I’m taking the weekend off! I mean, really off. No chores. No errands. No must dos.It’s a weekend based only on want-to-dos.One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in the last few years is that time is more valuable than money. You can always earn more money, but time is a finite resource.I’ve also learned that if you don’t protect your time, it will get filled, beyond capacity, with no room for you to relax or play.I confess that I relearned that lesson over the previous four weeks…Keep in mind that I absolutely love what I do. I love working with clients to help them with their day-to-day finances. I love speaking to audiences to teach them about Savvy Living. I love writing about Savvy Living.Being so passionate about the subject is the reason I’m at my desk at 6am and work until 5pm or later. It’s the reason I often put in another 8 – 16 hours on the weekend.On top of my day-to-day schedule, over the last four weeks I had 8 speaking engagements in 4 states. It was fantastic, but wreaked havoc on my schedule, on Paul’s schedule, on our house and frankly, on my health. I was exhausted.As I said, lesson relearned. I’m just glad I had the presence of mind six weeks ago to block this weekend out on my calendar.To ensure I don’t put myself back in the same position again, I've decided to put together some guidelines around how I manage my time.Just a few of the things I’m including in the guidelines:
- No more than one overnight business trip per month.
- Monday thru Friday from 6am – 5pm, focus only on work. No surfing, unless It’s for research or Facebook unless it’s to post something for The Savvy Life. That way when I shut off my computer at 5pm, I'll do it knowing I put in a solid day's work.
- Be home, relaxing on the couch by 7:30 pm every night.
- No more than four hours of work on a Saturday or Sunday - preferably while Paul and Dante are still asleep.
- Take at least one full day off a month that doesn’t include travel or a must attend event.
- Take at least one full weekend off a quarter that doesn’t include travel or a must attend event.
I specifically used the word "guidelines" for my list and not Rules. I do that because I don’t want to set myself up for failure. I know that at least one Tuesday a month I’ll be at a PTA Board Meeting past 7:30 pm. I also know that if an extraordinary speaking opportunity lands at my feet I’ll take it, even if I’m already booked that month. It has to be really, really worth it though.If you can relate to the lesson I relearned over the last four weeks, I encourage you to set up your own Time Guidelines and start reaping the benefits of working so hard.
