730 - Time Blocking Household Tasks - Level 3 - Household Manager

It is so important to know the kind of tasks you have, how much time they take you, and where you need to be to complete them! Then when you look at your calendar you know where you can plug them in. After a couple weeks of this repeated activity, your brain will start to anticipate these activities and you'll be in your Pro Era.

Blue Orange Purple

If you are anything like I was, you have very long lists with not enough time or money to complete them all.  I started with the Sunday Basket®, identifying and categorizing with the slash pockets. Then I had to figure out where and when I could get them done.  I have my blue work which is all my weekly invisible work like calendaring, budgeting, getting ready for the next week of school (when my kids were younger), mail, you get the idea.  Then I have Orange work which is my house work like food, laundry, and cleaning.  And then I have my purple work which is a larger project, in this case errands. In order to time block your tasks, start by identifying which tasks fit into those three categories; invisible work, housework, and errands.

How Much Time Do They Take & Where Do You Need To Be

As I budgeted my time, I got really good at knowing how long each task would take. This made it easier for me to know how many tasks I could fit into any open block of time. I was always in the car, at a doctor's appointment, or working so I had to make the most of any "free time," once I discovered blocks of time I would write in the tasks I would do. Keep in mind that not all tasks are created equally; they require different amounts of time and different kinds of energy from you. Calendaring these blocks of time became a visual representation of the invisible work I was doing and it gave boundaries for these tasks to get completed. Once you have claimed these time blocks, protect them so you can actually get your tasks done.

Obviously my orange work had to be done at my house. Pretty hard to vacuum from the soccer field.  And there is a reason that there is a portable Sunday Basket® because then you can bring your blue work with you. You can go through slash pockets in your car, at the pool, or at a doctor's office. I know, because I did! And when it came to errand day (purple work) I knew where the farthest away stops were and I started there. That way, if my kids needed to go home the remaining stops were closer to my home when I did them later. Some of you really have no free time like me when my kids were younger. I