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Time by Lisa Weisblatt Feren

Hi ! Lisa Feren , Editor of LifeGrid San Diego here ! This month ’ s theme is time management . Wikipedia defines time management as “ the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities , especially to increase effectiveness , efficiency or productivity .” I was thinking back to my office jobs and time management . Prioritizing tasks , setting time limits , keeping a calendar … But what about time management in LIFE ? Societal pressures has us all buying into the notion that we must constantly strive to be even more effective , more efficient and more productive leading us to figure out time management as never before .
So here ’ s a few of my views on the whole time management thing ...
1 . Never compare your “ busy ” to someone else ’ s “ busy ”. My “ circle ” is comprised mostly of moms who are running lives and businesses . We are throwing more tasks and obligations into the same amount of precious time . It honestly seems as if we are all competing to see who is the most “ productive ” – but what is actually happening is a competition for busiest and most stressed out . We wear this title of tired , busy and stressed out proudly like a badge of honor . Like the woman who is juggling the most crap in her day wins . Busy does not mean important – or productive and I realize I am happy not to win !
2 . Time Management is a pie . I have always subscribed to the notion that you can have it all , just not all at the same time . I mean , I tried to work full time while stil being around for my kids and finding time to cook and exercise . That didn ’ t work out so well … I then had the opportunity to listen to Samantha Ettus speak – author of The Pie Life : A Guilt-Free Recipe For Success and Satisfaction . Her book is life changing for working women . She says to think of all the important things in your life as a pie and each aspect gets a slice . Your slices of pie change over the years as you add or take away things you deem more or less important . But , the book shares the secrets for how you can sustain a thriving personal and professional life - at the same time – all by categorizing your life into a pie . I knew I liked pie !
3 . Sometimes you have to lean in … Some days , I have the best intentions of being productive but then I see a trip to Discount Tire in my very near future for a key stuck in my tire ( true story ). But , it could be a sick child , an unexpected new project , a rush job for an old client or even an impromptu lunch date with the hubby that throws your day completely off track . That ’ s ok – there ’ s always tomorrow .
But , when the day is right and you actually sit in your office with a flash of brilliance - when you finally put your nose to the grindstone to get some work done – then how do you manage that small amount of work time ? Amy Barnhart , Co-Founder , President & CEO at Co-Founder of StrongMarriageNow . com , tells me to take a break , to stand up , drink water and walk a bit every hour and remember having that deadline will help keep you fresh and focused to get the work done ! I have also been told multitasking is overrated . Single tasking is where it ’ s at . Work on one thing – get it done and then move on to the next . Reducing distractions by closing unnecessary tabs on your computer – including social media and email and silencing your phone also help maximize time .
So while I write this , I have one child sitting next to me , the TV on , a dog playing and a husband and second child having a conversation ! So don ’ t judge me – these 600 words took me waaaay too long to write . So much for time management …
With love and gratitude , Lisa Feren

August 2017

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