Maridel Willer

Do you need to add some hours in your day?  Do you often burn the midnight oil to get things done, or just give up and leave them undone?  Here are some tips on finding extra time to build margin in your schedule.

Do you ever wonder how the women of yesteryear managed to get all of their work done?  They had to plant, tend and harvest the garden, make cloth and clothing by hand, care for the farm animals and cook every meal from scratch …and they didn’t have anymore hours in the day then we do.

One thing they did not have back then is the number of distractions that we have today.  Some of the things that have significant potential to waste our personal and family time are:  television, telephone, internet/computer, and time in the car.  All of these are wonderful inventions that give us convenience and enjoyment and expand our window on the world .  Most of us cannot imagine living without them.  However, if we allow them, they can rob us of our valuable time.

Challenge yourself to set limits on the amount of time you and your children spend with these technology time traps. If you can just shave 15 minutes off of each of these per day, you will gain a whole hour of precious time.   Here are some ways to accomplish this:

Limit television and internet use for entertainment to a reasonable amount of time and indulge in it only after taking care of all of the “must do” tasks of the day.  Consider completely eliminating entertainment media for a period of time and you will be amazed at how much more time you have for more productive and relationship building activities. 

Screen all phone calls and have a set time for listening to messages and making/returning calls each day. 

Limit your time reading and answering emails to once or twice per day, for a specific time period.

Reduce the total miles you are driving each week by eliminating some of your family’s extra-curricular activities and spend more time enjoying each other’s company at home.

Combine errands into 1 shopping trip per week.  Avoid running out during the week for just 1 or 2 items that you can make do without.  Make a master shopping list for the things you regularly buy and check what you need before going shopping.

As you Celebrate Thanksgiving with your family, take some time to consider if you are truly content..  Do you realize that it is possible to be thankful for your many blessings, yet not practice the habit of contentment?

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines content as “rest or quietness of the mind in the present condition; satisfaction which holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint, opposition or further desire”.

What can keep you from experiencing the peace of mind described in this definition?  (more…)

October and November are great months for de-cluttering your home.  I like to take time in the first week or two of this month to clean out our closets before the holiday season starts.  It is a nice way to prepare your home for the decorating, hospitality and busyness of the upcoming months. 

Here is an easy way to decide what you really should keep and get rid of the clutter that you do not need.  You can do this with any size space: a drawer, a closet, a storage container, a desk, a bookshelf, a room.

1. Clear everything out of the area.  Then clean or dust all of the surfaces. (more…)