Taming the Time Management Monster

Oh it's a sexy topic I know, but really aren't you just a little curious how an artist figures out how to manage her time? It ain't pretty. I have been trying to wrestle the time management monster for years now. I have planned and listed, I have searched online for the secret trick, I have drank many a glass of wine with girlfriends trying to discover their magic formula. This is what I found out.....there isn't one. So I made one up. This is my magic formula. I will let you know in three months how it is working for me.

My theory is that if I budget my time like my money, eventually I will have more of it. Work with me here, it IS a theory. So this is what I did. I wrote each category of my life on a piece of computer paper and sharpie marker. The headings are: Heather Haymart Fine Art, Wood Icing, Home/Family, Self (yes self), and Hay Pea. Then under each heading I listed every job I could think of that I do or really need to be doing. After that, I went through each item and labeled it; monthly, weekly and daily. Now here is the worst part. I started entering these things into the calendar on my computer, with time slots and recurring events and everything. You should see my calendar now. It looks like I am some kinda crazy person. When my kids are on the computer a reminder comes up to start dinner and they are always happy to yell "Mom! It's time to start dinner!"

So far, I like it. I have been working at it for about a month and I am still working through the details. Sometimes I feel very overwhelmed, like my schedule is a deck of cards waiting to fall with the next breeze. Sheer desperation for some assemblance of order in my life is keeping me dedicated to this effort.

So for now, this is what I am going to try. I will let you know how it goes. What crazy things do you do to try to tame the time management monster?