Using Time Wisely

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Archives for 2012

Evaluating: Taking a Step Back – Overview

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Caston Corporate)

After spending the day snuggling with my ill children, washing bedding, and cleaning up accidents without feeling frustrated, I ventured out to the grocery stores since it was the last day of the sale. I had planned to shop in the morning after taking my son to school, but . . . life happened. 🙂

With limited time, I made out my grocery list and grabbed those coupons in about 20 minutes. When I realized how quickly the plan came together, I reaffirmed the benefits of this process for me.

I remember a time in the not-too-distant past when this same process took me an hour. Back then, I was thinking:

  • Maybe I should spend my time doing something more constructive
  • Maybe I should forget the coupons
  • Maybe I should just shop at Aldi and forget these other stores

What I should have thought was:

  • Look what I am learning by methodically planning my savings
  • See the deep savings I am getting to feed my family
  • Wonder how I can increase my productivity with this system

By repeating this process each month, I am continuing to see deep savings while using time wisely. Spending 20 minutes to save $30 is worth those precious minutes. Thankful now that I created a plan, executed that plan, and repeated the plan for almost a year because I am reaping the benefits.

This process has worked for me. Try it. It may work for you as well.

My Menu Planning Process

My Grocery Shopping Process

My Evaluation Process

  • Step Seven: Taking a Step Back.
    • Part 1: Reviewing your grocery list.
    • Part 2: Reviewing your grocery envelopes.
    • Part 3: Reviewing your receipts.

Next week, I will begin this last step in the process – Evaluating: Taking a Step Back. This section helps me learn from my mistakes, update my rock bottom pricing list, delight in my savings, and reset for another great week. Happy savings!

Question: What have you found helpful in this series? Please add your answer to the comments.

Time Saving Strategy: From Night Owl to Early Bird

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Peter Lee)

Are you rolling your eyes just reading the title of this post? If so, I understand. I was there right with you.

Burning the midnight oil has been my way of life since graduate school.

Up until about a month ago, hubby and I would awake around 6:45 a.m. and retire for the night between 1:00 – 2:00 a.m. Some days I would snag a nap with the girls, but this schedule was my norm.

My Effects of Staying Up Late

    • Sluggish energy level
    • Unmotivated
    • Tired
    • Irritable

If you are a night owl, you may or may not experience these effects. The older I get, the more these effects show themselves.

Motivated to Change

I was struggling with stress, exhaustion, and mood swings. (Yes, I was a mess, and still am on some days.) When I found myself too tired to help my daughter on the playground, I felt the stab of reality –  my children are growing up, and I am “too busy” to help, play, and enjoy. At this turning point, I knew my priorities needed realignment.

Back to the drawing board I went to set my priorities:

      1. God
      2. Husband
      3. Children
      4. Ministry
      5. Business

Finding a Solution in Rising Early

Upon reading a number of blogging articles about the benefits of rising early and the downfalls of staying up late, I knew this change was for me, but where to start? I just did it. I went to bed early around 10:00 p.m. one evening and chose to get up at 6:00 a.m. when the alarm sounded.

Wow! What a difference a change of routine makes.

The Benefits of Rising Early for Tracy

No distractions. With everyone sleeping and the house quiet, I am free to think and write.

Post written. Come 7:00 a.m. I am either done or mostly done with the post for tomorrow. Having this task off my plate for the day is a weight lifted. I do not need to concentrate on “when I can fit in writing today?” With the post written, I am free to spend my day with my kids.

Blanket of Calm. Love this benefit because I can crawl on the floor and build with my toddler or paint my preschoolers’ nails without rushing and trying to get that post written. The more relaxed I am, the happier my children become because “Mom has time for me.” (Wow . . . heart tug here.)

As a perfectionist, I really struggle balancing family life with blogging life. As you can tell, my blogging life was superseding my family life. When I realized this downfall, I stopped.

Though I still get to bed late, I treasure my 6:00 -7:00 a.m. time frame. My system is not perfect and I still hit that snooze more times than I want, but this one change, from night owl to early bird, has decreased my stress level and increased my energy, my attitude, and my productivity.

Life with little ones gets exhausting. You will get tired, cranky, and need that nap. If you are feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and unproductive, I understand. Consider making a change to rise before everyone in the household. Just fifteen minutes of calm can improve your day.

Though I am learning down here in the trenches, I plan to rise early this year expecting more productivity while using time wisely.

Question: What change are you making to increase your productivity this year? Feel free to add your answer to the comments.

Christmas Program: Directing a Children’s Play – Part 2 of 3

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My son - Shepherd 2 posing with his staff 😉

Directing a program can overwhelm. In arranging the details and giving instructions, support an atmosphere of calm.

Even with preparing in advance, I still get bombarded with questions and suggestions that did not cross my mind.

Knowing my framework assists me in fielding these questions and deciding to add, remove, or change a previous choice.

Last week, I shared my planning process for directing the children’s play for my son’s school Christmas program where two-thirds of the process is planning.

The first third, covered in Part 1, focused on the script, set, and properties. Upon gaining momentum with the framework in place, I move to the second third of the planning process, the cast and crew, costumes, and lighting.

Cast and Crew

Though thought-out and working on paper, you need people to execute, put feet to your plan. Recognizing  your limitations and your strengths can guide you to find a cast and crew to balance you.

For me, working with children is hard. Dealing with the talking, wiggling, giggling, and goofing-off distracts others and wastes time. To keep myself focused, I plan extra help during rehearsals to handle these distractions. With this extra aid, I make progress while using time wisely.

