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How Does She DO It? - Time Management Tips

Published: Nov 28, 2012 · Modified: Jul 22, 2019 · This post may contain affiliate links

The most common thing I hear from people is "I don't know how you do it all!"  It's true, I have a pretty remarkably full plate:

  • I single-handedly run Party Plan Divas - the largest online training community for women in the home party plan/ direct sales industry where I have weekly conference calls, exclusive call series, monthly twitter parties, personally coach and train consultants one on one, as well as work with individual companies on their corporate level training and structure.
  • In addition to that, I have a blog for that business, The Party Plan Coach,  where I offer free direct sales training, reviews, giveaways, and more.
  • I run this blog - MoscatoMom - where I work with companies like Florida Prepaid, Fresh From Florida, Disney, and more.  Plus this is my place to share all of the things I love, places I go, and stuff I don't screw up in the kitchen!!
  • I own a small coffee stand called Java Hut in our local civic center where we are open for every hockey game, concert, and numerous other events throughout the year.
  • I own White Sands Media Group where I help small to medium-sized businesses with their online presence by building websites, SEO services, and print media.
  • I co-own a moving company with my husband and handle all of the scheduling, deliveries, payroll, taxes, and invoicing for two large furniture stores.
  • I am a Ghost Writer for a handful of other bloggers and friends.

And that is just the "work" list.  I also am a mother of two daughters with opposite school schedules, wife to a workaholic, mom to three furbabies, and a part of a ridiculously active social life. 

Still, I manage to find time to read, work out, go for jogs often, and spend at least one day a week palling around with friends, and my house is "guest-ready" 99% of the time. 

Oh, and dinner WILL be on the table every night at 5pm, though I admit sometimes we go out to dinner, but that has way more to do with my poor culinary skills than schedule or time.

So how do I do it?

A schedule.

Not just any schedule or a "to do" list.  A full on, OCD - with a splash of ADD - schedule.  Check out my Planner this week - yes, I still use paper!!  

My Planner actually has everything from my schedule to my webinar schedule, post info, PR Reps, Conference details, Brand events, workout schedule... no app is going to touch that. 

Whether you are a party plan consultant, blogger, full-time employee, business owner,  mother, father, caretaker.... it is important for EVERYONE to manage their time well. 

Life is simply easier and more enjoyable when you aren't stretched too thin and always pressed for time. So how do you get started?

Step 1 - What are your "hats"

The first step is to make a list of "hats" that you wear - or what roles/responsibilities you have.  For instance, my hats (in no particular order) are

  • 1 - Party Plan Divas
  • 2 - MoscatoMom
  • 3 - Java Hut
  • 4 - White Sands Media Group
  • 5 - KDM Services
  • 4 - Ghost Writer
  • 5 - Personal/Mom/Wife/Friend

Step 2 - Color Match Your Hats

As you can tell from the picture, I have a slight addiction to highlighters.  Its how I stay on track and know exactly what I am working on each day. 

Get a package of highlighters, I like the little portable keychain ones so I can clip them to my Planner and carry them at all times, and then assign a color to each "hat."  For me:

  • Party Plan Divas - pink
  • MoscatoMom - orange
  • Java Hut - blue
  • KDM Services - yellow
  • White Sands Media - green
  • Ghost Writing - gray
  • Personal - purple

 Step 3 - Write it ALL Down.

Everything.  People who think they can "remember it all" are doing nothing but fooling themselves.  Your schedule can become your "To Do" list and vice versa.  

When you have it ALL written down, you know EXACTLY what you have to do, what you can add or take away, and what you must accomplish every day before going to bed. 

Spend time every single day doing a "brain dump" of everything you must do.  If you are a night owl, do this at night before going to bed, so you wake up to your tasks the next day. 

If you are a morning person, make this list while you are having your morning coffee.  Just make sure you get into this habit DAILY, and do it when you feel your best - not tired and crabby.

Step 4 - Use Scheduling Software

If you have other people needing a piece of your time - like I do with my coaching - then use a great Scheduling Software that integrates with your online calendars. 

Because I love Gmail I also use a Google Calendar, which is sync'd to CalenGoo - my #1 app on my iPhone. 

To schedule appointments, I use ScheduleOnce, which let's me put in my availability and I can email anyone needing my time my personal link to schedule an appointment.  As soon as they do, it updates my Google Calendar, which updates CalenGoo - and even color codes it for which "hat" it is associated with. 

It also removes that spot on the availability so I literally cannot double book myself.  When I confirm any appointment, I also write it in my  Planner - which is what I use every day on my desk to stay on track. 

Now I know for sure that I A - cant double schedule anything, B -  get notifications on my phone 1 hour and 15 minutes before anything begins, and C - because my  Planner is never out of arms reach, I have absolutely everything I need for any kind of appointment or event at my fingertips.

Step 5 - Get 100% Committed to Managing Your Time

You have to understand that poor time management is not a trait - it is a HABIT.  The true definition of a habit is - "an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary." 

In other words, YOU acquired this behavior by doing it over and over and over again to the point that now you do it almost on autopilot. 

