5 Top Tips for Fitting it all in

Everyone seems to have so much to do these days. We want to fit so much more into our lives. The buzz word seems to be 'balance', sometimes this isn't achievable, I think in life there are different phases when some things require more time and effort and other things have to slip for a while eg with small kids I think the priority is to spend time with them, when they're all grown up and gone I can shift more time back to pursuing my own hobbies. Sometimes its just not physically possible to fit it all in, so we need to figure out well what are the most important things to us.

1. Set your priorities, decide what is most important, is there anything you do that is just out of habit or for the sake of it, that you could actually stop.

Figure out not only how you need to start being more organised but also what you need to stop doing. (I had to delete the Daily Mail app because I literally spent hours of my life on it!!) Could you record you favourite shows and fast forward through the add breaks. So think about family, work, friendships, fitness, diet... what are your priorities? I find these Wheel of Life templates excellent, use the different categories to decide firstly what you want to prioritise and then by marking how happy you are in a certain area you can clearly see where you need to focus your time and energy.

I find these 'Wheel of Life' templates an excellent starting point.

2 Get up early or stay up late.....but NOT both! I am such a firm believer that everyone needs between 7 and 8 hours sleep to function properly! Personally I'm a morning person, I always have been even through my teenage years. Once it hits 8pm that's it, I'm off, I generally have no energy or want to do anything, so this is my watch TV, scroll through Instagram, chill out time. I do however get up early, that's when the washes get put on, lunches made, blog posts typed. But I am generally tucked up in bed by 10 o clock. I understand some people are night owls and I think this works great if you have a job that you can sleep in and get your 8 hours rest, its when you stay up late and have to be up to kids or for work, that's when it doesn't work. I think knowing when your most productive time of day is and using it wisely is key to fitting in more. 

3 Sometimes realise you can't actually do everything. Be fair on yourself. Ask for help. Build up a good network of people to help. delegate, get your spouse and children to help. Pay for people to help if possible. I think that when we look at celebrities or really successful people we forget that there is always a team of people helping them. I am not saying this to take away from their success, I am saying this to encourage us all build up our own team. Everyone has different skills and talents (cleaning is not one of mine, so I delegate this as much as possible!)

4 Write lists, allocate time for each thing. Make a plan. Again I know everyone is different but personally I have to write EVERYTHING down. From what I eat, to my exercise, to what phone calls I need to make. On a Sunday evening or Monday morning I write out my plan for the week. I literally feel so much calmer and have a clearer mind once I put everything on paper,,,it's like it empties my mind. I write down what has to be done each day, what I'm cooking for dinner and if I plan to exercise. Now sometimes naturally things don't go to plan and that's ok. I have lists on my phone that I go to regularly, for example my food shopping list, if I run out of something I just pop it in my list straight away so I'll remember to buy it when I go grocery shopping. Also at the start of each month I make a monthly plan, jot in any birthdays or events and it just helps figure out the month ahead.  

5 Multitask. Watch youtube videos or snapchat while chopping veg. Have a book in the car for when your waiting to collect the kids from activities. (bring a book for smaller kids to look at if they're in the car with you). Have runners in the car that if you have a spare few minutes you can pop on and go for a power walk, you get some fresh air and exercise. Don't try multitask changing a nappy and making an important business call. The trick with multitasking is knowing when to do and when not to! Putting activities that don't require much thought or have huge importance together means you can get double the amount done in the same time space.

Hope these help a little,,, let me know if you have any other tips or tricks!