Weekly Meeting Topic: Managing your Time

This evening we started off with this statement written on the easel: "If I had more time I could..."

And as we considered that statement, Weight Watchers kindly offered us the following suggestions:

• Get organized
• Plan ahead for healthy meals
• Plan ahead for the unexpected

The leader asked the group what we would do if we had one more hour in a day. The resounding answer was SLEEP (apparently, everyone in my meeting is sleep deprived). I thought long and hard - what *would* I do if I had one more hour a day to spend however I wished?

Being that I'm not very imaginative, the way I would choose to fill that time would be by doing the same things I enjoy doing now, but feel like I can never get caught up on:

• Reading (other blogs, books on food and nutrition that I plan to review here, researching more blog material)
  
• Blogging
  
• Organizing my blog notes (a never ending task that I only recently began getting a handle on)
• Cleaning (there's *always* something to clean!)
• Playing with Professor Littleton (my cat that I adore but don't spend nearly enough time with)

• Cooking (trying new recipes, which I would also photograph for future blogs)
• Organizing my photos on Flickr (another never ending task)
  

Pretty unsurprisingly (to me at least), all of my favorite activities are things I could do in my apartment and alone. Believe it or not, I'm a fairly anti-social creature. I prefer being alone. Fortunately for me, I don't have to take care of anyone else (aside from the aforementioned Professor); so I do get to spend my time exactly as I choose. It's delightful and I couldn't imagine trading it for anything or anyone.

But I realize not everyone is in that same boat (or wants to be) and probably has to put a little more forethought into juggling their time. That's where time management comes in. Everyone's situation is different, but the trick is figuring out where you're wasting your time or where you can be doing things more efficiently. I am sure there are tons of books on Time Management which could help you in every aspect of your life, and are probably worth reading. I'll just mention a few things I've noticed about myself:

GETTING READY: Personally, I know I always do better with a routine and keep an eye on the clock all the time, no matter what I'm doing. I know exactly how long it takes me to get ready for work in the morning, yet when I get ready on the weekend it can take me twice or three times as long because I let myself get distracted with a hundred other things. I know this is not efficient and I want to streamline my weekend process - I could easily "gain" an extra hour or two right there.

ERRANDS: As for errands, I plan them carefully - I do as many at once as possible, and as common sense would dictate - in the order that they appear in my neighborhood. I'll go out in a single hour and hit the bank, the dry cleaner, the pharmacy, and the natural food market. If done separately, those errands would take at least 20 minutes each. And if it's laundry Saturday, I get my errands done while my clothes are at the laundromat. I don't just sit there waiting for the cycle to finish.

PLANNING: I spend my commuting time as wisely as possible - reading, organizing blog notes, returning text messages, updating shopping lists, etc. It's a great way to unwind *and* get stuff done.

ACTIVITY: I schedule my workouts on my calendar in outlook at work. It feels more real if it's actually in your appointment book, and you get a reminder. Also, if someone tries to book me for a call, they see that block of time is marked as busy. Ha ha, suckers!

COOKING: I always make recipes for multiple servings so that I only have to cook once or twice a week but have a quick, healthy meal ready to go every night. I also did some prep work for my morning bean tortilla - I opened 3 cans of beans (black, kidney & black eyed peas) and put them in a sealed glass bowl. That way, each morning, I can grab 1/2 cup of an assortment for my breakfast. And I have another sealed glass bowl with chopped onions, tomatoes and cilantro to toss in the skillet with the beans.

So if you ever wished you were more organized, now may be the time to make that dream come true! If you are not organized by nature, I am sure you can pick up some ideas from my list or make a commitment to read a book on time management. Then, just like getting healthy, slowly incorporate one change at a time. This is a skill that will truly help you in all aspects of your life. In fact, just writing that, I got excited. I will add a book on 'time management' to my own reading list.

After all, even though I was lucky enough to be born with the organizing gene, there's always room for improvement and new ideas!

Have a fantastic week!