Find the Time

by Kathy Peel

If you wonder how you’ll ever find the time to get organized, try asking yourself three little questions every morning.

What should I do? Every day, list everything you think needs to be done—putting food on the table, gas in the car, and money in the bank, for starters. On most days it’s a pretty substantial list.

What can I delegate? If it’s laundry day, whose turn is it to fold the clothes? Can your teenager drop off the bank deposit on his way to baseball practice? Is there an able-bodied person around who can run the vacuum cleaner?

What can I delete? Are there some items on your list that really don’t need doing? Do you really have to make muffins from scratch? Can you help your neighbor choose fabric for curtains next weekend instead of today? Even the busiest of us, especially the busiest of us, need to look for things we’re doing that simply don’t need to be done—as frequently as we’re doing them today, or ever.

Getting organized means learning to manage the daily affairs of your home and family, as well as setting priorities and knowing what you want to give time, emphasis, and care to in your life.

Family manager Kathy Peel is a regular contributor to American Profile.

first appeared: 2/9/2003