Step 1: If Procrastination was a Money Maker We'd All be RICH!
It doesn't take effort to waste time. If procrastination was a money maker, we'd all be millionaires. Unfortunately, procrastination doesn't "a rich woman make" (and can actually put her in the poor house if she's not cautious). Therefore, the best way to combat a wasted day is with a well organized plan. I'm a huge fan of to-do lists and highly recommend starting your day with a to-do list that was created at the end of the previous day. I'll go into further details about that later on.
Step 2: I Bet You'll Find Some Lost Time on Facebook
Once you have laid out your plan for the day and you have determined what you need to accomplish, it's essential to remove distractions as much as possible. If your children are at home, this step will undoubtedly require thinking outside the box. For example: work when your kids are napping or during scheduled t.v. and/or computer time. Sometimes, you may need to rise early in morning before the kids are up to accomplish projects. If you are a night-owl, like I am, work can be done when the kids are in bed. Minimizing distractions with kids around requires creativity and forethought, but with a to-do list and a schedule you can manage your distractions. I'll bet you'll find a lot of your lost time in your Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts. I certainly did! Log out of your social media profiles, turn off Skype, and put your cell phone vibrate. It's amazing how much you'll accomplish when you decrease social media distractions.
Step 3: Get to Work! You're On the Clock!
Now that your distractions are under control, commit a certain amount of time to completing each assignment. A great way to monitor how much time you spend on a particular task is with a timer. If you've determined that you want to work one hours on a specific duty, set a kitchen timer for one hour so that you don't spend more time on that duty than you want to. There's something energizing about forcing a time limit on a task - it gets the creative juices flowing and helps keep you on track so time doesn't fly away leaving you wondering where it was went.
Step 4: Deeeep Breaths In, Now Exhale
The flip side of procrastination is overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion. You do need to come up for air, take deep breaths in and exhale. Studies show that regular breaks are crucial to maintaining productivity. If you are too tired, mistakes happen more frequently, your concentration level is much lower, and your overall production significantly decreases. There is nothing to be praised in missing breaks and lunch. While you may think you're superwoman for being able to go the whole day with no downtime, eventually your body will let you know that there isn't any glory in being burnt out.
Step 5: Close the Day Preparing for Tomorrow
As I mentioned in step one, I'm a big fan of to-do list. The last 10-15 minutes of your day should be spent in reviewing what you've accomplished and creating a new to-do list for the following day. If you create the to-do list in the process of analyzing what you did and did not completed that day, you'll have a more accurate to-do list for the next day. Doing this serves two purposes: first, it helps you to wind down your day and allows you to shed your work-mode so that you can get back to being Mom. It also helps you get a jump start on your work the following day. No need to putter around trying to figure out what needs to be accomplished - you've already predetermined that the day before.
As a WAHM I'm sure you've felt overwhelmed at times, downing yourself for not being able to figure out the tricky balance between family and work. However, if you can maximize your productivity when you work, then when it's time to leave the work behind and switch your mind to family, it will be much easier to give your family the undivided attention they deserve.
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