The cast and crew for this production included the following:

      • The student actors
      • Playwrights
      • Adaptors
      • Director
      • Choir directors
      • Costume Engineer
      • Lighting Engineer
      • Pianist
      • Parent Volunteers

The Cast

The cast received assigned parts for this production. Via e-mail, parents responded if their child wanted an acting part. From the feedback received, I (with help) assigned the actors to a part.

The actors received their scripts before Thanksgiving break. With the extra time, most of the actors had their lines memorized during the first week of rehearsal.

The Crew

Comprised of parent volunteers, the crew helped pin sticky notes with children’s names on costumes, brought in items for our set, and assisted with crowd control during rehearsals. By never turning away help, I kept a list of To-Do items. When asked if I needed help, I had an answer.

With the cast and crew chosen, I began working with the costume engineer.

Costumes

The mom who helps as the costume engineer is fantastic. She brings creativity and energy to the project. With a list in hand, she and I sort through the school’s costumes. Placing the garments, head pieces, and sashes together, we make notes of items we are missing.

Then we borrowed, made, or purchased more items for the cast members. Adjustments to the hems,  fasteners, and accessories came after the actors’ fittings. But getting organized early and planning for dress rehearsal gets us closer to a successful performance.

Lighting

Though limited in lighting options, I chose to create a simple light plot with 6 cues. Working in a church auditorium with groups of lights controlled by one switch gets tricky. No matter what the limitations, you can still make the most of the situation. My lighting design will not win any awards. However, the simple design creatively followed the action.

With the cast and crew, the costumes, and the lighting design chosen, the framework is complete. This framework is the road map to get from start to finish. The last step is executing this plan, covered next week in Part 3.

In planning your next event, ask for help. While planning and executing, you will have a friend along with whom to interact, laugh, and share. Enjoy the calm of the event by using time wisely to organize. Happy planning!

Question: How often do you ask for help when planning an event? Please add your answer to the comments.

Dining Room: Container Organization Improvement

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One of my projects for 2012 is purging, cleaning, and organizing my entire house. Thus far in the process, I have finished the dining room and living room. My progress is slow, but I am enjoying the help from my children and the result.

Having recently organized bookshelf #1 and #2 in my dining room, I did not like looking at all the stuff at each meal. (Yes, it is unusual to have bookshelves in one’s dining room, but it works for us.)

As a fan of container organization, I waited for a sale on fabric cubes since I refuse to pay full price for items when they will go on sale. With the sale, I stocked up on the cubes and went to work on my dining room.

Before Adding the Containers

         

After Adding the Containers

             

The container organization was a little change resulting in an improvement to the look and feel of my dining room. These fabric cubes, purchased at Target, hold our many craft items. One bin houses our paints, another keeps our crayons, markers, and coloring books, a different one holds the play dough and accessories, and the rest workbooks, school documents, and school supplies.

I love the process of removing one bin and using the items. When finished, we pack it back up and return it to the shelf. Now I need to get the bins labeled. 😉

The lead-in picture shows the result of purging, cleaning, and organizing my dining room. Did you notice the Christmas presents on top of the chairs? When my family comes for a visit in a few weeks, we will be celebrating. *Woo hoo!*

My progress might be slow, but it is progressing forward. If you are working on a goal that keeps getting trumped with sick children, car repairs, or exhaustion, then give yourself some space. Take care of the immediate needs. Feed, clothe, and snuggle with your little ones.

As you snag a few minutes here and there, prepare a plan for that goal. When you execute that plan, attack that goal head on while using time wisely. Happy organizing!

Life Insurance: Policies for Head of Household – Part 1 of 3

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After finishing the first file opening last week in Box 2 of our important documents, we are ready to begin the second opening which begins the second category, life insurance.

In my filing system, I have dedicated three openings (slots 2 -4) for life insurance:

Slot 2: Paul’s policies – Head of Household

Slot 3: Tracy’s policies – Spouse

Slot 4: Children’s policy – Children

Your file will differ from mine. Remember, I am sharing my file to give you an example of setting up a filing system. The important part is to appoint one file opening per person. This arrangement will keep the documents organized. In my system, the second file opening holds all life insurance policies for my husband, the head of our household.

Head of Household

We carry three types of policies for Paul:

    • Part 1 – Term Life Insurance
    • Part 2 – Combination whole life and long-term care
    • Part 3 – Accidental death insurance

Term Life Insurance Policy

The bulk of our insurance is held in term life insurance. Having used Suze Orman’s recommendation, we purchased our term life insurance policies through SelectQuote. This company researches the available options and handles your process from start to finish. I have found this company very helpful in securing our term life insurance policies.

Behind the summary page, I keep the following documents on Paul’s term life insurance policy:

1. Receipts or billing notices indicating the date, payment amount, and payment type. With this term life insurance, we pay an annual premium for the life of the term. To prove the annual payment, I keep these receipts.

2. Beneficiary Changes and Notifications. Any correspondence from the insurance company regarding the beneficiary designations resides behind the payment receipts.

3. Policy Changes. Our insurance company extended the term of our policy by a week due to a processing delay. This information is kept behind the beneficiary notifications.

4. Policy. This 20+ page document is our contract with the insurance company of how, what, where, when, and how much they will pay in the event Paul passes away. (I know this information is not easy to process because you are preparing for the worst. However, time spent now will ease your stress level should you need these documents.)

5. Additional Correspondence. The last items in the bundle of term life insurance for Paul are the application, copy of first payment, and notes from Select Quote conversations.

Placed together, these items are paper clipped. These items are the first of three bundles housed in the second file opening of Box 2.

Annually reviewing your important documents is easier when the paperwork is housed together, assigned a designated place, placed in that designated space, and you remember the designated place. 🙂 Keep using time wisely as you organize your important documents!

Question: When was the last time you reviewed your beneficiary notifications? Please add your answer to the comments.