TIME MANAGEMENT
What your mother never told you

On 23 April 2005, two working mothers gave a talk at the Hollandse Club, Singapore about their ideas and experiences on effective child raising, much of which they learnt the hard way ..hence the title of their talk, "What Your Mother Never Told You"

With twelve children between them, it's no wonder that people draw closer in curiosity and perhaps even in admiration half wondering how on earth they managed so many children. "Extraordinary!" might even be the word that may crop up in their minds!

However, whatever perceptions that anyone of the audience might have, Serene Chan, child physcologist quickly quipped that she and Monica Lim, Managing Director of Cherrybrook Kindergarten were not superhuman women from another planet but simply ordinary women leading ordinary lives! And they were quick to confirm that a home with 6 children each, as it would be for parents with 1 or any number of children, was sometimes likened to a "war zone"!

In this first part, we cover Monica Lim's tips on how to manage time more effectively at home, at work and on a personal basis


LIVE ORDER!

At the talk given by Mrs Monica Lim, Managing Director of Cherrybrook and mother of 6 children she disclosed how to manage time well - "The secret is that there’s no secret to it! There is no basic model for managing time but it can be learnt by pure hard work. To manage time, you have to live ORDER! And if you want to manage it well, you have to courageously impose order on your life and work! ”


GET ORGANISED!

To live order, one must have a schedule. Draw out a schedule for each day of the week and more importantly, keep to the schedule. Get an organiser and take 10 minutes each day to think about the next day and write down what you need to do.

Time management is important. Personal effectiveness deserves priority as it affects the lives of the others. If we are not effective, we become a liability. Even the sick and disabled can be effective.

The choice is ours!

What follows hereinafter are some useful tips that Monica shared with her listeners of how to manage time in 3 broad categories:-

MANAGING TIME AT HOME

Unity of the spouses is a time saver and disunity a time waster! So love your spouse a lot -put him/her as your first priority;

Manage your children well. Teach them to live order too; possible even with young children. Even babies can be taught to live a schedule and young children taught that there is a place for everything and everything in its place. Teach them obedience, sincerity and order - it will help them be more independent. Make use of the sensitive periods not only for the physical and intellectual development but also to live good habits as well.

Live simply; not equal to living poorly

• don’t be afraid to invest in good equipment eg upright steamer instead of an iron
  

• cleaning agents - use 1 that cleans all eg ½ white vinegar and ½ water - cleans upholstery and rugs, etc
  

• have a set of cleaning agents on each floor of the house
  

• cut washing to 1x a week - invest in a big washing machine and dryer
  

• outsource if you can

• keep a running grocery list for the week and if possible format it in the order of the aisles in the supermarket – this helps one to do the week’s shopping in half an hour
  

• plan your menus for the whole week
  

• cook in bulk and freeze
  

• learn to make healthy 1 dish meals and teach helper to do the same
  

• when entertaining keep the menus simple
  

• plan your route when outdoors and see if you can group activities for the day
  

• Keep order in the home - A place for everything and everything in its place, immediately after use - the best example is from the parents
  

• Train everyone to tidy the bathroom after use in such a way that no one would know that it was used.
  

• Wash the dishes as you cook
  

• Clothes should only be 3 places - the body, the cupboard or in the wash!
  

• Keep looking out for tips that can help you manage better.

MANAGING TIME AT THE WORKPLACE

Know the difference between important and urgent.

Know the difference between priorities and posteriorites (ie things that we do not have to do) - recognise that we are not supermen or superwomen.

Concentrate on the now 100% - do one thing at a time and don’t multi-task.

Set a block time to do quiet work - experience shows that one can get done more in 2 hours of quiet work than in a whole day of interruptions.

Learn to be professional - do things well and get training, if necessary.

Keep meetings short to suit your best attention span.

Have pockets of time for specific duties eg. Have a specific time for email - avoid checking constantly or opening each mail as and when they arrive; making and returning phone calls.

Struggle to avoid the temptation to do things as and when you remember or are called. Write them down and assign them to a specific time to get done. Else they get forgotten or they interrupt what you were doing when you remembered it.

MANAGING TIME ON A PERSONAL LEVEL

View everything positively and with optimism - things would then be more manageable - Half the battle is won with the right attitude

Work hard at being effective -there are no shortcuts

Don’t be a control freak-learn to ask for help.

Get husband and children to help you - once in a while, let husband do the cooking, shopping etc. Train children to help and allow them to help.

Grooming:-

• Make the time to do this as it is showing charity to your husband and others who have to look at you.
  

• Be focussed - Don’t window shop - shop purposefully - go to the store with a list.
  

• Take a look at your wardrobe before you shop so that you don’t make mistakes.
  

• Restrict your shopping to twice a year.
  

• Plan for the week what you would wear - use each item at least twice - match bags to the outfit we wear so that we don’t have to keep changing handbags.
  

Have a reserve “to do” list and give it a specific day and time when you will carry them out.

Have a point of writing down what you need to do; use a electronic organiser, do back ups if necessary.

At night, reflect on the day just passed -this is important as it helps you to know what to do and how to improve day by day.