Has the question “How do I do everything and still have time for myself?” ever crossed your mind?

It’s definitely crossed mine. But let’s be real, do you really want to do EVERYTHING?

As much as I love productivity, I think that this point of view is flawed. It’s impossible to do everything without losing ourselves and becoming overly stressed.

So, how does one make time for themselves despite an endless to-do list? I believe it’s all about identifying what’s important to us. 

It makes such a huge difference once we establish what’s important to us as individuals, important to us personally and important to us as a family. For me, my priorities include:

• Running a business and being here as a supporter of my children’s learning.
• Being present and actively participating in family activities.
• Having space in the day for both me and my husband to spend time together.

And of course, as a Professional Organiser, it’s also about being able to have a comfortable and organised home. Beyond the walls of my home, it’s about preparing to play an active part in my local community and to actually enjoy these activities without simply being a passive participant.

All this to say, it’s about the gift of time. 

Create A Routine

To achieve this, it all comes back to putting in place basic systems in your household that facilitate and make everyday tasks simple and easy. Creating routines that happen every time we enter our house that surrounds emptying our bags, actioning all tasks from when we were out (ie. ran into a friend and said that I would email them something) and identifying what needs to be done from the time we’ve been away are practical ways to establish a system. 

Whether it be school notes, business cards, or getting back to someone else, we need to create systems in place that help us follow through with these tasks. Planning a routine around the most basic moments in a day can make a huge difference. In our family, for instance, after-dinner activities involve clearing the table, washing the dishes and sweeping the floor.

You can create routines around every activity you do to basically ensure that your house stays organised and relatively tidy without feeling like you’re constantly working at it all the time. It takes intention and time to establish the routine, but before you know it, the routine sticks. It’s likely at you may start to spend a lot less time worrying about the room or mess that once consumed you. 

With a clear system in place, I have a lot more time to spend with my children and more time for me to spend with my husband. In fact, as soon as our children go to bed at night, my husband and I have the time to just stop and sit down and spend a couple of hours together watching TV, chilling out, or whatever it is we choose to do that night. 

Start Now

Creating a routine does require more effort in the beginning. It takes getting used to. It won’t be perfect. Some days will be occupied with the occasional deadlines. Some days will have their fair share of interruptions. But many days will be just as you need them to be. Maximise those days. Start your routine and I promise it’ll be beyond worth it.

Are you currently overwhelmed by your day-to-day tasks? Or struggling to manage your time? Please contact us to schedule a Zoom consult and we can provide the support you need to put in place a realistic and workable routine for your day or any other organising challenges you may be facing. 

This blog is written as a 2 part series.  Click here to read Part 2.