Time-management tips from multi-tasking women

Your Comments

• Krissie Duhan wrote:

  Jan 05, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:46 AM

  While all these women have great time management skills, I think a part of the reason they manage so well is that they have help. All three are married. They do not work full time. To show an example of true time management ability, I think it would be better to talk to a single parent who has to juggle all of these responsibilities, in addition to working full time, in addition to raising children, and yet has the added time management burden of not being able to rely on her/his spouse to take any of the slack. These parents are time management wonders, as they manage to do everything you have mentioned in you article, but without having a person to fall back on.

• Abby wrote:

  Jan 05, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  No offense, but why don't you ask someone who is in nursing school from 8a-4p/5 days a week? And also working 36 hrs a week and still finding time to study 4 hrs a night.

• paula gabriel wrote:

  Mar 24, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  the person who wrote that someone with kids should give advice well i have 4 kids ages 2 to 9 and i work part-time. you still have limited time and it isn't any easier working part-time and running the household. i think that until you have walked a mile in some one else's shoes you shouldn't judge them. paula gabriel

• kelly smith wrote:

  Sep 29, 2003

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  No offence, but why don't you ask someone with kids, who works 5 days per week about time management? Only working 3-4 days per week makes a BIG difference.

• Effie Carson wrote:

  Jan 12, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  I can't believe the amount of time and energy I have saved by encouraging my daughter to get her drivers license as soon as possible. She took the industry standard Drivers Ed course and is a reliable and competent driver. Now she can drive herself and her brother to appointments etc while I can stay home and get my "stuff" done.

• Tim wrote:

  Mar 24, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  I think that parents are scheduling too much in too little time. Why are our kids so busy? Probably because we are.... I also think that you need to think about things like time management before having 3 or 4 or 5 kids. It's all about choices. Lastly, I think its very rude to use "foreign" kids(exchange students would have been a better term) to pay for your children's education and then lament about how much it costs to feed them.

• marolyn wrote:

  Jan 05, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  I have a home day care. How do you organize for that No time until 6:30 at night and then I'm burnt.

• Tina wrote:

  Mar 24, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  It seems to me that these 3 women have it easy, although I do commend them for their balance. It is a bit more difficult when you are a single mother (with no financial assistance) who works full time, has kids and goes to school. That's just my situation, some people have a more complicated life. When I worked part time it was easy. I even managed to volunteer at the school once a week, and do other community volunteer work. But that has all changed since I now have to work full time. I have given up many of the things I like to do in order to create balance, but that's just the sacrifice I've had to make for my little family to be happy. Thanks for the tips.

• Garth Collicutt wrote:

  Sep 30, 2003

  2009-09-22 10:47 AM

  Pertinent article,HOWEVER, time mgmt is a "state of mind", a DECISION to set PRIORITIES, DECIDE a time limit for each, DETERMINE NOT to be "side-tracked" DEFER the sudden "urgent requests" to an open time slot and REMAIN DISCIPLINED to YOUR agenda. You wil find yourself "accomplishing more" in less time. Thank You. GC

• Alison wrote:

  Dec 13, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:48 AM

  My kids are out of the house now, but 2 things I found helped my sanity a lot were to (after 5th grade), I got the kids to make their own school lunches, and once they became a teenager, they had to do their own laundry.

• Cassandra wrote:

  Jul 14, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:50 AM

  I have a home day care also and try to find 30 min at a time (use a timer) to do quick clean ups and tidying. While the kids are napping (older ones have quiet time with a movie) or after I have started them on a simple craft, then I tidy in the downstairs area next to my craft room. It took a while but eventually I got into my routine.

• Angie wrote:

  Dec 13, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:50 AM

  I am amazed by the negative comments regarding this article. I think the author was simply trying to show a few good examples of how to better manage our time. If your scenarios are different, perhaps you just need to find out a way that works for YOU. My fiancee has two kids in grade school, he works 5 days a week with a lot of stress at work (sales rep at a giant IT company), he works part time as a part hobby and he is the main caretaker of the kids when they live with us every two weeks for two weeks. And you know what? He does an excellent job at work, keeps his work at work and comes home on time, works out at the company gym regularly, gets the kids ready for school, makes lunches...and he finds time for leisure everyday too. I am terrible at time management, but I do appreciate the inspiration of this article brings me. Some ideas I am already using, such as cooking extra portions to save prep time for the future meals. Planning up a few routines and stick to them is also a good one, although I blame my lack of self discipline for not being able to follow through with it. My point? Everyone is different, and we all just have to identify our own issues and find our own solutions.

• Lee Anne wrote:

  Jul 13, 2004

  2009-09-22 10:51 AM

  Kids or no kids, everyone has time contraints. With being single, working two jobs (minimum 6-day weeks) and owning my own home, I just need to know how to cut the grass and vacuum at the same time.

• Amy wrote:

  Jul 12, 2005

  2009-09-22 10:52 AM

  Interesting tips however working 5 full days a week makes a huge difference as well the cost of hiring cleaning help can really add up!!

• Dawna Lockhart wrote:

  Jan 05, 2006

  2009-11-18 3:00 PM

  I would love to be able to work only 3-4 days a week. I work 5 days a week, have 3 teenagers and no spouse to help out. Talk about time management!

• Lynne Myers wrote:

  Oct 21, 2004

  2009-11-18 3:00 PM

  I have always been an organized person, but with working five days a week with two kids as well as running the household, it's tough. No matter how hard I try to keep things organized, I still feel days behind schedule.

• Cathy wrote:

  Oct 20, 2004

  2009-11-18 3:01 PM

  I think that these women are doing a wonderful job at keeping things straight. It's so difficult to live in a world that is made for chaos. I admire the lady who spends time with her children instead of dusting. She has clearly decided what is most important, and nobody will notice the dust in the end.