All in a Day’s Work: Organize Your Day and Find Time For You!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, INC. and The Coca-Cola Company, all opinions are mine alone. #SnackHonestly #CollectiveBias

I work from home and absolutely love it. But it can be very isolating sometimes and since my work consists of all computer work, it’s sometimes hard to figure out how to get everything done when the laundry is calling, the kids need help with homework, and I either forget to eat or eat too much. I get asked a lot about how I manage everything and honestly, it’s taken me a few years to get into my groove. I have my hands in a lot of different businesses, and I have 3 teenage daughters, so being organized is absolutely necessary for me.

Part of “getting it all done” means you really need to focus on the task at hand, whatever that might be. Take a look at what works for me and try and apply some of these tips to your own busy life.

Have an organizational system or planner. I’ve been using this workflow system for a few months and it’s the best thing I’ve found to keep me on track and make sure I don’t overlook anything I have to do. I call it a workflow system because having a planner just isn’t enough. I have an awesome binder and I’ve separated each section into tabs for days of the week, tabs for all the businesses I’m involved in, and tabs for all the tasks I need to get done. If you are the type of person who is happy with just a planner, go for it. The trick is to do what keeps YOU on track.
Get into a daily habit. What works for me might not work for you but my day is pretty much scheduled so that I can actually get work done AND have time for myself and my family. In addition to my workflow binder, I am also a creature of habit and after I drop off my daughter at school every day, I come home and sit down with a cup of coffee and go through my email and daily to-d0 list. This helps me focus on the really important things. Depending on what needs to get done that day, I’ll work on my computer for a few hours and then either get some house stuff done (cleaning, laundry, cooking) or run errands. I try and be back home to work a few more hours before I need to do school pick-up. Afternoons are for more errands or spending time with the kids. I like to sit down and work some more after dinner for a few hours.Mondays are usually grocery shopping days and Fridays are usually cleaning days. I’ll only schedule meetings or coffee with friends on Thursdays or Fridays since those are my least work-busy days. Tuesdays and Wednesdays seem to be the busiest for me in terms of work so I like to keep those open to be online or near my phone.
Do the tasks on your to-do list for the day that you absolutely hate FIRST. Usually, those are the things you procrastinate until the end of the day and then they ended up getting added to your tomorrow’s to-do list. You don’t want to kick the can down the road so DO IT FIRST! You will feel SO accomplished. Whether that be a phone call you don’t really want to make or a trip to the post office that you’ve been dreading… if you get it done first, the rest of your day will be a breeze.
Keep a running list of those accomplishments. In addition to a gratitude journal, start an accomplishment journal. Write down everything you get done each day and you will be shocked how much you really DO get done.
Prioritize eating. I am not a breakfast person but I know that if I don’t have food around when I do start to get hungry that I’ll overeat later in the day or at night and that’s a killer for my waistline. I always prep my coffee pot the night before so I have fresh coffee in the morning. I have to stock my fridge and pantry with snacks that will get me throughout the day. I have a special area in the cupboard and in the fridge just for those better-for-you snacks. If I don’t have them, I just eat foods that make me feel guilty later.
Allow yourself to fail. And by fail I mean don’t stress if you don’t get a task done or you have to put off something to another day. We beat ourselves up over not getting it all done that we end up feeling overwhelmed by all the things we have to do. STOP! It’s not productive and it’s detrimental to our well-being. (This is why I love the accomplishment journal.)

Monday afternoon is usually my huge Walmart run. I have been trying really hard to go with a complete list and menu plan for the week so I don’t have to waste time running back to the store multiple times. If I don’t consciously put snacks (for me) on the list, I either don’t eat anything or I snack on crap. One of the things I tend to feel deprived of is protein. You know how you start feeling that slump in the afternoon and you want to snack but it’s too close to dinner to really have a meal and a piece of fruit doesn’t always cut the hunger. One of the things I found satisfies is Lorissa’s Kitchen™ Protein Snacks. I admit, I kind of have to hide these from the rest of the family because they’d be gone in no time.

Lorissa’s Kitchen™ products are high in protein, low in carbs, low in fat, they have no MSG or preservatives, and if it’s important to you, they are gluten-free. So much better for you than the other stuff I’ve been buying. We all want to feel good about what we snack on, right?

You can find Lorissa’s Kitchen™ in Korean Barbeque Beef, Sweet Chili Port, Ginger Teriyaki Chicken, and Szechuan Peppercorn Beef. Look at the endcaps near the check out aisle at Walmart, that’s where I found mine.

And when you are picking up a few bags, grab some Organic Honest Tea®, also found near the check out aisles (in the coolers). I have a really hard time drinking water during the day. I’ll drink it as much as possible but when I’m having a snack, I want something a little more substantial. Honest Teas are “Just a Tad Sweet” and are the perfect accompaniment to Lorissa’s Kitchen™ Protein Snacks.