Time Blocking & Planning with Vicki

.
.

Hi,

This is a bit of a different blog post from me but I’ve started time blocking in a different way and wanted to share it with you in case it might help you too.

.

I’m a stay at home Mum with a 4 and 6 year old in part time nursery/full time school. I know this means I should have more time to do things but it can go the other way too and be all consuming.  I could spend all day cleaning/organising/cooking but I want to be able to fit in things I enjoy too!

.

We live in a 5 bedroom/5 bathroom house and if I don’t want to be cleaning all day I need to work smart!  I’ve always had a pretty firm daily routine but there were times in the day I wasn’t being my most productive.  I’ve used a spreadsheet to mark out times of the day that I want to be doing things.  The grey areas are school runs when I’m not really able to do anything but the other times are coloured to help me focus on how I should be using my time.  I also wrote out a list of what kind of jobs I could be doing during those times.

.

.

I find I’m at my most productive in the morning and getting up a little bit earlier gives me the headstart I need so I start at 6am. At the other end of the day once the kids are in bed I don’t really want to have anything planned.  I’ll use that time to watch tv, chat to Steve, scroll through my phone, read or go to bed early. So it stops at 8pm.

.

This is our weekly plan and it very rarely changes.  I feel so much calmer and in control when I follow it.  If I don’t manage to get things done one day I don’t worry.  For most things on my list waiting another few days isn’t going to matter.

.

.

If time blocking is something you think might might help, I’d suggest writing down the times of the day you want to wake, switch off, and the times when you have jobs that you’re unable to do anything else.  Then write down everything you need/want to do regularly each day/week and try fit it into a routine.  You might need to change it around initially but it will definitely help.  Having a physical copy of it somewhere you will see it often will help you get used to it too.

.

What else I find really helps is to set alarms so that I know when I’m running into my next time and I can do something to change that if I’m able.

.

I’d love to see your days and weeks all set out if you get around to it!

Vicki x