In the blink of an eye

Is it me or has the first month of the New Year just catapulted past us? Here I am, thinking that I know all the things that needs to get done and just have to plan it out, and then realize it’s already the end of January!

Time flies… and while the age old adage goes “time flies when you are having fun”… considering the circumstances it feels more like time flies because you realize nothing has changed since last year. Well, it has changed … we have found a new way of doing life - with masks, zoom meetings and home delivery of practically anything and everything. However time is still the same, its 24 hours and now time has to be managed effectively in this new way of living. Some of us found a new routine last year and a new way of managing time but it was more of a temporary fix, until things get back to normal or better. We are in 2021 and one month down - It looks like we need a permanent schedule.

If you haven’t already gotten things down, we put together some simple steps to work into your everyday routines and schedules to make sure our time – which is Oh so precious!... is used most effectively and wisely. The one thing we do that really helps to set the tone for the day is a 15 min run through at the start of our day – and I call it PARTY :)

1) PRIORITIZE– Most of us already have calendars of activities and appointments for a week/month/year etc. Start your day with 5 mins of prioritizing by looking at your today’s list and checking your yesterday’s list. What did you miss doing from that list? Add it to the today’s list or to another day depending on its importance. Now look at the list again and check what absolutely needs to get done today and cannot be pushed for tomorrow. Put them in order of urgency. The reason I like to do this each day is because the urgency of things changes for me every day and I like to be flexible to grow in that area of prioritization. Remember procrastination is the opposite of prioritizing – so first things first - Prioritize.

2) ASSIGN – Assigning time to the work at hand makes our day a lot more easier than it appears to be. You need to look at your list of today and ballpark the time it would take to accomplish those tasks. The ultimate purpose of assigning is to create more time for the meaningful things and reduce/cut down on unproductive activities (scrolling through social media etc). A simple example that we can incorporate into our daily routine: homeschooling – 2hrs, Presentation – 1 hr, Cooking dinner – 45 mins, Exercise – 1 hr. Put a time frame for your activity so you know realistically how long it will take. I would suggest just stick to 15,30,45 mins and then 1hr,2hr time frames. Its not about the detail of it but just setting a realistic time frame. For me, if I look at an exercise plan that says 30 mins I would think “that will take me 45 mins”. You get the gist.

3) RECURRENCE – There are new things that we try to do for which time cannot be well accounted, but we all have repetitive activities that occur daily which range from work, cooking, cleaning, managing children, exercising etc. If we plan these recurrent activities then we can make use of our time in a more productive or leisurely manner. For example, setting a fixed time to wake up in the morning and to go to sleep at night is one such routine that allows the discipline of daily chores to fall into place in the correct sequence. Another example is cooking, new recipes may take longer than the ones you already know, so more time allotment may be needed but generally food is an everyday thing. If we can plan our meals on specific days with 2-3 hours for meal prep, such as on the weekend or on your days off in a week, it will help in streamlining your time during the week. Exercise is yet another area, if we decide we are going to exercise 3 days in a week we can plan it on those days when we don't plan to do our meal prep thus balancing our time effectively. So doing a feasible Recurrence activity planning is key.

4) TECHNIQUE & TOOLS – Pick a technique to get your work done. The Pomodoro technique, which encourages you to work on a task for 25 mins and then take a 5 min break works for a lot of people. These are good for big projects that take a long time. Then the Kanban Board works for people who like the sticky post-it way of getting things done and using it as reminders. The Eisenhower Matrix/box is a good technique for prioritizing your tasks. Think of what activity on your list will benefit better from the use of any of these techniques. There are also tools you can use, like apps such as Zinnia for planning and scheduling, especially for those who like everything on their phone. There is of course, the ever favorite - your book planners which can be easily bought on amazon and they have so many options as per your preference. I like sheets planners that I can print and keep or get rid of when I am done. I do a bit of scribbling and might add grocery lists on the back of it so it works for me.

5) YOU – Most of us have 15 hours or more on our hand. If you are up and about for 16 hrs you still have 8 hours to sleep. So there is time for YOU in this 15-16 hours. It could be anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours if you plan it well. No this does not include exercise time, though for some that is "ME" time and no it doesn’t include your meditation time, which is also, "ME" time for some of us. It can be anything from taking a well needed nap, an epsom salt soak with some music, to reading a book or to watching TV. If you plan it well you can actually make time, where you do nothing but stare at the sky for 30 mins, if that’s what makes your day and rejuvenates you. I believe whether you are a working individual or a homemaker – the You time is important. It refreshes and revives you like no other. Where you would like to fit it in, is upto you, but do not skip this in your everyday list.

Three Things to remember - Multitasking seems like a great way to get a lot done at once. But research has shown that our brains are not nearly as good at handling multiple tasks as we like to think they are. In fact, some researchers suggest that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40%. I have never been a multitasker. I can only focus on one thing at a time and when I do that, I notice I can finish it faster and whatever I am doing turns out better. The second thing is learning to say No. While I think its great that we feel we can do many things and we have a sincere and genuine disposition to do things for others I have read thus- "A considered 'No' protects you and a good 'yes' allows you to serve others, add value, and collaborate effectively. If you become skilled at conveying both, you can avoid burnout, increase your influence, and enhance your reputation. Remember a good No is all about timing and logic—it’s in order whenever things are not allowed, cannot be done, or should not be done" - and so I believe a gentle 'No' goes a long way. And last but not the least, Perfection. This one hits close to home for me. Its been my struggle often but after having a child, I have slowly learnt that not everything can be done as perfectly as I want it all the time - it can be done sometimes but not all the time. So while I believe that we should pay attention to detail we should try not to get overwhelmed by it. Like they say "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good"

All of the above are things I have tried to follow, and while personalIy, I am not a year planner, I have things I know I want to accomplish in a week or in a month or 3 months at most. While I admit it has been challenging to plan things this past year, the daily sorting of lists helps me to get things done with a little more flexibility and more clarity. If I don’t complete something, I assign it to one of the next couple of days. I make This List – a new collated list (of leftover assignments + something new that came up + previous known commitment) each day before I start. It helps without leaving me disappointed or drained because I always manage to prioritize the most important things and get that done and I always fit in a "Me" time whether its 15 mins or 30 mins or 1 hour. So give it a try and let's celebrate life in our everyday - lets PARTY!

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens"

Ecclesiastes 3:1