Be your Best Self! Part V: Using Time Well

This is the last post in the Be your Best Self series for the New Year. If you missed any, here are the others I've posted in this series:

Be your Best Self! Part I: Exercise

Be your Best Self! Part II: Eat Healthy
Be your Best Self! Part III: Sleep

Be your Best Self! Part IV: Beautify

Next week I'll resume my regular Frugal Friday posts, where I post ideas and tips about saving money and being frugal. I've revamped this blog a little in the last few weeks and added a page on the top of my blog called "Living Frugal" that lists all of my Frugal Friday posts to date. Check out that page to find an archive of Frugal Friday posts to help you live your life a little more frugally.

Oh and just a little announcement. Today I'm grateful for my unfrozen washing machine. It's been frozen for a couple of weeks and finally decided to thaw itself this week. I know how it feels, poor thing... Brrrr... Having it frozen has helped me appreciate all of my little time-saving electric maids a lot more.

And that leads me right into our Be Your Best Self Tip #5: Using Time Well. I want to introduce this topic by sharing a quote from Hartman Rector Jr.:

"You can only feel good about yourself if you are on the way to reaching your potential."

Being your best self is about being on the way to reaching your full potential. You're not there yet, but you're on your way. An important part of being your best self is making good use of your time. I've found that when I fill my time by doing the best things, I'm the happiest. Not just good things but the best things. The things that bring my life happiness. Here's some time tips to help you make sure that your time is being well spent.

My good husband spending a little one-on-one time with our son

TIME TIPS FOR BUSY MOMS (& DADS):

1. Set Priorities - Every one of us has a limited amount of time each day. Our priorities should dictate how we spend our time. By setting priorities and eliminating distractions, we can make sure that our time is spent doing the best things.
2. Don't Over Schedule - Too many of us try to do too many things and end up not anything well. If you've found yourself in that situation, take a moment to step back and realize what's most important and then cut out the things that don't matter.
3. Use a Daily Calendar - We are busy people and it's easy to overlook some of the important things going on in our lives. Using a calendar and checking it frequently throughout the day can really help. Are you scheduling priorities on your calendar? Family time, time with children, etc. Those things are important and deserve their rightful place on our calendars just like other appointments do. 
4. Learn to be prompt and on time so it doesn't waste others time - time is a gift that we all have been given. Wasting other people's time is like telling them that your gift of time is more important than theirs. It's selfish and inconsiderate. Now I'm not always the best at this one either, but I'm working on it. It's something we constantly need to be working on to become our best selves.
5. Say no to some good things in order to do the best things - we need to learn to say no to some of the things that press on us for our time so that we can make sure our priorities get the time they need. This one is hard for me too, but I'm working on it. And so can you.
6. Set Limits for time hogs - Are you wondering what time hogs are? Things that hog our time that might not really be that important - computers, TVs, games, phones, ipods, etc all like to hog up time and compete with our priorities. Set personal and family limits for these things so that priorities don't get pushed out the way by the time hogs. 
7. Have a family calendar and talk about schedules - be open and discuss what is and isn't working. We have a family planning session once a week. When we miss it, it's amazing how fast things start to get off track and out of balance. 

I love this quote that I've already posted by Rosemary M. Wixon. It deserves a second showing:

"It takes time to focus on things that matter most. Talking, listening, and encouraging do not happen quickly. They cannot be rushed or scheduled - They happen best along the way. They happen when we do things together: work together, create together, and play together. They happen when we turn off media, put down worldly distractions, and focus on each other."

How about you? I'd love to hear your ideas. Are you using your time well or is there still room for improvement? Do you struggle with time management or do you have something to share that you've learned that will help all of us? Happy Friday everyone. Have a great weekend.

P.S. I'm excited for my Tuesday post because I'll be sharing a yummy roll recipe that I've kept hidden for too long. Oh my they are good....stay tuned.