3.31.2010

time management tip #3


PLAN YOUR TIME

Seems pretty obvious, right? Well, I got seriously mocked for having "Tim Time" on my time budget. Mock me all you want, but this guy is a priority in my life. If I don't plan for him, than I may never be able to see him. Our lives are a bit chaotic and I want to make sure that he is always a priority. Therefore, I will continue to schedule time in my life for my main man. This week we have an appointment with the eye doctor {AGAIN} so Tim can say goodbye to these glasses.

Here are a few ideas that I've used to help me plan my time:

1. Let go of things that do not help you achieve your goals and priorities in life.

Only plan activities that will help you accomplish your goals. Obviously, this tip can't be completed if you haven't followed tip #1, which probably seemed pretty cheesy, huh? However, these are the guidelines you must use to determine how you will use your time.

One thing that I've learned to let go of in my life is ironing every single piece of clothing. I used to spend hours every single week ironing all of my boys jeans and t-shirts, just to do it again the next week. When I examined my time usage I realized that ironing was always taking much longer than I originally thought it would {3 hours vs. 1 hour}. I decided that I had much bigger priorities in my life than my kids having perfectly pressed jeans that would just be wrinkled within minutes of them putting them on.

2. Plan your time!

Take one day each week to sit down and incorporate all of your weekly tasks into your schedule.

I usually write down all the things that I need or want to do during the week and then plan out which days I will do them. This helps me be realistic about how much I can actually accomplish in one week. I also sit down every evening and plan out the next day (by scribbling it down in a notebook). It's nice to have a guideline when I wake up in the morning instead of wasting half the day trying to decide which task I should start first.

3. Schedule as many tasks and activities as possible, but don't be devastated if you can't accomplish everything.

Learn that it's okay to let things go and just add them in your schedule for another time.

My list of things I would like to do during the week is often fairly long. Many, many, times I will end up having the same exact list for two weeks in a row because I wasn't able to accomplish ANYTHING one week. That's okay. {It never feels okay, but I'm trying to tell myself that it's okay}.

4. Understand your energy levels and plan your time accordingly.

This one tip has been so helpful for me. It's so easy to start plugging things into your schedule, but when the time comes to actually do that activity you may just not feel up to it. I've noticed that I have more energy in the mornings to do physical activities like cleaning. In the afternoon, I like doing my office work because I am little more tired. It's nice to sit at a desk and get some things accomplished. Also, I've noticed that I NEVER have energy to do any office work in the evenings. So, I plan my time accordingly.

This is also a great tip when planning exercise, reading and anything that requires more energy than others. This often takes time to figure out and get just right. I often find myself trying to clean and I just don't feel like it. That's when I realize it's best to walk away and do it another time. I'll go start another project that I actually feel like doing.

5. Re-evaluate your schedule often.

I re-evaluate every single minute of the day. My schedule is constantly changing and is RARELY the way I've planned it. That may not be ideal, but that's how it has to be right now. I know it's because of my current phase of life. Having three young children at home requires me to be flexible.

Here's what we've covered so far:

Tip #1: Define Your Goals
Tip #2: Examine Your Time Usage
Tip #3: Plan Your Time

Only two more tips to go!


3.30.2010

spring = organizing

{this is reality}

It seems like everyone, including myself, is thinking or talking about organizing right now. I've decided it's because springtime is here. We are all trying to get things in order in our lives so that we'll be prepared to enjoy our time outside once the nice weather decides to stay. Plus, sunshine is motivating! I've loved all the feedback I've received about organizing because it's motivating me to get better organized. I'd love to know your favorite organizing tips? I'm trying to label my posts now and I found a few of my previous entries regarding organizing. You can find them all here.


3.29.2010

meet dax


He is the newest love of my life!
Unfortunately, he's not mine to keep,
but I sure do love getting him as much as I can.
This is Brady & Mahina's new little baby boy.
He is perfect in every single way.
An angel baby.


My boys sure do love him too!

3.25.2010

time management tip #2

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting another time management tip. {Okay, I know most of you are not, but one person did e-mail me.} So, this is for you:

Tip #1: Define Your Goals
Tip #2: Examine Your Time Usage

My favorite time management exercise is to get a blank "time budget" {excel spreadsheet} and fill it out, at the end of the day, every day for a week. This exercise shows how you actually use your time. So often, it is much different than how you believe you use your time. Every time I've done this I find that I'm wasting a lot of time. I also usually find that I have much more "self" time than I think I do. I usually discover that my life is out of balance. I've done this for my kids too and they are amazed to see how much time they actually get to play everyday. If you are a visual learner, like me, the color coding is a must. You can glance at your time budget and see where your priorities are.

