For Each Energy Drainer There’s An Energy Saver
In the interest of saving time, I’m not going to wallow in my due 15 seconds of fame. Those of us balancing work and family know those extra seconds are precious.
Part of my job is to watch for ways to help families cope in this hyped-up, speed-saturated world. It turns out that business writer Roberta Roesch’s latest book includes interviews with me.
So, with that disclaimer, I insist I would’ve bought this book anyway. It’s comprehensive, jammed-packed with tips and strategies from people a lot smarter than me.
In “The Working Woman’s Guide to Managing Time,” Roesch cites several surveys and reports that scientifically vouch for what we feel in our bones. We’re busy. According to a Report on Women, prepared by the Roper Organization, women most likely to feel time starved are working mothers in their 30s and early 40s. Regardless of their age, income or marital status, they’re more likely than men to feel short of time consistently. We know who we are, right?
Roesch says her research convinced her “that despite this pressure, most women need and want the full life of both working and taking care of their families.” She then lists tests to see why your mornings are mayhem. (I especially liked one mom’s confession that her daily schedule from 8 to 8:15 a.m. is to “run around and scream a lot. Look for shoes. Make idle threats.”) These are the kind of pointless, maddening routines that force normal people like us into reading time management books.
Since business is Roesch’s bag, expect to find sections on alternatives to the 9-to-5 job, how to get families to respect your time when you’re working from home, how to deal with deadlines without stress, how to diminish the temptation to procrastinate, how to pass up meetings that waste your time, how to remember and work on longer-term goals as well as make the most of each day.
The book is studded with stories, funny and poignant both, from mothers’ home and work lives. And often as not there are tips in every category. For example, Time Boosters to manage evenings, now that we’ve got our mornings down pat:
Make two or three days worth of sandwiches and freeze them, adding condiments at the last moment.
Have children make their own lunches, if they’re able.
Have one drawer or shelf in your kitchen set up with everything you need for lunch preparation.
Put money for school lunches in a special envelope in the kitchen cabinet.
Place change for the bus in another cabinet.
See that hats, mittens and boots are easily accessible, and have your family put them in the right baskets as soon as they take them off at the end of the day.
Hang your car and house keys on a prominent hook reserved especially for them.
Make bath and story time a special bedtime ritual instead of hurry-up time.
Help with homework as necessary but don’t get too involved. Research has shown that homework can help teach a child time management, so save your time and help your children learn how to manage their time by not overdoing homework help.
Keep up with house chores by scheduling just one necessary extra task beyond your regular routine per evening rather than jamming everything you need to do into one or two evenings.
Use discretion in taking on too many outside evening activities Monday through Friday. Enroll in a course. Do volunteer work. Spend time with friends - or whatever, but since you can’t do everything, it’s usually good time management to limit activities to one or two times a week.
Retire at least a half an hour earlier than everyone else. This will give you an end-of-the-day breather for yourself.
Avoid going to bed with your head full of problems.
Enjoy yourself - and your life!
For whatever aspect of your busy life drains you, there are hundreds of stopgap action steps to take so you can stride energetically into your future, instead of trudging through the vicious cycle of exhaustion. Time spent reading this will revitalize you and get you on the smart track to an organized life.
xxxx Women and Work appears Tuesdays on the In Life People page.