time management

There are only so many hours in a day, and many of them are being wasted. LearnVest explores the concept of being busy and offers practical strategies for becoming more efficient.

I certainly think I'm busy. I work a demanding (although fulfilling!) job, have an additional side gig — and even take on freelance stories regularly.

Because my various forms of work take up so much time, I feel like I have barely any time left for socializing, sleep, cooking, and cleaning. And forget exercise.

But I still manage to read and post on Facebook regularly, write personal emails to certain people (while ignoring others), surf the web, watch The Daily Show, and listen to a lot of music.

Related: 7 Bad Habits That Are Actually Good For You

How do I manage to fit this all in? I take my iPhone to bed and waste time on it before I nod off, before getting out of bed, and even during the middle of the night. So it's not that I don't have time for things like cleaning or exercise — I apparently prefer to lie in bed killing time on my iPhone.

Taking the New Year, New You theme to heart, I decided to change my ways using some tips from "168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think" and "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business."

Why You're Not as Busy as You Think You Are

But before we dive into the tips, let's look at why you can actually squeeze more time out of what might feel like an already-packed schedule. Author Laura Vanderkam points out that we all have 168 hours in the week. So when we look at people who are able to "do more" than we do, often it's simply because they manage their time better.

One of our biggest challenges when it comes to capitalizing on time: we don't really know how we spend it. Vanderkam points out that surveys in which people are asked to recall how much time they spent on certain activities usually get different results compared to experiments that ask people to keep a time diary.

As she puts it: "We are prone to over- or underestimate things based on socially desirable perceptions or current emotions. For instance, few of us love the routine aspects of housework . . . So if someone asks us how much time we spend on such things, we overestimate — by something on the order of 100 percent for both men and women — compared to the actual numbers recorded in time diaries."

Read on for more.

Loren W. works from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, and doesn't get home until around 5:30 p.m. on a good day. "I feel like a terrible mom," says this Circle of Moms member, and she's far from alone. As the ensuring dscussion reveals, when you're a working mom with a full time job outside the home, worrying that you're neglecting your kids, goes with the territory.

How can working moms find quality time to spend with their kids and alleviate these anxious feeings? Here are five tips shared by busy moms in our communities.

1. Ignore the Housework

Mom Jennifer M. admits she struggles with finding time to spend with the kids while taking care of house necessities like grocery shopping, making meals, laundry, dishes, etc. She has finally decided to let the housework go so that she can instead concentrate on her children.

She's among many moms reporting that while they don't let their homes get completely filthy, they do spend less time on housework than they used to.

"As with many mothers, I feel it's more important to spend time with my children rather than making sure the house is spotless," says Kennie K., who works as a full-time nurse practitioner. "The laundry may go undone for a few days, but I usually do [it] after my children are in bed. Same goes for cleaning the house. My house may not be spotless but it is clean, and my children are happy and I get to spend more quality time with them."

Brandy T. admits it's been difficult to relax her standards for cleanlinesss, but worth it: "[I'd] rather have dishes in the sink and happy, content, kids that feel and know they're loved than no dishes in my sink. I figure I'll have all the time in the world to do the chores when they don't want to hang out with mom. But for now, it's all about spending after school time with the kids."

To make chores less cumbersome, Kate C. breaks up cleaning to one room per day. She gets up at 5 a.m. to dust and clean the floors in one room of her house each day. "This way, when I get home from work and day care with my son, all I do is pop dinner in the oven [and] we have family time while waiting for dinner to cook," she says.

2. Let Kids Help With Chores

When chores can't be neglected, members recommend enlisting your child's help. Anne B. has her children help with dinner prep and dishes. "When you have little time together, even chores can be made special," she says.

Eileen L. and her children fold laundry together and use the time to chat about what's going on in their lives and their day at school. A member named Mylene says her son helps to do the laundry and empty and fill the dishwasher. "Even grocery shopping is a family outing. Spending time as a family doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated," she shares. Lisa M. adds that her daughter loves to hold the dustpan and help gather up the trash.