How often do we say that our families are a priority, but then spend more time cleaning than playing with our children?

How often do we say that spirituality is a priority, but spend more time watching tv than reading our scriptures?

These are just examples that I came up with {definitely not from my life!!} The point of examining your time usage is to ask your self these questions:

1. Is your current life consistent with your goals and priorities? {Which you should have established with tip #1.} If not, where has your schedule been compromised and how might you incorporate your goals, values and priorities in your life?

2. Evaluate your time investments - are they paying off?

3. How much enjoyment or benefit are you getting from each activity?

4. Develop your CURRENT time budget {like I suggested above} and IDEAL time budget {like the one I previously posted}.

These tips have helped me {try} to stop being a hypocrite and start doing the things that are actually giving me a better return on my investment.

Here's proof:



3.22.2010

time management tip #1


Well, Well, Well...
I can't believe how much
feedback {positive and negative}
I got from my time budget post.

I'm not complaining.
As you know from my, no comment post,
I'll take any feedback I can get.

I knew that by posting my time budget
I was just asking for harassment from a select few of you.
And, acceptance from others.
Once again, I appreciate both!

Let me just make a few clarifications:

Myth #1:
As I previously said, my time budget is just a wish list for an ideal week.
A guideline.
A resource.
It is not what I do everyday.

Myth #2:
I do not wake up at 5:00 am every morning
and exercise for 2 hours after only sleeping for 6 hours.
I usually go to the gym at 5:45 am three days a week.
The other three days I usually sleep in and
go running in the evenings or later morning.
I do my time budget in one hour increments
because 30 minutes is too rigid,
which means that I will be doing that particular
activity during that hour {usually not the entire time}.

I was sharing my time budget with all of you because some of you had asked what specific things I was doing with my new CEO job. I realized that I probably need to back up and start with some basic time management tips {but only for those who are interested}. I will offer you some tips to get started before you get all fancy and start making a color-coded time budget {because I know SOO many of you are dying to make one!}

Tip #1
DEFINE YOUR GOALS
What is important to you?
What are your goals and priorities in life?
Decide what brings you joy and satisfaction?
What are your values?

Start there.
Think about it for a few days.
Write down your thoughts and I'll
share tip #2 after you chew on tip #1 for a bit.
Good luck!

3.19.2010

st. patrick's day

Our St. Patrick's day celebrations seem to evolve into something bigger every year. A couple years ago, my friend Lisa, introduced this fun tradition to my children. She told them that if they left a picture of a Leprechaun in their window that the leprechaun would know to leave them a treasure. At the time, I wanted to hurt Lisa for telling them this {as I, I mean the Leprechaun, had not planned to leave them any treasures}. However, this has turned into a super fun tradition that my boys love. I know that because they NEVER FORGET about it!


Here is the treasure the Leprechaun left for them
{including some money which they asked for in their notes...
Payton is getting awfully smart!!}


I've always done a typical St. Patty's Day breakfast
complete with green milk, but this year,
instead of just coloring the pancakes green,
I did something a little more fun...


RAINBOW PANCAKES!
This awesome idea can be found here.
I'm not sure who was more excited about these
pancakes, me or the kids.
They were so easy to make and so much fun to eat!



After the kids enjoyed more Leprechaun fun at school
I let the boys deliver some of these homemade
sugar cookies to some {not all...sorry} of their friends.



We were LUCKY {get it} to have my parents
come join us for a green feast.
Irish Shepherd's Pie!


I'm really starting to love this fun holiday. I figure that I only have about a 12-15 year time frame that this holiday will actually be really fun for my kids. I want to TREASURE {oh...another pun} it while it lasts!

3.17.2010

family plan

I'm on my third day as CEO and I can say that my first two days went amazingly well. Having a new mindset has completely changed the way I feel about what I'm doing. I think that I was having a case of the Stay at Home Mom Doldrums. I was needing to reinvent my seemingly mundane life. My life hasn't really changed that much, but my attitude towards it has and now I'm feeling more accomplished and better organized.

My first order of business was updating the Jones Family Plan. We originally created a family plan two years ago. Ceomom.com has the model I used to create our family plan. We followed their guidelines and did this together as a family. It seemed super cheesy at first {which is usually not a problem for me}, but it's amazing how useful this family plan has been. When we made this plan we started by setting goals; daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. We've discovered over the past couple years that some of these goals work really well for us and some don't work at all. Ceomom also has a great article on how to set goals as a family. After setting the goals, we incorporated them into our family plan.

