Raise your hand if you could use a few more hours in your day!?

^^To all those who gave a big YES, I'm with you. So many of the clients I work with have busy schedules and fitting in workouts or whatever they need, can be a challenge. I get it. In my own personal life and to help my clients reach their health and fitness goals (and beyond!), time management is a surprising key to the game.

In the Thomas household, I'm balancing life as a mom of 3 little ones, life to wife to another entrepreneur, and my multiple hats as a Wellness & Fitness Coach/Trainer, in person and online through the Burn Fat and Feast Program. I know what it's like as a woman trying to juggle my version of "it all" and time management is critical to meeting my goals and keeping my wellness in check.

Today I'm going to talk about how I schedule my time, to ultimately feel like I'm creating more hours in my day and stepping closer to each of my unique goals. These tips will help you sit back and honestly see how you can better optimize your daily schedule for more time. The goal after all is to get the work and housework done so that you can spend time with the ones you LOVE!

Let's dive into the productivity tips.

TIP 1: LIMIT TIME ONLINE

Woah, I know! This is a hot topic and a tricky one. Let's get honest... How often do you login to Facebook on Instagram for a specific reason, and something else catches your attention; Next thing you know, 30 minutes passes and you still didn't do the intended task you logged onto the app for.

Instead of spending time going down distracting rabbit holes, we need to make ourselves accountable. There are a few wonderful apps that will track your time using apps (like Facebook and Instagram) and even not let you browse these apps even further off of a time limit you set. This is using tech to manage tech, which I love!

Another example of optimizing your time online is creating boundaries. In my business, I'm interfacing online with my clients each and every day. While this is the foundation of my business and my service to clients, I also have to set boundaries to serve them to the best of my ability in the long-run. This means turning off notifications on my phone so I don't see a ding with each and every email or Facebook message. Stay focused on the task at hand (even if it's just emptying the dishwasher!) and get it done. Another hack I use is to use airplane mode when I'm getting deep into a task.

I have found setting a time limit for my time online is very helpful. If I know I want to check Facebook every day, instead of disallowing this with an unrealistic expectation, I would say 'ok. I'm going to check Facebook every lunch hour. That's my time when I can do this, guilt-free!.' Boundaries set us free and give us the much needed time we deserve to enjoy and accomplish a lot in the day.

TIP 2: PLAN YOUR NEXT DAY

I will admit, when a Business Coach first said this, I was skeptical. I thought, right like I want to spend the precious time I get to enjoy with my husband each night instead planning my next day...

At first, I was not a believer. Now, I see that by planning my next day actually frees up MORE time. Instead of taking time away from my family, planning my next day creates more time with them by allowing me to get my work done each day, with intention.

Before my girls get home from school each day is my ideal time to create the next day's to-do. Find YOUR ideal time to plan the next day and make it part of your routine.

When I tackle this to-do list, I first brain dump everything that I want to accomplish... sometimes it's 5 key projects and sometimes it's 50 items. Whatever it is, get it from pen to paper out of your head.

Next, you take those items and prioritize the most important 5-7 items. Start your priority list from urgent to least important.

Next, schedule those items on your calendar, including meal prep, workouts, work projects, doctor's calls, or whatever matters to you!

TIP 3: CHECK YOUR INBOX ONCE A DAY

If your inbox is anything like mine, it can get out of control. Checking your inbox once a day is difficult, I know. With that said, you don't need to take more time out of your day switching tasks to check your email, when every minute truly matters.

If you need to check your business email more, I get that. When it comes to your personal email though, ONE time!

When you see an email, decide: 1.) it's actionable or not actionable and then 2.) If you will delete it or you will file it

File those emails like the great sale you want to check out out later. For me, every Friday, I check out that filed folder to address those emails.

If the email is actionable, however, you either a.) schedule the relevant item in your calendar or b.) delegate it

TIP 4: USE BATCHING

I'm a professional batcher!! Batching involves one specific activity and doing it multiple times in one sitting. Videos like the video of this blog article are an example of how I batch. Why? It took time to get ready, to get my video set up, and to get into the mode to record videos. It takes less time to do 3 videos in one sitting than 3 videos over 3 days.

Another example of how batching fits in my life is the way that I spend a day creatively planning new workouts and another day, filming those workouts for The Burn Fat and Feast Program.

I also batch my home tasks, like laundry for my family of 5. Sometimes over a week, I need to do this twice but it's FAR better than doing this 7 times! I do this with meal prep as well, as talked about in this blog post called 'The 3 Top Tips for Meal Planning Success'!

You heard what the crazy day to day looks like in the Thomas household- What are your priorities and all the things you are juggling? Let me know in the comments! I would love to get to know you better.