Time Pockets

The other day I was listening to a training that talked about time management.  During the training, she mentioned a concept that I use all the time, but I'd never had a word for it:  Time Pockets.  The concept behind Time Pockets is that, we're all busy and have full lives, but we have to find little pockets of time to make our lives flow best.

Since I found that quote, it's been my favourite thing because it's so true.  You can't claim you have less time than anyone else because you don't.  Is your life busier?  Perhaps, but you still have 168 hours every single week during which you can strive for your goals.  The point of this post is to help you find when your free time is.
First, I want to explain fully "Pockets of Time."  Finding Pockets of time means finding small amounts of time that you can use to meet your goals, even if they require lots of time.  If you have a large project that's going to take you two hours, who says it has to be done all at the same time?  Who says it can't be done in 8 segments of 15 minutes you find during your day?  Very few things require 2 hours without a break.
Think about everything you can do in 15 minutes - whether it be work, home, or play.  The speaker I was listening to broke it down into 10 minutes, but for now, let's just think about 15 minutes.  Things that take 15 minutes or less that can benefit you include:

• Empty the dishwasher
• Fold part of the laundry
• Clean a room (or a part of it, depending)
• Meditate (really you should do that)
• Pray (it you believe in this kind of thing, you should probably do that too)
• Read a religious or self help text
• Call your leads

There are tons more, but this is a starting list that gives you an idea of what you can get done in that amount of time.  I'd love to hear about what you can get done in 15 minutes!
Now, I want to give you this document.  Print it out, get a marker, and sit down at a hard surface.  This is something I used when I was studying Forensic Biology in College.  In my second semester, I began to feel like I had no time to study which resulted in me feeling hopelessly overworked and unable to complete my courses.  Then I had a brainstorm - what if I actually looked at the time I used and tried to see where my empty time was instead of trying to find it in the moment?  The method I'm about to outline worked for me and every single one of my friends who complained to me about not having the time to study, eat, sleep, and socialize.
The page you downloaded is your complete day, for any day of the week broken into 15 minute segments.  Start with any day you like.  I'm going to show you how I'd break it down for my friends when we were in University.  Your schedule will be different, count on it.

1. Start with scheduling time to sleep.  If you don't sleep enough, everything in your life will suffer.  Mark on the schedule when you need to wake up.  For me, it was 7:00 every morning.  Black out 8 - 8 1/2 hours before that.  If you need an hour to fall asleep, black out 9.  Because I woke up at the same time every single day, my sleep times were consistent from day to day.  Maybe yours aren't.  Customize it to your needs.
   
2. Look at times you know you can't move around.  If you have a job outside Jamberry, black out times you're actually working (don't black out lunch yet).  If you're taking classes, black those out.  At this point, only include the time you're actually there.  If your job is 9-5, that's all you should be blacking out (minus lunch).  What you see here is my Monday class schedule then my Monday work schedule (I worked on campus.)
   
   
3. Now add in the driving time it takes you to get from home to work and vice versa.  It took me about 20 minutes, so I scheduled a full 30 so I wouldn't be late.  You'll also note a driving time around 8 PM because I that's when I went to go pick up my daughter from gymnastics.
   
4. Now we add in meals.  Think about the time it will take you to prepare and eat your meal.  If you're given 30 minutes for lunch where you work, but you always have extra time, it's probably only 15 minutes.  Breakfast is a 15 minute ordeal for me on weekdays.  On the other hand, I always budget an hour and a half for dinner - an hour to prepare and 30 minutes to eat with my family.
   
5. The white spaces are what's left.  Are you surprised with how much time you actually have to spare?  I know I was when I did this the first time. I stared at the sheet and said, "What do you mean I have almost 4 hours left on Monday?"  Even if I gave myself 30 minutes to get ready in the morning (and it never took me that long), I was left with 3 hours and 15 minutes of open, empty time with which I could study.

Now, the reason I'm having you do this is because you may not realize how much time you have.  When all was said and done, I had over 20 total hours left over on weekdays only.  My weekends were virtually empty.  Many of us never realize we have all the extra left over because we're spending it watching TV, surfing Facebook, watching kitten videos on YouTube, or any other number of things.  We stress over having no time when our time is sitting right there waiting for us.

How do we use this time?

Okay, now that you see all that extra time, you're trying to figure out how to use it.  Well, my first bit of advice here is don't use it all.  You don't need every second of every day to be filled with activity.  You work hard, so you absolutely deserve to be able to watch one TV show without having to do anything else.  However, you might not deserve to watch 3 or 4.  There are certainly things you can do sitting in front of the TV.  You can make hostess packets, refill your guest binders, fold your clothes, or write customer thank you cards (during commercials).  So, choose one TV show every night that you get to watch uninterrupted then do something during the rest of your watching time.  I usually take half of a show to do what's required of me then I relax for the rest of the show.  This probably results in more down time than I really need, but it works for me.

If you're guilty, like the rest of us, of spending hours on Facebook or other social media, set yourself a timer.  Let yourself surf like crazy on Facebook for 10-15 minutes then get up and do what needs to be done for 15.  Repeat as necessary.
Here's the last piece of advice - when you complete something that needs to be done, celebrate it! Seriously, we as women often feel like our accomplishments are not worth celebrating, but they are.  Who cares if you give yourself a mental pat on the back when you get the laundry folded.  No one's going to tell you that your success dance is uncalled for if you called customers for 15 minutes.  If they do, tell them where they can store that opinion.

Homework:  What can you do in 15 minutes that I didn't mention?  Let us all know!  Due today!