If you have the time and patience to cook with your kids, many moms report that it's an especially fun way to get things done with spending quality time with your kids. Linda W. says her eight-year-old daughter loves making dinner with mom, and as a bonus learns math and life skills in the process. "We get a chance to talk and laugh," she says. "If she has homework, she does it while I'm cooking. It's hard to be a working mom, but the more you involve your kids with what you're doing, you'll be surprised how much fun they and you will have. You'll be teaching them something and they'll be learning something without knowing!"

Even younger children, like Dora L.’s three-year-old son, can have fun stirring and adding ingredients to the family’s meals, and then washing dishes. "I will wash everything first and then ask him to help me scrub with lots of bubbles (of course) and rinse," she says. "Just try to make the chores fun. It also helps teach children responsibility."

If your children are too young to help with chores, then Leanne P. says you can sing songs and nursery rhymes while you go about your business so they feel they're getting all the attention and can join in.

3. Run Errands During Work Hours

To help get chores out of the way before it’s time to be with the children, some moms say they take care of errands during their lunch hours.

Mom Tina B., for example, says she has a 50-mile commute each way to and from work. She has invested in thermal grocery bags and does her shopping during her lunch. This way she can reserve the time after work and school, between 4:30 and 7 p.m., for playtime with her daughter.

In addition to running errands during lunch, Anna S. does housework before her son wakes up and she has to go to work. "Then when I get home, I spend the evening with my son. We have dinner, play, read books, and get ready for bed. Once he is in bed, [I] spend another hour cleaning, then finally go to bed."

4. Outsource

Another option is to outsource time-consuming tasks. A member named Valerie splits housework with her husband, but they also recently hired a cleaning person to eliminate some of their chores. "I felt guilty at first about spending the money, but it really frees me up to spend time with my family," she says.

Candi W. says a nanny can help tremendously — not only with childcare, but also with light housekeeping, laundry, starting the evening meal, and getting kids started on homework. "When you return home from work, you can sit down and enjoy time with your family and not have to worry about the little things," she says.

5. Schedule Family Time

With all the household tasks out of the way, moms suggest scheduling family time. Anne B. says she moved her children’s bedtimes back an hour so that they could spend time playing board games or reading together. 

Bonnie S. puts her younger son down for bed and then squeezes in special time with her three-year-old for movie night. "He loves cuddling on the couch with mom and dad enjoying a late night. He also loves that his little brother isn't 'big enough' to do movie night so he stays sleeping upstairs. It's special time for all of us, and my husband and I have just as much fun as he does."

Instead of just dropping off her son at his extracurricular activities, Teresa W. gets involved; she is the den leader for his cub scout group and is involved in the kids' program at their church. "My house is always on the brink of chaos," she says. "But my son and I have a great relationship, and we spend a lot of time together.

However you choose to schedule in time with your children, experienced working moms say to make the minutes count.

"It's not how much time you spend with your child that counts, it is the quality that counts," says Florencetine P. "I am sure if anyone asked [your daughter] about the time you and [she] spend together, her answer would go something like this: 'We had a good time when she read to me before I went to bed, she splashed water all over [herself] when she gave me a bath. It was fun.' Things like these, even a walk to the store or around the block, just the two of you [are] the little things that count."

Image Source: Ed Yourdon via Flickr/Creative Commons

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

I have 9 year old girl-boy twins.  They are very different but they both crave predictability and routine (don't all kids?).

When our twins were about to start kindergarten, we created a morning routine, and four years later it's the key to perfect school mornings.

The schedule is simple and allows the children to focus on their independence and skill level, which is why it works for all ages.

The kids cleave to this routine so much so that they even follow it on weekends!

Here it is:

• Wake Up

• Use Bathroom (this also helps with potty training); Wash Hands

• Brush Teeth

• Get Dressed

• Make Bed

• Wake Up Mom and Dad (usually we are already awake!)

• Breakfast Time

• Free Play

• Leave for School 

Since my son has special needs, I used visuals on our schedule, pulled from the Internet, and fun colorful markers to show the schedule and the times. (Here's a sweet morning routine chart from the blog I Heart Organizing, and I share other schedule ideas on my blog.)

