BACK TO SCHOOL TIME MANAGEMENT

Summer has officially come and gone as parents are already packing away the swimsuits and instead packing up book bags as they gear up for sending their children back to school!

For entrepreneurs, this can be an exciting time! A full day without the kiddos seems to open up a door of possibilities of what can now get done throughout the day. Instead of driving to swimming lessons, maybe you can now efficiently swim through proposals! Instead of making space for that play date, maybe you’re making space to launch that new product that’s been on your mind!

The possibilities are endless but the overwhelm can also be nearby if you don’t manage your time wisely! By overextending yourself with excitement, you can quickly lead to burnout and discourage yourself from getting through your day if you don’t adequately block out time to still take care of everything that needs to get done. Luckily, we have some ideas on how to pace yourself when it comes to your time management as the back-to-school season kicks off.

Release Your Mornings

Don’t overextend your mornings! As any parent knows, mornings are typically hectic. There’s breakfast to make, clothes to find, homework being done at the last minute and everything else underneath the sun that you can’t anticipate.

You’ll only make your mornings more chaotic by throwing on a meeting before the kids are out the door or by promising to review something before you’ve had your morning coffee. In order to realistically manage your time, give yourself the space to release your mornings.

Decide that mornings are officially your family time! Let yourself sleep as long as you can. Give yourself the time to take a run, brush your teeth, and have a good bath before you have to hop in the kitchen. Give yourself time to help with finding the missing clothes or answering questions on the last minute homework. And give yourself time to be in the moment as the kids rush out the door! By granting yourself this time away from work, you’re less likely to feel guilty about your mornings because you’ve carved out the time for yourself and more likely to feel grateful that you were able to be in these moments!

Block Off Your Days

Once your mornings are over, it’s important to make the most of your days so that you feel fulfilled by the time it’s time to close out your laptop/computer.

One way to do this is by blocking off your time throughout the day. Perhaps you only do meetings from 10am-12pm. Perhaps you only work on certain accounts from 1-3pm or perhaps you tell yourself you’re only giving yourself a certain amount of time to get through certain things on your to-do list.

By doing this, you’re giving yourself a sense of urgency to get things done so that your day is not spent wandering from task to task and you’re thus able to close off the day feeling more accomplished.

Afternoon Sign-Offs

This tip goes hand-in-hand with blocking off time during your days! Oftentimes in the Back-To-School season, parents get very caught up with the freedom during the day that when 3pm hits and the door bursts open with off-the-wall hungry kiddos, we’re frustrated and anxious to try and finish up whatever we’re working on before switching gears.

In order to avoid this, make sure that your last working hour block is at least 30mins before your house is expected to get busy again! This allows you to finish up your work in a satisfactory manner while also allowing you to regroup your mind and have the space to switch back into parenting mode and be present in a way that you want to be while also knowing that you were able to get done what you needed to!

The school year can be a hectic one for families but when managed correctly, it can definitely be navigated with confidence and ease!