Every day and every person seems to get busier and busier. We never have enough time to do all the things we want to do. I believe strongly that we make time for things that are important to us. For most that is family (#1) and work (we all have to earn a living) and then after that it all seems to fall away.
As an entrepreneur and small business manager time management is critical for me too. I don't work traditional hours and so time management and working the right things is especially important for my family, myself and the business.
Overall, I think I am pretty good with time management and at a high level all is ok. But lately I have been wondering about the little things that I never seem to get to - daily shoulder rehab, mobility, reading for interest, more time working "on" the business and not "in" it.
I started to think about whether I was really making the most of my time and what might be some little things that I could do to make time for these small things. This is what I came up with.
1. Kids Swimming Lessons
It is very easy to just sit there on your phone while you are "watching" you kids swimming. I decided I was going to make the most of this 30 mins and started swimming too. Swimming would be a twofold benefit to me - it would help with rehabbing an ongoing shoulder problem I have and it would add some cross-training to my weekly schedule.
I am lucky that my kids learn at a pool that has adult swim lanes next to their lesson so it works perfectly. I swim my laps, when I am resting I can watch them in their lesson. They know I am there and see me watching at various times. The teacher also knows I am there and he tells me how the kids are going while I am there watching.
There are days I don't feel like swimming (normally I have already done my gym training earlier in the day) so on those days I use the steam room for recovery then come out to the pool for the last 10 mins or so and normally by then I am ok with putting in a few laps.
It's 30 mins of my week that is very well spent.
2. Soccer Practice/Games
Another couple of hours in the week that you can easily disappear. I am there and I want to be able to watch my kids at critical times but I also want to use this time. I decided this was going to be stretching time. Once you get over the fact that you are that weirdo doing stretches on the sideline (who really cares) then it is a perfect time to do those mobility exercises and stretches while you have something to watch. It may not be ideal and you may not be able to do everything you want perfectly but I think its a good use of time.
3. Rehab after the Gym every day
As I mentioned I have a long term shoulder problem. I have embarked on Crossover Symmetry to help me finally get it sorted. I am forcing myself to do the protocol every day after the gym. Sometimes I am busy and feel like I need to go but seriously it is 4 or 5 mins that really don't make an impact on the rest of my day. But that 5 mins could have a very serious impact on my injury!
My plan is to also do another session at home every day. This I haven't mastered yet but I'm ok with making one change at a time!
4. My Reading Pile is in the Car
I always have a pile of things I need to read. School newsletters, articles, magazines whatever. I just never seem to read them at home. I have started taking these things in the car with me to read while I am waiting to pick the kids up from school. It is very easy to just browse my phone while I am waiting but by using those 10 mins to get through my reading pile it makes me feel so much better.
These are just a few of the things I have started to do. I know I can get a lot more efficient with my time but for now if I can gain a bit more control by making tiny almost unnoticeable changes then I'm good with that.
Where can you find more time?
Happy training everyone!
