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TIME MANAGEMENT IN 20 MINUTES A DAY Simple Strategies to Increase Productivity, Enhance Creativity, and Make Your Time Your Own WRITTEN BY HOLLY REISEM HANNA Introduction Before I became a mom, I didn't worry much about time management. On the professional front, I had an office job with set hours, a relatively consistent workload, and goals and milestones generally set in advance for me. I showed up on time, did my job well, and at the end of the day, I went home. My schedule rarely wavered and almost never called for structural "outside-the-box" solutions. On the personal side, however, my story was a bit different. During weeknights, my usual mode of operation was to find a last-minute online recipe, swing by a grocery store, and prepare it on the fly when I got home. Meal planning for the week was far from a priority. Instead, my husband and I lived in the moment. This time of our lives consisted of joining friends for impromptu happy hours and dinners out, carefree days on the lake, and unrestricted travel. Our free time was our own, and we never really thought about how running errands on demand and accepting last- minute invites to events and gatherings was a luxury. Life was spontaneous and easygoing. But all that changed when I became a parent. My husband and I planned on having children one year after we got married, and when the time came, we were thrilled. Finally, a little one to complete our family! The decision to leave my job and become a full-time stay-at-home mom was an easy one, as I wasn't happy working as a nurse. I figured I could use this "time off" to explore different career paths and eventually start something new. Looking back, I now know this is when I began to spread myself too thin. Caring for an infant was challenging, to say the least. Throw in sleep deprivation, a newly formed freelance business, and my old carefree ways of managing time, and I was a mess. For the first few years, I found myself in a constant state of exhaustion, trying to juggle play dates, doctor's appointments, freelance work, and household chores. I would often wonder, How do other people do this with such ease? I was constantly questioning my effectiveness in every area of my life. I remember one time when my daughter was two years old. I was at the airport headed to my friend's bachelorette party, when I realized my credit card wasn't in my wallet. In a panic, I called my husband and told him that I thought I had lost it. He immediately switched into investigative mode and started calling the establishments where I had last used it, but none of them had it. Then, as a last-minute thought, he half- jokingly asked our daughter if she knew where mommy's credit card was. Sure enough, she did. The day before, when I was trying to juggle work, entertain her, and manage the household, she had removed the credit card from my wallet and put it in her purse. While I was relieved to know that my credit card was safe at home, I felt like I was failing as a mother. It was then and there that I knew my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants methods had to change. When I returned from my trip, I began devouring time management books and articles. I experimented with different calendars, planners, and online productivity tools. Slowly but surely, I tested and tried out different strategies to see what worked and what didn't. It was through this experimentation that I found systems that helped me gain clarity, streamline processes, and get more done in less time. It wasn't always smooth or successful, but it taught me that I was capable of being a dedicated mom and a successful business owner at the same time. Today, I run a flourishing business from home, manage multiple freelancers and clients, and also handle normal day-to-day activities like cooking, cleaning, picking up my daughter from extracurricular activities, and helping her with her homework. But now, unlike when I first started out, I use simple, effective time- management tools that allow me to work less while earning more money and having more free time. Did I mention that I also make time for weekly yoga classes, coffee dates, leisure travel, and lots of quality time with family and friends? Using the tools in this book, I believe that you can create more free time for the important things. in your life, too. If I can do it, so can you.