It’s a funny one for me, time management because, I don’t know about you but, I’ve always felt the need to try and find more hours in the day! One of the few perks of COVID has meant we’ve had the opportunity to prioritise different things that we’re doing and take time a little bit slower.

Even so, time management is always something we could do with some extra pointers and reminders on, which is what I wanted to share with you over the coming weeks. I preface this with: I don’t have all of the answers! But I do have lots of different things that I’ve tried over the time and I can give you the reasons why some things worked, and others didn’t. 

Do you always have that nagging feeling that you’re not giving enough time to lots of different things, whether that’s your spouse, kids, workplace, friends etc?

The first step in resolving this is knowing how you actually spend your time. To do this, I recommend a time tracking exercise. 

This is something that can be effective even if it’s only done over one week, but if you’re really good, doing it for several weeks is excellent. 

The goal with time tracking is to see, in black and white, where you’re spending your time, where you have extra free time that you didn’t realise, and determine the percentages of time you’re allocating to different areas of your life.

The big heart-wrencher for me was that I always thought I wasn’t giving enough time to my kids, but when I did this exercise I realised I was in fact spending plenty of quality time with them. It just enabled me to go, oh, actually, it’s okay! Guilt be gone!

 Here’s how it’s done: 

1. Grab a pen and a time tracking template and put it front and centre on your kitchen bench. 

2. On your time tracking sheet block out any pre-determined activities each day, such as sleep, kids sport etc.

3. Now for the next week, every time you pass this piece of paper on your bench, write down what you’ve been doing in the last hour or two (or however long it’s been since you’ve been at your kitchen bench). That was the easiest way for me to do it. I found that keeping it beside my bed or keeping it on my office desk or keeping it at the dance studio, I was never as conscious of filling it in, whereas when I was in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil or waiting for the kids to eat their dinner or anything like that, I had time to write things down. Pick the location that works best for you.

4. At the end of this first week, reflect on everything you’ve recorded and take note of exactly where all of your time has gone. Any surprises? Any chunks of time that just disappeared without any real “tasks” completed?

5. If possible, complete this exercise for a second week. The more data you have to work with, the better!

Hopefully when you can see where all of your time is going,  you can rid yourself of some of the misplaced guilt you’ve been experiencing, and make more informed decisions about how your time could be better or more effectively spent. 

Next month I’m hosting a 4-week Mini Program stepping you through the exact process I’ve used to get in control of my weekly schedule. This process has enabled me to find more productive time in my days, get organised, and ultimately remove the feelings of stress, chaos and guilt I was constantly experiencing.

The whole time management process for me has been life changing, and I want the same for you.

I’m limiting the number of registrations to ensure the program is as personalised as possible, so if you want in on the early-bird registration, send me an email or a DM on Instagram @simplystaceymorgan. I’d love to have you join me.