There is nothing sweeter than TIME
As a Mom of 3 (soon to be 5), business owner x2, wife, friend plus more, I am often asked “how do you find the time for it all”?
The answer: without complete devotion and intention to maximizing time given to you, you will find you never have enough.
My top 10 routines to maximize time:
1.) Setting goals.
I am a list person (not paper, app list because well…efficiency!). I have immediate goals (will be completed within 30 days) as well as pipe dreams in my “parking lot”. These are reviewed before I close my computer in the evening and first thing in the morning. Having an immediate list of a task that needs to be tackled next reduces the amount of time trying to decide what is my next priority.
2.) Being present where my feet are.
The workday is the workday, family time is family time. Work schedules can be a normal schedule during the week, or they can extend into an evening or weekend. Neither is harmful, but what is harmful is trying to dedicate your mental energy to both at the same time. Did I mention this is also “inefficient” and rapidly deteriorates…time. Be fully present where your feet are.
3.) Reduce time on TV/social media.
Reaching professional and personal goals requires work. Everyone needs R&R, but I have to accept the trade off that comes with it – lack of productivity. Reducing evening TV to weekends has helped to re-direct my brain to attempting Mom tasks and work tasks after the kiddos go down.
4.) Timer productivity.
To assist with productivity while at my desk, I am known for timer utilization to achieve “flow state of mind”. I will set my alarm for 1 hour and 15 minutes (seems to be my sweet spot). During this time, I am fully dedicated to my task. Fully dedicated as in outlook is offline and phone is on airplane mode. When my timer is up, I set it for 15 minutes to get up do a house chore/eat/beverage refills then back at it. Focused timed tasks avoids falling into the trap of Parkinson’s Law and eliminates distractions.
5.) Learning in pockets of time that are gifted to us.
Getting ready for the day, doing dishes, cooking, time spent in the car…or even the car wash at that. We are all gifted pockets of time throughout the day which I take full advantage of by listening to an audiobook or podcast that will further help me achieve my goals. Harness the power of what Tony Robbins calls N.E.T time (no extra time). Capitalize on this concept and you will find yourself finishing 1-2 books a month.
6.) Sleep.
I’ve ditched the mentality of getting minimal sleep, pulling all-nighters and cracking my computer open after 10:00 pm. I substituted that with 7-8 full hours of sleep. Guess what? My productivity skyrocketed. This involves planning such as setting a bedtime and wake up time. Plan out your sleep to a healthy amount and save time by being more productive in exchange throughout the day.
7.) Morning routine – move my body.
Years ago I struggled to “find time” to workout. I often thought that if I am dedicating 1 hour of time to working out, that is 1 hour of time that I am unable to dedicate to work, productivity and making more money. Silly huh? After my youngest was born, I vowed to start each morning with a full workout and have diligently followed a 6 day a week plan of strength training and agility exercise regimen before the house wakes up. Interestingly enough, the healthier I get the more productive I am and the more money I make – who would have thought?! Did I mention these practices also extend my “time”, time on this earth.
8.) Delegate.
Delegation is hard for me when it comes to internal business practices and easy when it comes to nonsense tasks at home that don’t bring me joy and take time away from friends and family. Although I am getting better at delegating work initiatives to my wonderfully talented team, tasks such as cleaning, grocery shopping and sometimes…cooking are outsourced. None of those tasks personally bring me joy, they take time away from work, kids, family and friends. All costs are re-couped during my maximum productivity practices during the day, and it is money well spent.
9.) Partner roles.
My husband and I don’t have the perfect marriage – I’ll preface this. However, we are extremely good at communication and are organized when it comes to family. We share several Google calendars and have identified our strengths as homeowners and parents. I have never hung-up Christmas lights, organized the storage room, changed filters on ANYTHING or signed the kids up for sports or school functions. He hasn’t ventured into birthday party planning, creation of birthday books, ensuring everyone has enough clothes in the right sizes as well as food in the fridge and deodorant on hand. (This section could be an entire book!). Establishing roles reduces arguments that surround “who does what” and saves time by working together efficiently.
*Single parents – hats off to you accomplishing all of the above solo and reaching your goals!
10.) Saying no.
My annual calendar audit – looking through the past year on January 1st helps to identify trends that are no longer serving my goals. These could be outings with friends, business meetings, partnerships and affiliations that take up time, but isn’t providing self-fulfillment in return. Saying no frees up time to dedicate elsewhere to ensure it is allocated to areas of personal and professional interest.
I hope these 10 routines help in your journey to discover more TIME. I would love to hear your best practices! Please comment below or email hello@dentalconsultingco.com to continue the conversation!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR // SHANNON SNELL
As a Dental Hygienist practicing in over 40 offices early in my career I identified a need for smooth practice operations that stemmed from employee engagement, patient care and effective leadership. After 10 years in the industry practicing as Dental Hygienist, managing a highly productive private practice, consulting with various local firms, and running one of the most successful professional staffing and recruiting companies in Minnesota I identified the dire need of a local resource to help Dentists own their practice, time and future.