Got 15 minutes? That’s all you need to complete tasks and create more free time. POWER Pockets™ is a simple time-management solution designed to help you prioritize your tasks and be more productive throughout your daytime hours. POWER Pockets™ are daily gaps used to complete your tasks.
How it all began…
I used to be a busy working mom struggling to balance work, home and family which was ironic considering my day job. I’m a Business Manager and analyze ways to do things better, faster and cheaper. I could easily see how to make things better and more efficient at work, but I was struggling to apply those same principles in my personal life. To be honest, I was too tired and out of energy each evening to care if home tasks got completed.
I didn’t realize the full impact of my unbalanced life until a few years ago when my son brought it to my attention. He was bored and had “nothing to do”. I told him he could invite some friends over to play while I did some housework (that I had neglected all week). I will never forget his horrified face after I made that suggestion. He quickly told me he would not invite friends over because he was embarrassed by our dirty house! As he went throughout the house pointing at messes, I realized my life was unbalanced, my priorities were out of whack, and I needed to fix it.
FINDING YOUR FREE TIME!
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In that moment, it became very clear to me that work was getting the best of me, and my family was getting the leftovers. I knew I had to find a solution. It took awhile, but I finally realized that I needed to get more done during the daytime hours when I had more energy.
The Solution: POWER Pockets™
I used my business experience to create a solution to help me balance work, home and family. I went through a 6-step process to evaluate my home tasks and create a daily schedule to complete my personal tasks before I got home. My goal was to create a plan that allowed me to get my daily home tasks completed and still have time each evening for family and fun.
POWER Pockets™ are effective for any working mom. POWER Pockets™ are customizable and designed to meet your specific goals, tasks and needs. Here is the 6-step process I used to create my POWER Pockets™. You can follow these same steps and easily create your own POWER Pockets™!
6- Step Process to Create Your Own POWER Pockets™
Step 1: Brainstorm
You need to know all of your tasks, chores, commitments and obligations before you can develop an action plan. First, start with a brainstorming session and list out all of your home tasks, chores, and personal commitments. List every task- big or small. Next, go through and analyze each task to determine if it is important and necessary. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is this an important or critical task?
- Is this task valuable or beneficial? Does it provide some benefit to my family or home?
- Does this task bring joy or peace to my family? Help reduce chaos or overwhelm?
- Am I, or someone else, already doing a task comparable to this one? Is this really necessary?
- Is this a commitment that is necessary? Do I need to be the PTA President? Do I need to be in-charge of the team fundraiser? Is this commitment taking too much of my free time?
After you have used these questions to evaluate all of your tasks, chores, commitments and obligations, mark through and eliminate any tasks or commitments that are no longer necessary. Get them off your task list.
Step 2: Prioritize Your Tasks
After your brainstorming session, your list should be a little smaller and more manageable. Your to-do list should contain tasks and obligations that are either necessary or beneficial to you or your family.
Now it’s time to prioritize your tasks and obligations. Go through each item and assign it a value. You can use Brian Tracy’s ABCDE Method:
- “A” tasks- critical tasks. These are your “must do” tasks.
- “B” tasks- important tasks that you would like to get completed.
- “C” tasks- it’s great if you can get to them, but okay if you don’t.
- “D” tasks- these are tasks you realize you can delegate. You don’t have to do them yourself. (Ex: chores you can assign to your children instead of doing them yourself).
- “E” tasks- tasks that are not necessary and you need to eliminate them. Check again to see if you can eliminate any tasks or obligations.
Step 3: Highlight Tasks
Go through your list and highlight any tasks or obligations that can be completed in 30 minutes or less. Also highlight tasks that have the potential to be done in 30 minutes. For example, grocery shopping. It may take you and hour or so to go grocery shopping. However, if you order on-line instead of going to the store, you can probably complete your shopping in 30 minutes.
Step 4: Circle Tasks Done Outside the Home
This was a big ah-ha moment for me. When I looked at all the tasks I was doing at home each evening (and weekend), I realized many of them could actually be done outside the home during my daytime hours. I did not have to spend my nights and weekends doing chores. Most of my tasks, with the exception of cleaning, could be done during the day. I could meal plan, order groceries, pay bills, and exercise during daily gaps of idle time throughout my day-my POWER Pockets™! Go through your list and circle all of your tasks and obligations that can be handled outside of the home.
All of the items highlighted and circled on your list are your POWER Pockets™ tasks. They are personal/home tasks that can be completed outside of the home in less than 30 minutes.
Step 5: Identify Your Daily Gaps
Look for 15-30 minute pockets of idle time throughout your day when you can be productive. Those gaps are your POWER Pockets™. POWER Pocket™ examples include your lunch break, a 15-minute work break, waiting in line to pick your child up from school, your daily train commute, or waiting at your child’s soccer practice. These are all pockets of idle time that you can use to get your home tasks completed. Use these breaks to pay bills, meal plan, order groceries, journal, exercise, plan an organizing project or anything else you have highlighted and circled from your list.
If you need help finding your daily gaps, my Reclaim Your Evenings Toolkit provides an easy 4-step process to help you find your POWER Pockets™ and assess what tasks will fit best in your POWER Pockets™. Click here for more information on the Reclaim Your Evenings Toolkit.
Step 6: Schedule Your POWER Pockets™ & Complete Your Tasks
Now that you have identified all of your daily gaps (POWER Pockets™), you can add your POWER Pockets™ into your daily schedule. Use tasks from the list you created above to fill your daily POWER Pockets™. Be sure to fill your POWER Pockets™ with your A and B tasks first. Fill your POWER Pockets™ in order of importance. Complete your most important tasks (“A” tasks) first each day and during the first part of your week. Save your “B” and “C” tasks for later in the day or near the end of the week.
Schedule your other tasks that were not highlighted and circled (your non- POWER Pockets™ tasks) into your schedule as time permits. These are your tasks that take longer than 30 minutes or have to be completed at home. You will probably have to add these to your schedule before work, in the evenings or on the weekends.
Create More Free Time
To reclaim your evening time, it’s imperative you make the most of your POWER Pockets™ and squeeze productive time out of the daytime gaps. I know it’s hard to always be productive during your idle times throughout your day. Sometimes you need to stop and take a break. I get it. But you’ll have to complete some personal tasks each day to have free time each night.
Turning idle time into productive time is worth it. Do you get everything done during the day? No, of course not. But by using POWER Pockets™, you can create a little free time every evening. I still have to cook and clean at home, but now I also have free time each evening for family, friends and fun. POWER Pockets™ are daily gaps you can use to complete your tasks and take back your time!
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