2011 Challenges: January – Time Management

So I’ve decided that I’m going to do some monthly challenges here on this blog. They’re often quite personal in nature, but they have to do with living a good life, and that’s what we all want, right?

Yes, I know I’m late getting started, and that’s why I chose “Time Management” for my challenge for January. Fitting, yes? I knew you’d like it.

So there are a few things about me, and my time management woes, that are basic fact:

1. I have a LOT of work. Work I’m responsible to others for, and work I’m responsible to myself for. A LOT of work.
2. The economy has struck close to home. Boyfriend’s on unemployment (which in the state of NY, is running out very very fast) and he’s trying to start his own thing at this point. Until that takes off, I’m not only working on a few large contracts, but trying to use the necessity of making more money (and relax a bit in expressing myself creatively) with my jewelry and polymer clay (classes and sales).
3. The more stressed I get, the less productive I am. Yes, I’m the occasional midnight-oil-burning type when it comes to deadlines, but when it comes to my own personal work goals, they always suffer.

These are things I need to take control of, and fast, before I burn the hell out and jump a plane to some near-deserted island.

So my challenge this month is to work on scheduling. Some of my goals in this challenge are:

1. Get all client work out of the way daily, by using a daily to-do sheet.
2. End client work no later than 2pm.
3. Do my own work (whatever I decide that might be each day, via a second to-do list) from 2pm until 5pm.
4. End my work day no later than 6pm.
5. Stop working on client work on the weekends unless vitally important. If something does need to be done on the weekend, set aside a chunk of time, do it then, and walk away.
6. Use my evenings and weekends to spend more time with my boyfriend, friends, and family. (I sure don’t do that enough, and it hurts my heart.) If there’s nothing going on, or if I’ve got no one to hang with, then use that time to work on creative projects (painting, clay, and jewelry).

My intention is to do a status report post each day (or as close to it as humanly possible). So whaddaya say? We’ve got two weeks left in January to nail this. They say it only takes 7 days to create a new habit, so I’m all in it to win it at this point! Care to join me?

You can chime in in the comments, and then give your status update in the comments on future posts, or better yet, start the same on your own blog for accountability (if you do, let us know in the comments here so anyone else can join in with you). Let’s see if we can work together to really kick ass in 2011!