“You have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyonce” is a bunch of bullshit. Yeah I said it. When I say that I do a lot. I really mean it. I’m always trying to do the absolute most and feel like I never have enough hours in the day to get everything done. I have a full time job. I’m curating this blog full time. As you guys may know, I’ve been going hard with my Artistry again this year. So that has been taking up a lot of my time. And being a Mommy is a 24/7 job. Oh and let’s not forget about trying to get some self care in so that I can do all of these things. That’s another job in itself. But unlike Beyonce, I’m a one woman team. I don’t have assistants. Cooks. Nannies. Nor a whole team to keep my day on schedule and make sure everything runs smoothly. Neither does the average person. If you’re reading this then I’m assuming you’re in the same boat. So yeah, literally we do have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyonce. But technically, we absolutely don’t. It’s all good though. I’m going to teach you how to do all the things and make the most of your day. Now I’m not an expert. I’m actually in the process of learning how to do this myself. But I want to share what I’ve learned so far in hopes that it will help you on your journey.
Plan Ahead
You must plan ahead if you really want to get everything done. A weekly planner works best for me. On Sunday evening I take some time and sit down to plan out the week ahead. All the things that I need to do for the week goes in my planner. Along with the things that I would like, or want to do. It’s very important that you make the differentiation between need and want in order to prioritize. And when I say that everything goes in the planner, I mean everything. I include blog work. Hair clients. Laundry day. Grocery shopping. Bills due. Doctor and other appointments. Parent teacher conference. Time with my son. Self care time. Girls night out. Events. Meal Prep… absolutely everything.
It may not be necessary for you to be this extreme. But for me it’s the only way that I will get everything done. Anything that has an exact date and time also goes in my iCal with reminders. Blog work has due dates set up in an app that I use called Wunderlist, and reminders are set as well. It helps me to manage my time better when I open my planner and calendar and can see everything that I need to do.
Be Realistic With Your Goals
Now I know we all think that we have that S on our chest. But there really is a such thing as doing too much. Trust me I know because as I mentioned earlier I’m always trying to do the absolute most. Sometimes I have my days jam packed so tight that it only leaves room for a couple hours of sleep. Honestly, most nights I barely get more than 4 hours. I’m working on it though. Sharing these tips with you guys is also helping me as I’ll have this post as a reference when I find myself trying to do too much. It’s extremely important to be realistic with your goals when you plan out your day. For example, I don’t put any work on my calendar for evenings when I’m attending events, as I know it won’t get done. I used to schedule blog work for when I get home. What usually happens is I’ll be enjoying myself and stay longer than planned. Or I’m absolutely exhausted when I get home. So now I don’t even play myself and put anything on the calendar. See, I told you guys that I was learning. I want y’all to learn as well. Don’t put more on your plate than you can chew.
Stop Procrastinating & Limit Idle Time
A hair client recently told me that procrastination is the devil, and I couldn’t agree more. Procrastination is your worst enemy when you’re trying to get shit done. It’s a huge problem for me. For instance, I’ll set my alarms with enough time to get up early and get a workout in before work. When I actually wake up with my first alarm, I’ll lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking, checking emails, social media, watching the news… pretty much doing everything but get out of bed and do my workout. And by the time I do get up after turning off all seven of my alarms (yes 7), it’s now late and I have to rush to get ready for work. This in turn messes up my entire mood and morning. I’m mad at myself all day because I didn’t stick to schedule. And I should be mad at myself because it’s all my fault. Don’t let this be you. Don’t check email or social media first thing in the morning. Put your phone next to the door so you won’t look at it until after you leave. To keep myself from laying idle in my thoughts, I jot them down in my 5 Minute Journal as soon as I wake up. After I do this, then I’m ready to get up and start my day. Avoiding procrastination and limiting idle time will help you to stick to schedule and achieve your goals for the day.
Reevaluate & Reschedule
Listen, it’s okay to scratch things off the list. You may have had a long day at work and just want to go home and relax. If it’s not something that you need to do, put it off until tomorrow or another day where you can fit it in. A single task may take longer than you expected and throw your entire day off course. Once again, it’s okay. Do the things that you need to do and everything else can wait. You RSVPd for an event mid week, but when the day comes you’re feeling burned out. Your health & wellness is more important so it’s alright not to attend. Trust me, this happens to me a lot. I used to be really hard on myself about cancelling, or force myself to go. But now I listen to my body. There’s going to be days when you just can’t do all the things. And that’s all right. You just have to know how to reevaluate, reschedule and cancel where you see fit.
SHOP THE LOOK
TWO PIECE SET | MULES | SATCHEL | LIPSTICK
Although you’re not Beyonce, you can learn how to manage your time on your terms. It’s all about balance. I know how hard it is to find balance in life and I’m working on it one day at a time. I hope that these tips will help you to do all the things that you want to do today, tomorrow and beyond, and that you will find balance as well. Please feel free to share any other tips you may have in the comments.