Rhenáe’s Randoms: Failing At Time Management

April 17, 2020

Failing at Time Management, Routines, and Schedules

I had a much-needed therapy appointment this week. I advocate for therapy on the regular, but in this season, it is needed!

I had a significant life change happen recently, and I’m not adjusting well. And because God knows what I need, my therapist stressed the importance of me creating a schedule, sticking to a routine, and doing something that helps me relax or brings me joy each day.

Then she said something that mimicked the same advice a friend gave me a little while ago.

You don’t have to schedule your routines necessarily but instead, know that you need to get them done and accomplish them when you can.

Why does this simple advice seem so profound to me?

I want to say I was this way before, but when I felt myself losing control, I recognized that I tried to hold onto what I had control of a bit tighter. And that’s when planning stopped being fun for me, and it was a struggle to just get through the day. And in this recent season of my life, my routines have gone away completely.

But now that I’m focusing on making my home a sanctuary, I recognize the need to establish those routines again. Those routines, in turn, improve my time management and productivity. With me starting on my journey to entrepreneurship, I can’t add more to my plate without managing what I currently have on it. Which calls to mind two Bible verses:

‘Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? ‘ Luke 16:10-12 CSB

‘He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) ‘ 1 Timothy 3:4-5 CSB

I’ve started to take some steps to help me with this and will be looking into doing some things that I know have worked in the past.

I’ve been using technology.

I know you are probably like, didn’t you just get off of a digital detox? Yes, and I still have most of my notifications off in this season. But I’ve been using my Reminders app (on the iPhone). I created many different lists and just started to add things to it that I need to do. And as I think of things, I go and add it to my lists. This helps me eliminate decision fatigue and I never have to spend time worrying about what needs to be done.

To-Do List – Anything that pops into my head that needs to be done. Then I go and schedule when I want it done using my Erin Condren planner or Google Calendar.
Affirmations – If you caught my post about this, you know I had some reservations, but it’s biblical! So I’ve created some. Or when I hear some that I love, I add. I have some set up for me to say daily, weekly, and monthly.
Morning/Afternoon/Evenings Routines – Things I would like to do at that time of day or things I typically forget to do (like taking meds/vitamins).
Weekly/Monthly Routines – These are more house and Bambi girl related. So I know which days to wash my comforter, change out Bambi’s litterbox, or even self-care items like exfoliating or doing a mask based on when I did them last.
Blog/SM Post – A loose schedule of what I would like to post.
Spirituality – Reminders to pray, express gratitude, repent/confess. Reminders of different types of Bible reading I could do if I am in a rut (a Psalm, a chapter in Proverbs, a New Testament read, an Old Testament read, or scripture writing).
Prayer – Requests and topics I want to be sure I am covering each day/week.
Business/Personal Development – Whenever I come across a course or interesting blog/person that I want to look into, they get added here. This mostly comes out of recent summits I have been attending.

Time Blocking

This is something that I need to start doing again. Lately, I have been waking up and just randomly tackling my to-do list around meetings/calls I may have scheduled until it is time to start on dinner. It’s annoying me, not to mention, I am not all that productive. With time blocking, you group like tasks together, so you aren’t having to switch to something completely different and lose your groove. For example, I would have the following blocks:

Homemaking Block – laundry, cleaning, and all things home related
Learning Block – This would be when I want to take courses, do webinars, do research, etc.
Writing Block – This could be journaling or writing for the blog.
Content Creation Block – Creating my social media post or creating printables to help me with my routines
Admin Block – Emails, budget review, and planning.

Obviously, there are other areas that aren’t covered here like my faith life, self-care, cooking, etc. But when I start to test this out, I will make updates as needed. Keep an eye out on my Instagram because that is where I will share day by day things I will be doing and learning.

Where I’m Winning

One thing I can say that I have been doing great at is ending my day. Typically when Chris lets me know he is on his way home, is when I shut it down for the day and switch into wifey mode. I start cooking dinner and try to finish any cleaning that I may have started early in the day. And then, when Chris is home, I focus on spending time with him. This is a direct result of some of the conversations we have been having in our marriage and me wanting to be more present with him.

I feel like relying on my reminders to help me with my routines and time blocking will help me set a baseline so I can start focusing on home as my top priority again. I’m going to give this a try and see how it goes. Let me know in the comments below if you have been able to stick to your routines and schedules. I would love to hear some of your tips.