My Experience With Guilt Free Time

I recently posted a guest blog from Julie Gray, author of Guilt Free Time: How to Add 10 Peaceful and Productive Hours in Your Week.  I wanted to sit down and explore the work book for myself and share with you some of MY favorite tips and techniques.  I consider myself a good manager of time.  However, this book had some great tips for me to implement today!  You can buy the workbook here.

One of my favorite statements in this workbook is in the welcome section.  It refers to time management systems NOT being one size fits all.  Just like clothes, you need something that fits you!  If your clothes are too big, working harder isn’t going to make them fit.  You need to change what you’re working with.

A technique I use in my time and activity management is to break items down into smaller tasks.  Putting tasks where they belong is just like putting groceries away.  You bring them home from the store and put them in cabinets.  When you’re ready to use them (complete the activity), they are easy to find and grab!

The work book is filled with thought provoking sheets designed for you to fill out.  One of my favorites is the daily plan.  A few extra columns and some well organized boxes make all the difference from your traditional mile long scrap paper to do list.

Once something has been identified as important enough to accomplish, it’s important to make sure it makes it onto your calendar. Keeping these appointments with yourself is critical.  This is how you go from something you “wish” you could accomplish to something you’ve DONE.

Something just about everyone is guilty of is not building in extra time. We pack our schedules full of work, events and activities and we leave no time for the unforeseen events.  What if your child stays home from school sick?  What if the printer runs out of ink?  Be kind to yourself and give yourself some leeway!

If a stranger picked up your schedule, what what they think?  Personally, they would probably think I’ve lost it!  However, I do understand that there are only 24 hours in the day and I can only accomplish so much.  Accepting this has taken me a long way to being as productive as possible every day.    I also have a better understanding, after taking the time to examine and self reflect, that some things take much longer to accomplish than I once though.  For example, a blog post might take me an hour to write.  However, I also need to schedule time to plan, create, photograph and then edit those photos.  Reasonable expectations are key.

Overall I think Guilt Free Time can help anyone who is looking to maximize their time, grow professionally and find a little more peace in their life.