Sometimes simple is best!

Image Source: Google

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

Time is a commodity that people will pay a pretty penny to have more of, but the only way to be able to have more time in your day to do the things you like is to be more efficient. The Wall Street Journal recommends starting a time log to better keep track of your day:

Keep a time log. If you've ever tried to lose weight, you may have tried keeping a food journal. Sure, you're eating grilled chicken for dinner, but the eight M&M's you grab from the receptionist's candy jar add up, too.

Like tracking meals, tracking time keeps us from spending it mindlessly or lying to ourselves about what we do with it. Write down what you're doing as often as you remember for at least a week. Add up the totals. Checking Facebook five times a day at six minutes a pop adds up to two and a half hours in a workweek — curiously, the exact amount of time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends we exercise.

The first step to being more time efficient is to assess how you're currently spending your time. Track your time by making a note of when you stop or start an activity in a notepad or spreadsheet. There are even apps that will help you keep track of time. When you're analyzing the data, try to gauge if you're really using up all your nine to five hours doing actual work. If you've been spending time on unnecessary work, maybe it's time to start delegating the task to someone else or finding some other alternative solution. And if you figure out your most productive time of the day, you should probably schedule the more challenging tasks for that time period.

It's a New Year and a new you! We're detailing 12 helpful tips to start off the year right, whether it be to advance your career or increase your financial cushion. We've already given you advice on kicking your daily deal habit, quitting your caffeine addiction, and reassessing your savings account; here's another way to start afresh in 2012.

Managing your time not only allows you to be more productive but also frees up precious minutes for you to spend however you'd like. To make 2012 your most organized, exciting year yet, adopt these five helpful habits.

1. Consider your to-do list a schedule. A simple checklist is a great start, but it's important to gauge the time frame for each item, too. Mark each of your tasks with an estimated start and finish time, taking into account any variables that may slow you down. Next, think of ways to make your schedule more exciting. Drawn to color? Use highlighters to create categories. Need some incentives? Brainstorm a mini reward for each task completed, like a phone date with your best friend or a new song download.
2. Plan ahead and be thorough. It's smart to lay out your exercise gear the night before a morning workout, but take it one step further by filling your water bottle, charging your iPod, packing your purse, and leaving your gym shoes by the door. Other ideas: fill out forms online before appointments and use your phone to snap screenshots of maps or directions. Small steps like these will have a huge payoff, adding several minutes for you to fill as you please.

Read on for more time management tips .

Getting organized is almost always on my list of New Year's resolutions, but I've learned since becoming a mom that it's especially important to have a realistic plan of attack. As Circle of Moms member Mary points out, "As moms we are so limited on time that trying to do a giant overhaul is next to impossible."

Whether, like me, you're working on household clutter, or your goal is a better plan for managing family schedules and your own time, here are some smartly pragmatic suggestions for getting it done, as shared by Circle of Moms members.

How to De-clutter and Organize

The holiday explosion of food, guests, parties, and new toys is bound to leave your house looking like a bomb went off! If you're surveying the damage right now and wondering, Where do I start?, take a deep breath and keep reading. Not only is it possible to organize your space and keep it that way through 2012, but you can break it down into manageable steps.

1. Plan for a Yard Sale

As a working mom, Mary C. is no stranger to the battle of keeping things clean and clutter free. She advises getting rid of the clutter first, because that will make it "easier to get and stay organized." Her advice is to plan for a huge yard sale, getting your kids to help you go through the house to gather up cast-offs.

2. De-clutter One Room at a Time

As Mary explains, shooting for an early spring yard sale will give you plenty of time to go through one room each week and section off or mark items you plan to sell. By March or April you'll be ready for the yard sale and on your way to a clutter-free house.

3. Create a "Hot Spot"

Once you get rid of the clutter, create a spot for everything that's left, so that daily clean-up is easy. As for all the new items that constantly creep into the homes of busy families, Circle of Moms member Kelly shares a brilliant mess-taming technique: the "Hot Spot." As she explains it, "We have a Hot Spot (table and hooks) by the garage door to sort and drop stuff we bring into the house, and I take about five minutes in the evening to go through it all and put it in the proper places."

