Resources – Heavenbound Mom

I recently finished Crystal Paine’s The Time Saving Mom. It was an easy read, and I love the conversational tone Crystal uses in her writing. She is a blogger over at MoneySavingMom.com, a site specifically designed to help with budgeting and other financial items. Additionally, she frequently shares about her own life as a wife and mom, and I have enjoyed following her family’s story of secondary infertility, foster care, and adoption! If you’re looking for a practical time management book, I believe you will find this helpful! She explains a four-part strategy of Pray, Prioritize, Plan, and Prep (all of which, of course, must be followed by doing!), and provides several practical tips for successfully managing your life in a more effective or productive way. Some primary takeaways for me from this book were – * Google Calendar ... I’ve heard great things about it and our family has been discussing the use of a calendar that syncs to our devices, so I think we are finally going to give it a try! * Time blocking ... a strategy I love and have implemented well in the past but need to get back to using. * Know your 6 main priorities ... these sometimes change depending on your season, so it is important to reassess routinely. (She also suggests targeting two of these main priorities each day, which means you will hit each of them at least twice per week. I’m not quite there on implementing that as a strategy, but I can see how it would work for some people.) * “Discipline begets discipline” ... that sentence speaks for itself, and I need to be more intentional about implementation. * The root issue may be a lack of self-discipline ... Often when my strategies for time management, home management, weight management, etc, fail, the problem is not the system. The problem is me, and the primary problem is my own lack of self-discipline. OUCH! This one hurt, but in a good way, as I recognized the truth behind it. The idea also was presented as the author's own experience; there was no judgement of anyone else, I simply recognized the truth as it applied to my own life as well. * “Act the way you want to feel” (as opposed to acting based on how you feel) ... Feelings and emotions should be indicators and not primary motivators, but this reminded me of the importance of doing the right thing whether I feel like it or not. KEY TAKEAWAY – * Habit stacking ... this was a new idea for me, but ironically enough just a few days after reading the book I heard almost the exact same idea presented in a secular Ted Talk! The premise is that you put your new desired habit directly next to an already established one. The habit that is already in place functions as a trigger to remind you to implement the new activity. I love this idea and I’m starting to put it into practice! The bottom line ... would I recommend this book? Yes! Note: I don’t review books by giving “stars;” rather, I have a 3-tiered system based on the question “Would I recommend this book?” ... Yes; Yes with Caveats; or No So now it is your turn! Have you read this book? Do you have recommendations for other time management books? What is your favorite time management technique? What changes do you need or want to make to be a more effective manager of your time?