Time Management

Why Do-It-All Moms Need an All-In-One Computer

I have been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free, in exchange for sharing my experience with the new Dell All-In-One computer.

Obviously, as a crazy-busy mom who works online from home – while trying to entertain my toddler, and two rowdy nephews – I rely on a lot of tech gadgets in my daily life. I’m definitely NOT an expert on technology, but have quickly learned over the past couple of years how much it can help calm the chaos of my hectic days. And – I have found a new helper that is seriously rocking my socks off – the Dell All-In-One computer from Best Buy. It’s like you took all of my favorite things, threw them in a box together, waved a magic wand over it all – and created the most perfect computer ever. Check it out below, and learn why it is an absolute must-have for Do-It-All moms like us.

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7 Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

“You’re writing the story of your life one moment at a time.” – Doc Childre

Ah…. Time management. It is one of the biggest challenges to mothers everywhere – and it is especially challenging when you’re a work at home mom. Balancing work tasks, home tasks, and time spent with your family {because that was the whole point of working from home right? Spending more time with your family?} – It’s a difficult balancing act. With a million different things to do and places to be – but only ONE you, and still only 24 hours in each day, you’ve got to grab a hold of your time, and make it work for you! So, here are a few great tips, tools, and resources – gathered up from some of my favorite mom bloggers – to help YOU simplify life and save time each day:

5 Ways to Better Manage My Time: These are awesome tips – some of the same things that I’ve been working on myself. My favorite is #5 – so important, but it’s something most of us neglect to do.
How $3.64 Makes Me A Better Blogger…And A Better Mom: Learn how spending this small amount on a simple tool has seriously boosted this moms productivity levels!
Time Management Tool Shows You Where Your Time Really Goes: I love this tool – it’s free, super simple to use, and then gives you a really awesome graphic that shows you exactly where all of your time goes each day. You might be really surprised when you see it all added up!
WAHM – How do you organize: This has some awesome tips on using online tools to stay organized – I love it! {Totally and completely love the spreadsheet she offers too – get it free!}
WorkFlowy, the Key to getting Organized, for a Blogger or Forgetful Women over 45 or Anyone: I’ve been wanting to learn how this site works – and love her simple explanation for getting started – Looks really cool!
How gCal Helps You Stay on Track: I love how this tool makes it super easy to sync everyone’s schedules – whether it’s family, or business teams. You can access it from any device – laptop, work computer, smart phone…. This is super helpful for me!
Printable Planners: While I totally rely on my online tools and calendar, I also totally need paper and pen style organizing. I use a binder system for most of my organizing – I have one for homemaking, bills and financials, and my blog. You can find a big resource of my favorite printables for organizing here.

Do you have a great post that shares YOUR favorite time management tips? If so, leave a link in the comments so I can check it out too – I’m always looking for new tips to help me simplify and stay on track. Find a new favorite on this list? Let me know which post you liked best!

My Time Management Crisis in Poorly Drawn Graphics…. This explains my problem perfectly, lol.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 22, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 4 Comments

Simple Tool Shows Where Your Time is Really Going

“If you want work well done, select a busy man – the other kind has no time.” – Elbert Hubbard

I absolutely adore this quote. How many times have you complained – “I just don’t have enough time in a day to get it all done!” We all have a different “it”, but as super-busy Super Moms, it’s usually a combination of housework, childcare, and work we do for an income. I always feel like I just have too much to do, and it’s impossible to keep up… Between taking care of the kiddos, keeping up with a very busy house and all of it’s messes, and trying to work from home – with an adorable but very busy toddler as my assistant all day – I never, ever, accomplish everything that I have on my to-do list.

But the thing is – we all have the same 24 hours worth of time each day. Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

So, why are some people able to accomplish so much more in the same amount of hours each day? It’s all about time management – And you can’t be in control of managing your time if you don’t even really know how it’s being spent each day. Just like making a budget for your household spending – You have to take a hard look at where you’re spending your time, and see if it matches your priorities. If not – grab a hold of your life, and make some changes!

“Time is neither friend nor enemy it’s just a measurement.” – Mike Dolan

To learn where YOUR time is going each day – take a minute to check out this amazingly simple time-management tool to get a visual snapshot of your day. You just fill in the blanks with what you do during a typical day, and how much time you spend on it. Then it pops it all together and creates a cool chart like the visual above – Yes, this is a typical day in the life of me, Bloggy McBlogster. As you can see, I spend most of my time working online, managing my social media accounts, playing/caring for/chasing down Abby, and cleaning or picking up after these messy savages that I call a family. {If you guys are reading – Love you! Mwah!} The small amount of other time is spent cooking/eating, watching TV twice a week {Fringe, and Once Upon A Time – only shows I ever watch} – and yes, 2% of our time really is spent dancing. We love an impromptu dance party in the kitchen in the evenings – that’s good livin’.

What Makes You Tick – Create your own customized time management graphic today and learn where you spend your time!

When you’re done, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of this… Were you surprised by where your time was going? Or was it pretty much what you expected? Where do you think you need to make changes? You guys know that I struggle at times with time management – {here’s a super-funny cartoon that perfectly describes my time-management struggle, lol} – So I’m working on a series, filled with great tips, tools, apps, and resources to help this area of my life, since I think it’s something we’re all looking for tips with. I’d love to hear what YOU guys think about this topic too….

Love it? Share it!

Want to see where your time REALLY goes each day? This cool tool creates a visual snapshot of your day – sunshineandsippycups.com/2012/03/simple…

— SunandSipCups (@SunandSipCups) April 1, 2012