5 ways to take control of your day

Check out this post for 5 ways to take control of your day so that you’ve got time on your side instead of playing catch up from the moment you wake to the moment you go to bed. Simple changes to your daily routine for maximum impact to help you control your day instead of your day controlling you!

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?

A few years ago, I would be hitting the snooze button several times over each morning. I didn’t want to get out of bed and face the day so I tried to put the day off instead. Delay having to get up, get dressed and get out.

The longer I hid under the bed cover, the less time I had to get ready. That meant less time to plan what I was going to wear, less time to shower, less time to eat my breakfast, pack my bag and less time to get into work.

Less time to do all of this generally meant I had to make compromises.

I had a shower but didn’t wash my hair.
I got dressed but hardly looked ‘put together’.
I ate breakfast but it was standing up whilst I was packing my bag, not sitting down and chewing properly.
I drove to work, but I was so intent on getting there before start time that I was concentrating more on not being late than on making sure I’d packed everything I needed. So, I would forget my sandwiches or my book to read at lunch time.
I’d arrive at work stressed out, grumpy and feeling far from productive, efficient and professional.

The evenings weren’t much better. After a day at work, I’d arrive home tired, hungry and ready to flump down in front of the TV. Instead I’d find that there were no ingredients to make dinner and dirty clothes still in a pile to wash. By the time I’d sorted all this, I’d need wine to relax me ready for bed.

And all that was before the kids came along and took things to a whole new level…

Then came night-time feeds, loads more washing, more meals to conjure up and more bags to pack. I didn’t just have work to get to but school and after school clubs and a whole host of yet more things to fill my day and my brain.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I TOOK CONTROL?

So, fast forward to now with my simple, intentional and minimalist life and my days look totally different.

They’re still filled with a challenging mix of work, kids and busy family life but there’s some big differences!

My days now have structure and routine. Not rigid because that suffocates the fun and stifles the spontaneity that I need and enjoy so much.

But my days have a flow that everyone in our family knows, understands and follows. It makes a difference to how I start my day, what happens in the middle and how we all feel at the end of it.

I am now in control of my day. We have fun, we get stuff done, we deal with daily ups and downs and a few chaotic, unplanned events along the way! Routine won’t stop those happening but routines do make it easier to get back on track when things go a bit pear-shaped. But we’re much more intentional about where and how we spend our time, give our energy and generally how we feel.

5 TIPS TO HELP YOU TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DAY

Here are my 5 tips to help you take control of your day. Small changes with BIG impact!

#1 Morning

Set yourself up with a morning routine that really serves you. How you start your day sets the tone for how you react to and approach what happens during it.

Stop hitting the snooze button, be intentional how you use this precious time and do things that will support you for the day ahead.

#2 Evening

The evening marks the finale for your day. You can get a head-start on the morning tomorrow, put your home to bed for the night with a quick tidy, get your kids and yourself ready for a peaceful night sleep.

However challenging your day has been, a solid, calm and peaceful evening routine will encourage your body and mind to slow down. That’s exactly what you need to be ready for the morning, without needing to hit that snooze button!

#3 To Do list

Whether you write it in the evening or the morning, a To Do list gets your thoughts down into some kind of visible list instead of being a load of jumbled thoughts (that you may or may not remember).

Write a list on paper, on the Notes section in your phone – whatever works for you. But list them out, don’t rely on your brain to store them! Your brain is meant for much better things!

#4 Get intentional

If you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to something else. Guard your time and curate your diary wisely.

Be careful when you commit to things and make sure that they’re really important to you. If they’re not, don’t do them.

There are so many time-wasters, sucks on our time and temptations to sway us. Your time is the most limited resource you have. Don’t spend your days chasing your tail with nothing to show for it.

#5 Calm

Peace, quiet and stillness are undervalued and under-rated. Modern life is full of bright lights, shiny things, lots of noise and distraction. Whether it’s glare from our screens, the alerts and notifications from our phones, the emails pinging on our computers – busy life invades our physical and emotional space.

Take time to sit still, have quiet time, read books, meditate, walk around your garden, put your headphones on, relish the kids having nap time.

Calm is what grounds us, gives us space to think, time to re-charge our bodies and re-sets our brain so we’re ready for what comes next.

CONCLUSION

As the author Annie Dillard says ‘How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your life’. Make sure you’re spending your days in the best way possible. Take control of them before they take control of you! These 5 tips will help you structure your day, get things done and get you in the right mindset for whatever the day throws at you!