"Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. until you value your time, you won't do anything with it." - M Scott Peck

I sat down on thursday night and had a few realizations about time and how we manage it. I'm still reading through a John. C Maxwell book and am taking tons of notes. i'm on Success 101 and my goodness it was an eye opener.

Before 3 years ago I never "had time" to workout, eat healthy, do enjoyment reading or educational reading. i didn't have time for extra marketing and all those things it seemed successful people were doing. i was making excuses. Suddenly now, i have more than plenty of time to work out, read, further education and learning, market and still have time to be lazy sometimes too. so what's the difference? Time management.

The first thing is you have to learn is not to say you don't have time but it's not a priority. and that's hard to say. i have more time now but realized only when i changed my priorities. the people who are learning or have mastered (that's not me, i'm still learning) time management are the ones that somehow have time for those things. I work more hours than I did at a regular job and yet my priorities have changed. The biggest thing is i think for people that "don't have time" WON'T have time until they make time. it's almost a catch 22. you won't realize you have time until you change how to manage your time.

As i continued to read about success and time management, i came across something found extremely helpful. As you add tasks to your to do list, successful people add stop doing lists that continue to grow as well. They're going to look different for everyone but a few of my "stop doing" are television, too much social media, being secluded, procrastinate, and doing my own editing and taxes. So when you feel as you add priorities or to do, don't forget to add stop doing to lists too. It'll continue to help rearrange your time and focus on your strengths.

Working from home isn't easy. Though it seems like it at first, i end up working late hours, emailing way past my work hours, my breaks consist of cleaning, or no breaks at all, and even when i'm not motivated to work, i'm the only one that can make myself do so. a big step for me is to have 5 tasks per day to finish, and i make them about a week ahead. This helped not only my work day but my personal day too. Knowing i have to finish certain tasks. and of course there's always things that come up, but if i can stay ahead and finish these then i know i'm slowly accomplishing those small weekly goals.

As i sit here writing I can feel this isn't directly telling you how to manage time. the biggest thing is to just start doing those things you don't have time for. That's it. you'll soon find you have plenty of time and we all (myself included) waste more time than we'd like to admit. a first step might be making a calendar with 5 tasks to finish a day. Maybe workout 3x a week, or cook 1 healthy meal a week. bettering yourself isn't an overnight task, it takes months and years to make healthy habits but i can tell you it's worth it. I'm happier and i know my daily and weekly routines are slowly helping my long range goals.

how has time management helped me?--

-I make time to do in person marketing

-i now have more than enough time to volunteer to my community

-workouts are regular and now and become of a daily to do, and just naturally became part of every day.

-once a month networking to better myself, and get my photography business out there

-time to cook 3-4 healthy meals a week

-finish work and get ahead enough to blog, post online, and find new clients

-read about 4x a week from a business book, devotional/bible, and enjoyment (right now it's arnold) and journal so it's self discovery and betterment

-look at time more of something to manage and how can i better it, rather than unknowingly wasting it.

How to start managing your time... baby steps

1-buy a book and read 2-3x a week just one chapter and take notes/journal. if you need some suggestions, i have plenty if you want self help, business or how to start getting motivated. (20 min)

2-sit down during tv or relaxing and write out your grocery list along with meals. start slow and add in one healthy meal per week. i have some HERE on pinterest that i've tried and enjoyed! (20 min)

3-workout 3x a week. all you need is about 25-30 minutes to start. I have workout programs and can help get you started! (i don't have a certification yet so this is by my experience only) (30 min)

4-open an excel or numbers worksheet. use a calendar sheet and make tasks for yourself. start with 3-5 per day. start with things even as simple as cleaning, cooking, errands, working out. if you see for example monday is workout, make grocery list, read one chapter it looks doable and helps you be able to think about other things rather than making those lists in your head! (15min)

5-clean one thing a day. whether it's vacuum one room, laundry, or dishes if they've piled up, add this to your list to start so you don't feel overwhelmed with too many to-dos and forgetting about the necessities to run your home.

WHEW. seems like a lot. but if you stagger these, you only need about 20-30 minutes of managing your time differently a day to start. I promise you, you can find that time, feel more organized, and do more of those things you've been wanting to do! Soon your lists will change and you'll be adding in more things to better yourself and head towards your goals!

i still have so much to learn about managing my time and making the most out of it, but if you're learning and experimenting too, i'd love to hear how you found to get closer to your goals and dreams with managing yours. I understand every person's is going to look different as far as what you can accomplish per day depending on your schedule, family, etc. but that's just part of your priorities and all of those wonderful things is what makes your schedule uniquely you.

-Shanna Star