One of the crucial parts of our family plan is the Mission Statement or Family Motto. We all worked together to come up with our motto. We didn't want our motto to be complicated {our boys were 6, 4 and 2 months old at the time}. We wanted it to be simple, yet reflective of our family values. We decided we should stick to one word. After much deliberation, the one word we ended up choosing was "POWER," which is an acronym for Polite, Obedient, Workers, Enthusiastic and Righteous. Ironically, yet so special, after later talking to my Mom we realized that our family {the one I grew up in} had the EXACT SAME family motto with almost the same exact acronyms. How had I forgotten? {Clint, Krista, Erika...do you remember that?} Suddenly, our family motto became perfect!

This family motto has become an incredible tool in our family. Whenever my boys are getting out of control, fighting with each other or whenever there is tension in our home, I can call all the boys together to do a "Jones POWER" cheer. That's right, we do cheer's around here. It's more of a huddle, "go team" type cheer. My boys absolutely love it and it immediately bonds our family back together. I usually give the boys a quick pep talk about team work or whatever the situation demands and then I remind them that we have "Jones POWER." Whenever I say those two words it always puts a smile on their face. No matter what was going on before, we all put our hands in the circle and yell...

"Jooooones POWER!"

I hesitated sharing this for fear of the harassment that I might receive and because it really is a special, personal thing that we do together as a family. I wanted to share it though because it has become an extremely effective tool in our home for bringing our family together. This silly little motto, I believe, brings my children security and comfort. When we put our hands together it actually helps us all feel more united to each other.

As we sat down together on Monday night and reviewed our family plan, I realized that this company really is on the right track. I feel so blessed to be the CEO of an already successful business. I've realized that so many times in our lives, it's just making a few tiny adjustments that make all the difference.

3.16.2010

typical weeknight

Last week Tim was out of town and we were enjoying a typical weeknight at home. We had finished dinner and I was letting the boys {and myself} relax for a little bit before it was time to clean up and get ready for bed. I was busily working on the computer {checking out blogs} when Parker snagged my camera and asked if he could take some pictures. He wandered off and began snapping photos. About ten minutes later he came back to show me his pictures. He was pretty impressed with himself and so was I. It's amazing how well he was able to capture what actually goes on around our house.


Me still in my workout clothes.
He took another picture of me, but it was extremely
obvious that it had been days since I washed my hair.
Sorry, I'm not sharing that with you!


Like I said, busily working on my computer!


He was able to snap a shot of himself,
I'm impressed those little hands could do that!


Payton talking on the phone to Daddy.
{I'm sure he was giving him updates on the Jazz Game.}
Cooper standing close by playing with something.


This is what our playroom usually looks like.


This is my absolute favorite thing.
First, Parker took the picture above.
The next picture he took is the one below.


I think we may have a natural photographer on our hands!


I love the tight shot of our toys in the closet.


Payton coming into the office to chat with me.


Cooper with a ball?
Now you can see that I'm not exaggerating
when I say that this kid is obsessed.



Payton was watching the Jazz game on tv.



This is another one of my favorite pictures.
I love the guys on the table with the scattered puzzle pieces.
I love this because I never take ordinary pictures of
what our house actually looks like.



I guess Parker likes our pillows.



Weird, another basketball lying around.
I wonder which boy left that there.



Cooper shooting the ball.
He's trying to shoot it up into the
light fixture in our entry way.
He'll "shoot the ball" at anything!

Thanks Parker for capturing the everyday ordinary moments in our home! This little photo shoot has inspired me to do a "Day in the Life of..." series at our home. I think it's a great way to share what our family is up to. I'd also love to remember specific things about my kids everyday life right now. Stay tuned!

3.15.2010

time budget


Today is my first day at the new job {CEO of the Jones Household}. The first thing I did was make myself a time budget to stay organized. I've always tried to have a time budget, but recently I had not been good about using one. I'm getting back into a routine and schedule in order to turn this company around. This is just a little excel spreadsheet that I've made up. I like things color coded because I know what they represent just by looking at them. On my chart, pink is personal time, blue is family time, orange is household time, yellow is Tim time and red is church time. I like to be as planned out as possible, but also vague so that I can be flexible. For example, I have office time for two hours every day. This time includes e-mails, blogging, balancing the checkbook and basically anything I need to do in my office. Don't look too closely at this time budget or think that I actually follow this perfectly. This is just a guideline or a wish list!

If you're interested in learning {a lot} more about time management or creating a time budget I would recommend reading Julie Morgenstern's Time Management from the Inside Out. I have a copy if anyone wants to borrow it.