Do you know someone who is ALWAYS late?  That is a habit they have formed.  It's not a trait - they aren't even intentionally being rude (although super annoying) it is just a habit they have created for themselves.

To truly get control of your life and your time, you have to get rid of the habit of disorganization and crappy time management skills by creating a new one. 

Habits cannot be broken - they must be REPLACED.  So you have to commit to being very very strict with your Time Management UNTIL your NEW habit is everything running smoothly, and effectively.  

I have been doing it long enough now that it IS what is second nature to me - just look -

If you are struggling with Time Management and Disorganization, start NOW on making a change.  The longer you put it off, the harder that habit will be to break - just ask anyone who has smoked cigarettes for longer than 10 minutes.  

Stop what you are doing right now and do these 5 tasks.  Then set reminders on your phone to go off and remind you to do a "brain dump" EVERY DAY. 

Keep your calendar or planner with you - all day, every day.  And get committed to getting control of your time.  Trust me when I tell you in just a few days you will start feeling more focused, more efficient, and less stressed out.

Isn't it about time?
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Comments

  1. Jennifer Quillen says

    November 28, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    You're a rock star, Lynsey, and I can see now why you are so successful at what you do!

    Reply
  2. Liz H says

    November 28, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    Wow! You have inspired ego get even tighter with my schedule. I am in awe of you & your organizational skills. 🙂

    Reply
    • admin says

      November 28, 2012 at 8:18 pm

      Thanks so much Liz! Like I said, now - because it has become a habit - it is second nature for me to be this organized with my time. And I LOVE it!

      Reply
  3. Lisa Johnston says

    November 28, 2012 at 6:53 pm

    Thank you for this! I'm on my phone so I can't see the pics very well.... but what are the blocks of dates in yellow? I see different colors for your hats... but blocked off with personal? Make sense?

    Reply
    • admin says

      November 28, 2012 at 8:17 pm

      The colored in squares were actually the days the girls would be at their Dads or out of town. The outlined squares are when *I* will be out of town and it was outlined with my "hat" color so I knew which event I was going for. When Mike is out of town he gets outlined in blue. 🙂 (I told you I was organized to the point of obnoxious LOL)

      Reply
  4. Ann says

    November 29, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    Girl, I'm surprised you didn't schedule in time to breathe! LOL, I can't wait to see what Guilty or Guilt-Free looks like--it sounds like a lot of fun!

    Reply
    • admin says

      November 29, 2012 at 5:08 pm

      I am a little embarrassed to admit that this is really just half of my neurotic-isms ... I also have a day assigned to each "hat" so I focus that way as well. Monday is Divas, Tuesday is Top Mom Blogger, Wednesday is Guilty or Guilt Free, Thursday is The Party Plan Coach, and Friday is MoscatoMom LOL Sure I do a little bit of each on each day.... but for the most part, this is how ridiculous I am LOL

      Reply
  5. Chelli Forshee says

    November 29, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    OMG, I'm jealous. This is so me at work, my troops know that if I dont write it down in my planner or on my sticky's, it's not getting done. They'll even stop me and say "Are you gonna write that down?" lol. But at home? Not so much!! I'm that mom who has to rewash a load 3 or 4 times because I keep forgetting to put it in the dryer! And add ItWorks, gym, kids, school, blogging....ay yi yi....I envy you 🙁

    Reply
  6. Summer Davis says

    December 03, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    This is great information, Lynsey! I'm going organize my hats tomorrow!

    Reply
  7. Heather says

    December 07, 2012 at 8:04 am

    wow, someone busier than I am! I thought it couldn't be done! Seriously, I've learned a lot from this post, thank you!

    Reply
  8. Mandi Welbaum says

    December 23, 2012 at 7:00 pm

    Can I just hire you to help me figure this all out at first? LOL

    Reply
  9. Cariann McCready says

    December 26, 2012 at 6:02 pm

    I love the idea of a different highlighter color for each piece of the big puzzle that is my blogs

    Reply
    • Lynsey says

      December 29, 2012 at 7:59 pm

      haha yes, I could never keep this organized without the highlighters! They save the whole system!

      Reply
  10. Jennifer S says

    June 13, 2013 at 12:04 pm

    Thanks for sharing those tips! I'm really bad about some in planner A, a little in planner B and then lots of random in my phone. I need to get it all together to make life easier!

    Reply
  11. Kristina says

    July 28, 2013 at 11:54 pm

    I see you have a dinner planned in there, but where do you put breakfast plans and lunch plans for moms that have to make and pack school lunches?

    Reply
    • Lynsey says

      July 29, 2013 at 10:52 am

      It actually just says "menu" so I can put the entire days worth of meals there.

      Reply
  12. M.Awalla says

    December 01, 2015 at 9:32 am

    Hi Lynsey, I found my way to your site by way of Pinterest and had to leave a comment.. This was such an awesome post! Thank you so much!! I am putting your tips into practice ASAP! Thank you for sharing!!

    Reply
  13. Bible Momma says

    December 29, 2018 at 10:07 am

    Love this! Perfect timing. I'm trying to grow my blog, plus I'm a homeschooling mother to 4 boys. I've really struggled with trying to figure out the timing of things. Thanks so much!

    Reply

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