Life is busy and there is never enough time in the day for most of us. Between jobs, family, appointments, and obligations, most of us are left with less and less time in a day for enjoyment. Crochet projects get started and set aside forgotten. Oftentimes, we take on a project in hopes to complete it by a specific deadline – a wedding, birthday, or holiday. It is in this time of hustle and bustle, a little time management can go a long way! Let me show you how!

Here are some of my tips to help maximize the time you have and make the day as productive as possible.

Set your goals. Now let’s plan a way to support and reach those goals!

• Prioritize your day/week/month: When we begin a project, most of us have more than just the project deadline ahead of us. Know what time frame you are working with and determine the other activities you need to juggle simultaneously with these projects. Getting a planner is a great way to keep yourself organized. Several apps can be useful or I use a planner like this one here. One glance at the week ahead can give me an idea of how I can plan out my projects around other things I am juggling in life. Work and work related activities, appointments, family activities, and plans with friends-it is all right there in my planner!

• Another great tip is to invest in a white board! I have one and write my daily “to do list.” My white board is near my office where I spend most of my time. I see it nearly all day long. When I get busy, it is hard to remember everything I have to do, so seeing it RIGHT in front of me every time I walk past is a great way to keep me on task! Once I complete a task, I erase it. I LOVE seeing those “to-dos” disappear every day!

• Always plan ahead: Know what is necessary to reach these goals and be sure to have your project supplies available. How many times have you started a project and then ran out of supplies and needed something and now you have to stop working or put your project off until you have what you need. Plan it out, write a list, and shop for supplies, double check.

• Get rid of things that distract you. Are you drawn in by social media and realize that you just spent 45 minutes with time sunk on Facebook or Instagram? Ummm me neither haha! But for those that get distracted by social media, television, or even the birds on the feeders outside the window, remove those distractions NOW! I am NOT saying permanently, NO-keep your bird feeders filled with birds!! I am saying this; Set a timer for 20 minutes or an hour (or the allotted time you’re planning on working on your project) now, put your phone in the other room, shut off TV if it is a distraction, close the curtains-do what you need to do in order to have that one hour free and clear to work. Sometimes, I only have time to set my timer for 20 minutes and push myself just to concentrate for that 20 minutes, shut my mind off to everything else and get to work! I try to capitalize on those timed sessions! Remember to have your supplies all available before getting started.

 

• Sometimes you have to just say NO. We all want to be the kind of person that can do it all. However, sometimes that is not possible, and there comes a time that to be the most productive in our own lives we have to say NO to things. Not everything, just the things that bog our schedules down to the point where there is no time for enjoyment. It’s ok-give yourself permission to say NO and tell yourself it is ok!

 

• Last on our list is TAKE CARE OF YOU!! No matter how much you want to finish a project, no project is worth going bonkers stressing over it! There might not be enough time in a day. It is ok! Look at your week and plan it out in days-Tuesday/Thursday or Monday/Wednesday projects, or maybe just weekend projects. Whatever you have time for, don’t put extra pressure on yourself that you HAVE to get it done NOW even on a deadline. Pace yourself, plan ahead, and give yourself permission to relax. I promise, with some effective time management, you can accomplish your goals!

 

Now that you have some great tips, you will have much more time to do what you love!

 

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