3.12.2010

impossible


(image found here)


I've never been a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, but my boys were so excited to see Tim Burton's new movie {advertising works!}. Personally, I think Tim Burton is a little creepy, but always intriguing. We took our boys to see this movie on Saturday and it was just as expected. A little creepy, but extremely intriguing. The makeup, characters, colors and imagination is incredible...and dark. For me, a good movie is one that inspires me. I love being able to find little gems of inspiration. Here is my favorite quote from this movie:

"Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Lately, I've been a bit lazy. I think I've been scared to challenge myself. I've been extremely idle with my time and talents. Not anymore. As you can tell from my recent posts, I've been reinvigorated. I have a new sense of determination. I'm ready to take on the impossible. Here are the six impossible things I'm doing today:

1. No treats or diet coke.
2. Prepare for my new job {ceo...remember}
3. {finally} Balance our checkbook
4. Get dressed in cute clothes, put on makeup & do my hair
{I haven't done the combination of these three things all week long!}
5. Be temperate.
6. Keep myself, my house and my kids perfectly clean all while enjoying my children, having fun and being nice!

Remember, the quote is "I believed" not "I accomplished." Just let me "believe" that these things can actually happen today!



3.11.2010

back to work


(image via TLC families)


I've decided that it's time I go back to work. I've loved being a stay-at-home mom. Living in my pajamas half the day. Letting the demands of everyone else determine what I will do next. Being at the beckon call of my kids all day long. Checking my e-mail whenever I please or turning on the tv if I want to {which I usually don't}. I love being able to start any project whenever I please and do whatever I want with my time. However, this kind of lifestyle does not fit my personality. I've definitely learned to enjoy serendipity, but I miss the structure, the routine and the security that working full-time brings. I miss the sense of accomplishment. I've been out of the 8-5 workforce for awhile now so I'm sure it will be hard to return, but I'm really excited.

I start my new job on Monday.
I'm going to be a CEO.
Impressed?
You should be.
I'm going to be the CEO of the Jones Household.

From what I've heard, this company is on the right track. They have a lot of wonderful systems in place. The employees love each other so much and there is a great work environment. However, they just need a little more structure and direction from a new and improved CEO {that's me}. Their last CEO was not making the best use of their time, money and resources {unbelievable, right?}. My job will be to make things more efficient. I will put some new systems in place that will make the Jones Household better than they already were. I really hope to improve this company and make sure that all of the time, money and resources are being used wisely. I know it's going to be a lot of work and extra effort for the first little while, but I am determined to make a difference. My hours will be 7 am to 9 pm. I'm sure that I will often have to work longer hours than this, but I know that it will be worth it. I personally know the employees of this company and they really deserve some positive changes, which is why I've decided to do this for a very small salary. I'm really hoping that the Board of Directors is able to increase my salary over the next year, but in the meantime I will be working for much less than I am worth! I'm really excited for this new adventure. I'll keep you posted on my progress with this new company.

Wish me luck.
I'm really going to need it!


3.10.2010

faces



These are the faces that keep me going every single day.
These are the faces that inspire me to try and be better person.
These are the faces that make me happy and bring me so much joy.
These are the faces that I love!

These faces are really all I need every single day, but unfortunately, life is not that easy. There are a lot of other faces out there that demand my time and attention.

Church faces.
Cub Scout faces.
School faces.
PTA faces.
Friend faces.
Extended Family faces.
Lots of different faces.

Trying to manage the many different faces that I need to keep up with can be complicated and also bring me lots of joy. However, the hardest part for me is trying to manage the many different faces that I am supposed to put on every single day. I'm trying to manage these different faces, but sometimes I just don't feel motivated to do it all.

Lately, I have had so many feelings and thoughts swirling through my head about life and motherhood. I haven't quite been able to articulate the way I've been feeling. I have been so inspired by some faces in the blogging community that have been able to articulate some of my feelings and inspire me to want to be better.

Life

Clover Lane

The faces of these women who blog is all I know. I don't know these women personally. I've only seen their faces and read their stories. However, they have inspired me to want to be a better person. They have beautifully put into words many of the things I couldn't put into words. Sometimes, looking outside my small circle of faces is all it takes to gain a little perspective and some added inspiration.

P.S. Check out the guest blog I did today at Tangled and True.


3.04.2010

spring fever



The sun came out this week.
The temperatures in the 50's.
I'm ready for spring.
The early morning sunshine.
It's so close.
I can feel it coming.
I can feel myself changing.
I'm ready to shed my winter cocoon and fly.
{okay, maybe a bit cheesy}
I'm sick of the winter blues.
I want the the spring sunshine.
This week has given me a taste of spring.
I can't wait!

Here's wait I've been doing to keep myself busy until the sunshine is here to stay:



Eating these heavenly french dip sandwiches from Favorite family recipes.



And these yummy fish tacos discovered at Deals to Meals.

I also just booked a trip for our family to go here...



and here...