5 Ways to Create More Time in Your Day

We all have the same 24 hours in the day.  Why then, do some people get more done in those 24 hours than others?

There are the obvious time management strategies such as organisation and planning, and you all know how much of a planner and organiser I am (yes often referred to as an over-organiser)!  But here I want to offer a different perspective on time management and how best to manage your use of those same 24 hours we each get every day.

As a busy, full-time, mum of 4, studying, launching a business, cooking at least 21 meals a week for my family, and still finding time to chair my local school’s BOT, organise an organic buying club, exercise, practice self-care, enjoy time with my husband, and create quality memories with children, I am often asked how on earth I find the time.  The truth is I have to be just as deliberate as anyone else to ensure I function properly and keep on top of things, and it all falls over for me at times too!

I often get the impression people think I must, for some reason, I have more time than them but, as of yet, I can assure you I haven’t found a way to make any day 26 hours long. 

In fact most recently I have had a couple of super tough weeks a few of these things have slipped and I have not being enjoying the way that feels.  However this week I have set aside time and head-space to get back on track – and this is what I have done!

Make sleep a priority.

It is so easy when you are busy to keep going and get one last thing done before bed.  You get lost in Facebook or other social media and its 11pm before you know it or perhaps decide to watch the next program on the television.  As a mum, I have prioritised sleep in two ways.

1. Made teaching my children to sleep a priority from a young age – setting up routines, swaddling, using white noise, positive sleep associations and the skills to self-settle.  As they got older we introduced Mr Sun (aka the Gro-Clock).  This taught them to stay in bed when the sun was sleeping and we set the sun to wake-up at 7am, which was when they were allowed out of bed.  Now that their sleep cycles are well established, we no longer use black out curtains or Mr Sun and allow their natural rhythms guide them.  We found they have naturally fallen into an approximate 7pm to 7am sleep time.
2. Making my own sleep a priority – this means being in bed by 9:30pm as often as possible.  I always have a million things I could do but I do much better after a full sleep.  My hubby has always said “it’s the hours before midnight that count” and he couldn’t be more right.  As a mummy I have found getting to bed early is especially important – as you never know when you are going to be up in the night with sick kids which you can’t control – but you usually can control getting to bed early.

Get up early.

When you have slept well and eat well it is easier to bound out of bed with energy, ready to start your day.  I achieve more each day for my business and myself in the hours of 5am – 7am than I do in the rest of the day.  This is when I follow my morning detox routine, exercise, study or complete business related tasks.  Although occasionally I may end up dealing with children in this time, the most common reason for not maximizing these 2 hours is if I didn’t get to sleep early or if I haven’t been eating as well. Sometimes I lag because I haven’t been exercising or I get caught up returning emails or on social media – i.e.: it is in my control.

Eat real food.

Eating real food, unprocessed food that suits my body and the current season gives me more time in my day – or at least more productive time.  Everyone feels most vital in different ways of eating – there are super healthy and energetic people that following a vegan diet/lifestyle and same for those that are paleo, and everything in between.  The commonalities in all of these diets when they work are cutting out preservatives and other “fake” foods, and eating plenty of veggies.   I can help people discover an intuitive way of eating for them that allows them to feel their best.  When you eat well you create more time in your day by waking feeling refreshed, eliminating the afternoon tiredness, and feeling more alert all day long.

Exercise. 

I don’t know how many times I have heard “I don’t have time to exercise,” often a little voice in my own head! You see it is hard to exercise when you are busy especially with young children.  Finding the time to leave the house on your own or afford a gym membership is often a huge deterrent.  I could very easily use all that as an excuse as well.  I only have 3 hours in a week that I have my youngest in care, and other than my husband, no other regular support.  But I do mostly exercise regularly.  I do this at home, before the kids are up, using my own body weight as resistance.  I spend a ridiculously affordable amount a month on an online gym membership, and on average my length of workout is 15 minutes a day.  I vary with it with high intensity, yoga, stretch and core work.  If I don’t get it done in the morning I find a way to squeeze it in during the day, alongside the kids.  I figure if even the President of the USA isn’t too busy to exercise, neither am I.  Making the time to exercise gives you back that time at least two-fold in productivity and focus and is essential if you are looking to find more hours in your day. 

Live in each moment. 

Does this sound familiar: you have so much to do, and you are constantly aware of this.  You rush from one thing to the next, hurry the kids along with you.  You keep telling them “in a minute…I just need to finish this first.”  You rarely take the time to stop and breathe – really breathe.  You hurry the kids along with homework, puzzles, walks, etc. as you are already thinking about the next thing.  I understood that so well as that is how I used to live.  One of the muscles that I exercise/strengthen the most at the moment is my mindfulness muscle.  I practice (and remind myself) to just be in each moment.  If I am with the kids, I enjoy that and I am totally present with them, rather than thinking about that email I want to duck off and send.  If I am doing the groceries, I notice the smells, the colors of all the vegetables in season.  I take the time to engage with those serving me and appreciate the role they have in my day.  This creates time through perception, focus and clarity. 

What would you do with extra time in your day, a feeling of control over that time, and no longer feeling rushed off your feet?  What would you do for yourself and what could you do for others?