If we aren’t careful, our time can slip through our fingers and just get away from us. One of my favorite quotes is by Zig Ziglar. He said, “If you aim for nothing, you will hit it every time.” I love this quote because it can relate to so many different areas of our life. Today, I’m going to hit on our time. Having a plan and actionable steps for how we are going to use our time is key to success. That’s why I love to use time budgeting to manage my week!
Time management is a struggle for many of us. I don’t know about you, but I’m generally one to think I can get a lot more done in a short amount of time than I actually can. I’ve been known to stress out over lack of productivity simply because I’m just trying to fit 36 hours worth of stuff into a 24 hour day.
Can you relate?!
I’ve found that by sitting down and creating a plan for my week, I’m able to be more productive and at the same time more realistic with myself.
A time budget is simply a budget for your time. You are telling your time where to go and what to be used on. Just like money, time is finite so it’s important to make sure to use it wisely.
I like the create a time budget for me week every Sunday evening. It’s a good time to sit down and look at my schedule. There are obviously things that I have to do at specific times each day or week. These include things like school events, appointments, or regular daily events like meal times, naps, and bedtime.
However, there are a lot of things I do each week that I need to fit in when I can. These include things like my weekly cleaning routine, house projects we are working through, and blog work I need to accomplish.
Time budgeting allows me to fit these things into my week without much trouble.
There are many benefits of creating a time budget for your week. It’s not something that has to be stringent or super detailed. But giving yourself the freedom to have time scheduled out in your days and weeks to get things accomplished will help you be more productive and less stressed.
Time budgeting will help you to:
- be more productive.
- stay on top of your long to do list.
- keep you from getting distracted.
- learn & avoid your time wasters.
- give yourself freedom to relax.
- be less stressed.
One of my favorite things to add to my time budget is “free time.” Yep! I love adding in free time to my time budget! This might be time I can work on a fun project just for me or time I enjoy snuggling with my boys watching a movie. If we always have a list a mile long, then we can often forget to add in some downtime to our lives. Adding in time to just relax and have fun will give you that extra boost of energy to get things done when the time comes!
Have you ever considered using a time budget? You can grab the printable you see above along with 50+ others in Simply Organized: 50+ Printables to Help You Get and Stay Organized.