Making Time...

It's funny, I often seem to have time at the worst times of the day (or night!).

Last night/this morning our lovely 1 year old daughter decided 12am and 5am were perfect playtimes! Yes, that's right, Daddy lets look at books! Daddy lets eat the books! You get the picture. No, she can't talk at one, but she's got a great pair of lungs when she wants to.

So, sitting in the rocking chair this morning trying to get her to doze off with a small bottle I got to thinking about time. How do I prioritize it? How to I plan things out? How do I find the time to "make time" in an otherwise full day?

I think the key is a little bit of scheduling. I know, most of my readers come for the generation of scheduled play times, soccer events, baseball practices, swim meets, etc, etc. Growing up for some meant shuttling from one activity to another, I know as one of four I can remember riding along to many different events.

As strange as it may sound, for me that scheduling mentality has carried over to today. I like to fire up Excel and get open up a nice Monthly Calendar (like these freely available Excel Monthly Calendars!), and start to schedule out my month.

I start simple, I get a copy of the BJJ school schedule and pump in all days and times available. Will I make them all, no, heck I'll be lucky to make half, but I put them all on the calendar so I know what my options are.

Next I put down the times I'd like to go to the gym (we'll talk about this a lot in future blogs, here's a hint...), I only need 30 minutes for my workout so I try to put those down in the morning, very early. Hopefully my daughter sleeps through till I get back.

Next I put in the other training related items I might want to do given plenty of free time. Things like Yoga, Conditioning, Private Lessons, After hours rolling with friends, etc.

I think you get the picture. By now I've got one really full calendar, no way all of this is going to work, besides, if it did it's liable to kill me!

Now I start removing things. For instance, Mrs. Hazmat has us scheduled for holiday photos, off goes that time slot and day. My daughter has a play date, off goes that time. Need to mow the yard, again, strike that off. I think you get the picture once again.

Now, I've got a monthly calendar with plenty of options and marked out areas for family events.

What's next?

At this point I make some goals. How many training sessions do I want to do? Realistically? Once a week, Twice a week? How many workout sessions? etc

I put that number in the comments section of the calendar (you did download your free excel calendar right?).

As the month goes on I total up how many things I got to and how many I missed. The goal is to try and make that number.

Plain and simple.

End of the day, all this planning and scheduling is great if you can make it work..

My advice.. Make time for the wives/husbands and kid(s), you'll find in turn they do the same for you!

Schedule Smart!
-hz

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