As a working mom who was often also a student, I learned what I consider the most important time management tip for achieving your goals.
When I was a college senior, I had two jobs in addition to being a student. I had an internship with Hilton Hotels, and I was a mother. When I got up in the mornings, I got my son ready and off to school, then I went to class. Then to work and campus meetings in between. Later, I usually rushed to pick my son up from school then back to campus for meetings or evening classes. Back home we ate, did homework (his and mine), and got ready for bed to do it all again the next day. Actually, I worked on my homework throughout the day between classes, during my internship, or just whenever I got a break.
Can you relate?
When I graduated from college, I got an amazing job with the NBA team, the Memphis Grizzlies. As a single mom, I still worked during the day plus nights and weekends when we had games and other events at the arena. When I decided to pursue my MBA, people thought I was crazy for adding that to my plate.
Like when I was in undergraduate school, my son was often in class with me. And I was grateful for my office at work because I would pick him up from school and bring him back to the office with me on event nights. On my lunch breaks I sat in that office and did homework so that I could give my son as much time as possible at home in the evenings.
So what’s the most important time management tip to me?
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Don’t waste time! Not a minute of it.
As moms we often have our jobs that pay us and the job at home that includes cooking, cleaning, being a playmate, reading, playing referee, and so much more. Plus, most of us try to have some sort of relationship with friends and family. Oh, and maybe we get to sleep sometimes.
How do you do it and still make progress towards your goals and dreams?
I was a single mom, student mom, and working mom determined to make it and be able to provide for my son on my own. In high school I began to learn that I didn’t have time to waste and that I had to make every moment count.
For me to achieve my goals of earning my college degrees and even my high school diploma as a working mom, I had to do a few things to make the most of my time.
- Make a schedule for your time. My class and work schedule, my son’s school and extracurricular schedule were all on my calendar
- Don’t count on your memory. I live by task lists. If it needs to get done, it needs to get written down and, ideally, a time is assigned to do it.
- Stay focused on what needs to be done. There are always things to do but ask yourself if it needs to be done and if doing it keeps you from doing what needs to be done.
- Begin to train mind to recognize when you are wasting time. Are there periods of time that you could be accomplishing something but you’re not? I often think about pointless phone conversations or hours lost watching tv or on social media.
- Be okay with sacrifice. To meet my goals, I realized that sacrifices in the short term like doing homework at lunch instead of going out with my co-workers meant that I could spend time with my son at home.
- Commit to the journey. I understood that using nearly every minute of my time for some sort of progress would be a sacrifice in the short-term. Eventually, I would be able to play and waste a little time.
- Keep your eye on your goal – It wasn’t easy to do it all, but my goal made it worth it.
Are you using your time to do things which get you ahead in your life and career? Or are you wearing yourself out doing all the other things except those which get you closer to your goal? We are all guilty of procrastination or doing some of the wrong things. And, of course, wasting time.
Remember the connection between your time and your goals. Every minute you waste is a minute that puts your further from your goal.
Resilience and leadership expert, Summer Owens is teaching the world the power of saying, “S.O. What!”. Summer is an author, speaker, and S.O. What! Success Coach who uses her life’s challenges to educate and inspire others to achieve success in spite of their obstacles. She is the founder and president of S.O. What!, a motivational speaking and educational consulting business. She is also the founder of the S.O. What! Foundation which offers unique opportunities and experiences to underprivileged youth. A magna cum laude graduate of the University of Memphis, Summer is a former Ms. University of Memphis, adjunct professor, Fogelman College of Business and Economics Young Alumna Award recipient, Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, and is currently the President of the National Alumni Association Board of Directors. She also graduated magna cum laude with an MBA from Belhaven University.
