How do you value your time? Part 2

Are you one of those who postulates, “If you want something done properly do it yourself?”

Do you glean irrevocable pleasure from taking ownership of every minute task at hand?

Any full-time mum will appreciate the herculean tasks involved in running the home, paradoxically speaking, running a home and raising kids doesn’t have to be herculean”.

By the time my second baby was 3 months old, and my first child just over 2years, I had more time on my hands with two children than I had with one child, yes I agree it is a complete oxymoron, but it is true.

I do not profess to have a home which runs like clockwork; however, there is a structured framework in place underpinning the family routine. It was difficult but achievable tasks which demanded absolute family commitment.

The skills used involved Planning, Time-Management and most importantly Delegation.

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THE PROCESS

PLANNING: Articulate an objective and put a time-frame around it, or you will end up with an indefinite plan.Start off with the end in mind and work your way backwards.

My objective was that by the end of the year 2010, I wanted to set up and run a business. Your objectives must be realistic within the confines of the time-frame you have set for yourself. An example of a phantom objective is saying that within 8weeks you would have sold, bought and renovated your house. I am not saying it is not achievable but generally you will be walking a tight rope.

TIME MANAGEMENT: How do you value your time? We have to contextualise the word ‘value’.  What tasks are required to add increasing benefits to your plans? Or you can reverse the thought process and weed out those tasks that devaluate your time.

List of tasks that devaluated my time, not in order of least value:

·         Cleaning

·         Laundry/folding/Ironing

·         Food shopping

·         Emptying dirty nappies

·         Taking my 2year old to nursery

·         Clearing up after my 2 year old

Giving up these tasks freed up an average of 4 hours in the day time.

The next step was to decide what to invest that free time in. I invested two uninterrupted hours each day in writing and researching my business plan.

My daytime plans involved:

Running the home, spending time with my 2year old, taking care of my new born, running a few essential errands, writing a business plan and other ad-hoc duties.

DELEGATION: Absolute delegation leads to successful delegation. Empower someone else. In order to effectively delegate, you will need to articulate the required results. What do you expect at the end of the task?  Once you know what you want done and how you want it done, it’s a matter of handing over.

Trust someone else to carry out these tasks for you with minimal intervention from you. Let them get on with it.

As an Errands service, we take care of those domestic and business tasks which are energy sapping and time consuming. Don’t just outsource your tasks; manage your time as well. Contact us today for a free consultation

by Ota Obiekwe Mumzy Errands.co.uk