And on that phone is a digital calendar. No app needed. 

I created my to-do's as 'appointments' on my calendar so that when that time came, I knew what it was I wanted to be doing. For example, I would block out my lunch time each day at work. In the notes of that 'appointment', I would list all of the things I wanted to get done in that time frame. 

And as a bonus, if anything changed, it was super easy to move the day or time without any scribbles or wasted paper. ​I hate nothing more than a messy planner page. 

Make Time

You'll never find the time to work out, or start a blog, or whatever it is you want to do but can't 'find' time for. You have to make the time. 

​Most time management experts recommend waking up one hour earlier each day.

It's important to recognize now
that you will never 'find' the time
​to do what you want to do.

On a typical weekday, I was getting out of bed at 6am. So I've started getting up at 5am. I make myself a cup of coffee, feed the dogs, and head downstairs for my daily gratitude. Sometimes I'll start a load of laundry, but usually I sit down in front of my computer and work on this website.

​Which leads me to my next point..

Find Your Peak Time

Before all of this self reflection, I would stack on all of my to-dos in the evenings. But after a long day at work, all I wanted to do was relax and spend time with my family.

I've realized that I am the most productive in the morning. So I've adjusted my time accordingly, and make sure I'm getting to bed at a reasonable time so that waking up early isn't so hard.

Be Flexible 

This is probably the most important of them all. Especially if you're the caregiver of a child. Sometimes Lenna wakes up before I'm ready for her. Or one morning she somehow managed to open a giant bottle of baby oil 15 minutes before we needed to leave. So I had to clean the floor and give her a bath. It all happened so quickly.

Things will come up.

The key to being successful is to know when to ask for help. 

Asking for help is hard. We don't want to admit we can't do something ourselves. But it's not about not being able. It's about being able to recognize when we can be more efficient just by asking for a little help.