How to Organize Your Family's Schedules

There are only 24 hours in a day and you can't do much to change that. What you can do is make the most of it with an efficient schedule that works for the whole family, and to-do lists that help you get everything done.

1. Family Calendars

Whether you have two people in your household or ten, scheduling is a must. There are many ways to create a schedule for your family — monthly, weekly, or even daily. It can be as simple as a wall calendar or dry erase calendar, or a more complex online schedule that family members can share.

Here's what Circle of Moms member Holly does: "I actually make time sheets on my computer that schedule in my hubby's work, our oldest daughter's school, the little kids' naps and lunch time (plus park time in the summer), and everything going on that takes time (like Girl Scouts, visiting grandparents, school courses if I'm taking any, etc.). I then hang it up on my wall next to the computer. That way I KNOW when I have some time for myself and how long it will be."

Getting started and finding the right format to fit your family's schedule can be the hardest part. Here are some options for finding a calendar for free on the Internet:

• Calendar Labs has many templates for both online and printable calendars. You can also create your own custom calendar, and all are free.
• If you're already using Microsoft Office or individual Microsoft programs, Microsoft Templates provides free templates for all kinds of calendars, including an academic calendar.
• Keep and Share allows you to create your own custom calendar for free. You choose the day of the week to start, which holidays to include, even moon phases. The free account allows you one completely customized calendar and it saves everything for you.

2. To-Do Lists

To keep yourself and everyone else in your house on track, you might need one or more to-do lists in addition to the calendar. I know I have a tendency to go a little crazy making lists, so I went in search of suggestions from moms who are more organized.

Beth C created a very detailed "Mommy To Do List" of household chores that is organized by day, and she keeps it hanging in the kitchen. (A sample day reads: Monday - Make Beds, 2 Loads-Darks-Whites, Dishes, Vacuum, Sweep, Mop.) Another member (she goes by the name of "Good Day!") suggests a weekly to-do list broken up into daily recurring tasks. She says that method is working so far for her: "more stuff is getting done than normal, and I'm not running around like a crazy person, because I feel like I have a goal."

Image Source: Mmmchoco via Flickr/Creative Commons

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

An early morning workout may burn more calories, and improve your body's performance capabilities, but let's face it, some of us would rather sleep in and hit the gym after work. That's OK; evening workouts have their perks.

If you'd much rather exercise after you've clocked your eight hours at work, here are some tips to make evening workouts a priority.

• Avoid an Afternoon Slump — Eating a big, greasy meal for lunch and then treating yourself to unhealthy snacks throughout the afternoon is one of the best ways to kibosh an early evening workout session. Refined carbs and sugar will take a toll on energy levels, so be sure to eat a healthy lunch that includes a good mix of lean protein, veggies, complex carbs, and healthy fats. This will help keep you feeling full and energized without giving you that lethargic feeling.

Here's what else you can do to stay on track with postwork workouts.

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Forget the whole “time is money” thing. The key isn’t that time can generate money, but the other way around—time is our most important (but limited) resource, and money can be a means to gain more of it. We face these decisions all the time: is it worthwhile to spend an hour surfing the internet for a discount code in order to save $10? Should you hire someone to clean your place, or do it yourself?

It Depends

Figuring out what your time is worth isn’t about what you are worth as a person, and how much you make at work is just the starting point. We’ve created a calculator to help you estimate that magic number — whatever it is — so that you have a gauge to keep in mind when you’re making decisions on the fly.

How Did You Get This Number?

If you don’t have a lot of disposable income, your time “value” goes down because you are better served saving money. If you have less time, your time value is higher than if you have a lot to spare. Finally, your current priorities matter. All these factors weigh into our algorithm. (These calculations are based on working a 40-hour week, 50 weeks a year. If your hours differ greatly and you would like us to crunch your hourly value, email us your stats).

Find out how knowing your hourly value helps you make daily financial decisions after the break.