Let’s be honest there is never enough time in the day to do all the things we need or want to do in the day. I use to dream about not going to sleep just so I could get more things done. I was so happy in my dream telling everyone how we don’t really need sleep and how much nicer it was to be able to work 24hrs a day. I am not so sure that was a dream but more of a nightmare! However, I do often ponder how much more productive I would be if I didn’t have to sleep.
The truth is sleep is very important to our body and mental state. I didn’t realize how important sleep was until I had my son. He was such a good baby he just never slept! He wasn’t ever crabby or upset he just didn’t want to sleep. I used to envy mothers who would brag about how they got their baby on a sleep schedule, when I couldn’t sleep for fear something would happen to my little one the second I took my eyes off of him. Being a first time parent far from family even made it worse for me. I would go days with little to no sleep while my husband went to college and worked. I remember driving home to my parents house which was only three hours away just so I could crash for hours at a time while my son goo-gooed and smiled happily with his grandparents. If you haven’t had the experience of having a new born and the joys of no sleep it is a horrible and wonderful experience all at the same time and crazily I miss those days!
What I found out during that time though was that the lack of sleep really messed with my brain and body. I had trouble remembering things, I would become frazzled easily, I started gaining weight and felt more lethargic than ever in my life. The good news is we got into a rhythm and found what worked for our family. I finally started getting more than two hours of sleep at a time and slowly inched my way back to normal.
As time went by and life got busier I had to learn to prioritize. I mean we all have the same amount of time in the day. I have found the best way for me to gain extra time in the day was to schedule my entire day. I like to think of it is like meal prepping but with time! I used to wonder how on earth people had time to go to work, be a good parent, go to the gym, run errands, read, watch their favorite movie and have sex! Then I learned when I scheduled my day I had to decide what was most important to me. The other stuff I had to learn to delegate (which is what inspired my business) and anything left either wasn’t important or would have to be put off and scheduled to another day or time.
So the best investment to make to find time to do it all is a calendar, and a great assistant. Seriously, you have to learn to humble yourself enough to ask for help. Learning to delegate is huge in life especially as a woman. We are taught early on that doing it all, on our own somehow makes us a better wife or mother when that is so far from the truth.
The saying that goes “if momma ain’t happy nobody’s happy” is so true! Having a wife that takes time to eat healthy, exercise, and manage a household with help leads to a much happier, sexier and sane person to live with.
To gain time starting today. Go buy some kind of calendar and start pre-planning your day and week. I have used several calendars over the years, but this year I personalized my own calendar from https://www.limelifeplanners.com. I know several people who like to use the calendars on their phones but there is something about writing it down on paper that helps my brain register and remember. Whatever avenue you prefer just be consistent and set out time everyday and week to plan. It will be much easier to turn down things you don’t have time for when you write down what your priorities are for the week and can see it hour by hour.
