Time Management Lesson

I'm not naturally prone to productivity.

I wish I were.

I wish I could wake up bright and early ready to conquer my day and my miles-long to-do list.

But usually it takes me a while to get going.

I need to have my coffee, feed and dress my kids, dress myself. Read my email, check facebook and play dinosaurs with the three year old.

You get the idea.

Some days it's almost lunchtime by the time I get around to the productive part of my day.

I swear I wasn't always this way.

I think a lot of it's being a mom. Andrew and Caroline are still little and need me all the time, pulling me away from what I'm working on. After I stop to break up a scuffle, get a cup of water and find a missing toy, I've forgotten whatever it was that I was doing before.

Which is fine. That's why I'm home with them. I want to be there for that stuff. But it does not lead to great productivity.

And I know a lot of it is the Internet. Oh, Internet friends how I love you and learn from you and want to comment on your cute kids on Instagram. But you sure are a distraction!

I just want our days to run smoothly. I want to get a healthy dinner on the table early enough that Andrew and Caroline aren't melting down and begging for snacks before it's ready.

I want to make time in my day to walk on the treadmill.

I want to get enough sleep so that I'm rested and energized enough to wake up smiling.

I want to make time to be a good wife and a good friend.

I want to have time to read a book and play a few Words with Friends words every day.

I want to have time to do my new Good Morning Girls Bible Study I'm starting this fall.

I've gotten a little better at managing my time recently.

I'm using a new Erin Condren planner and it makes me crazy happy.

I'd been trying to use just my Google calendar and I was failing miserably. I need to see my week all at once and be able to write things down in ink.

I need to get back to list making.

I used to make a to-do list every day and somewhere along the way I stopped. I can put simple things like empty the dishwasher and make lunches on there. Then at least I'd feel productive.

And I'm going to set NO INTERNET hours. ::deep breath::

I'm shutting off the computer from 4PM - 7PM.

This is the craziest time of my day, and getting distracted by emails and tweets and Facebook updates does not help one bit.

This time of year is a great time for new routines and goal setting. So I'm jumping in with both feet.

How about you? How do you keep your day running smoothly?