03 October, 2011

Monday's Mission: Time Saving Strategies and Multi-tasking

This is the final installment of my time management crash course. I know you are all breathing a huge sigh of relief! Hopefully, over the past four weeks you've gleaned a tidbit here or there. Today I am going to share some of my tips for time saving over the long haul; time invested in one spot that will pay out rewards in time saved. These three chicken pies, ready for the oven, is a good illustration of how I manage to save a bit of time now that will pay off later. If I need to take food to someone I will often put together a chicken pie ready to bake. These can also be frozen at this point, if I'm cooking chicken and assembling one I will do several at the same time; it really doesn't take any longer to do that, and the bonus, I will stick one (or two) in our freezer for a meal for us later on. That's maximizing time now for later! I do this with meal planning for the week, and draft my grocery list from that menu. It's the same thing for sewing projects. I always make sure that I have everything I need before I begin, and if I am stitching a gift item I will often do several (a pattern or technique that is familiar yields happy results!) and stash them away for the proper occasion. These little tricks work for me. It's all a matter of prepping, taking care of those little, preliminary, steps ahead of time. Another, recent, example: I have a long list of thank-you cards to write. I addressed and stamped all the envelopes, paired them with the note cards (and the pen) and set them on the kitchen counter, in plain view. Whenever I have a free moment I will write one or two and they're good to go! I don't need to devote hours on end to doing them all at one time, nor is it necessary to look up the address for each one as I go or hunt for stamps over and over, that's already done! You get the idea, I'm sure you can come up with lots of similar strategies once you begin thinking, and prepping, ahead.

As far as serious multi-tasking, that's not one of my strong points. I like to jot down tasks, however small, the moment they pop into my head so that those competing thoughts don't distract me from the job at hand. I know myself well enough to understand that I need to stay focused, my productivity depends on it; but, if I make notes, I'm confident that I won't forget those tasks, thus removing that worry, and can turn my attention to them later on when I'm ready.

That's it! I believe I've covered it all. You have stated your objective at the outset. You know now where you spend your time, you're aware of your time wasters and hopefully you have developed a plan to skillfully combat them. You've looked at goals and understand how you need to work around your priorities to reach them. Today you've examined a strategy, through specific illustrations, that might assist in preparing your own work that can yield hours saved in the future. Good luck with your own plan for organizing, I hope this has helped as you begin down your time management path.

Plan your work and work your plan!
... and take time to enjoy each and every day...
Life is Good!

8 comments:

quiltkeemosabe said...

Thank you!!! This series was much appreciated.

JudyCinNC said...

Wonderful information and thank you for sharing. Any chance in getting the recipe for the chicken pot pie? Judy C in NC

Janet O. said...

I have the same question as Judy. : )

Nane said...

Mmmm that makes me want to have some chicken pie...and I agree might as well make several!

Quiltdivajulie said...

We have a grill and freeze weekend every so often. Cook lots and lots of chicken on the grill, seal it up in vac-sealed bags, and enjoy the rewards during less-stressful weeknight dinners (with home-cooked real food v. carry out).

It is all about realizing the opportunities and then acting on them.

Great series of posts!

LizA. said...

Hmmm, I think I need to print all these lessons and reread them several times. Thanks for sharing.

Karen Newman Fridy said...

I think your series would make an excellent guild lecture!

Jean said...

Ahhh yes, nothing like time management to keep a body from burning up (i.e. waisting) time...
But, just so you know... there is something wrong with my computer... your towel said "enjoy" ... I kept trying to reach in to get one of those chicken pies and for some reason, it just wouldn't let me!
Have a great day!