Energy saving light bulbs are top on the list of energy conscious consumers. We are told that they last longer than ordinary incandescent bulbs but I find all that “lasts so many hours” gibberish on the package to be quite useless. I want to know in real terms how long the light bulbs in my house really last. I know that eventually we will all have to make the move to energy saving light bulbs by law, but in the meantime I have one of my little illuminating parenting tips for you.

In our house we have a lot of recess lights. It seems that I am always changing a blown bulb and with all the choices on the market I never know which style or brand to buy.

So, I have started labeling my light bulbs with a Sharpie permanent marker (oh, you have to love those Sharpies!). Whenever I replace a bulb, either incandescent or energy saving light bulbs, I write the date on the base of the bulb with a Sharpie permanent marker. When the bulb finally blows, I will be able to see the date when I first installed it. This information will help me to decide which brand and style of light bulb to buy in the future.

And this, in turn, should translate into a few extra dollars in my pocket.

If only I had more time….. All parents need more time. All people need more time. Nothing is worse than a having a “to do” list that is a mile long, trying to get it all done, and accomplishing nothing. Sure, time management is the key but how do you really accomplish your goals?

It really isn’t as hard as it seems.

Set Realistic Goals
Setting realistic goals is the single most important step for success with time management for parents. If your to do list actually a mile long, then that is a problem. Keeping a master list is fine. But each day you need to assign yourself smaller set of tasks. Look at your schedule for the day and make sure that you have the time to accomplish this smaller list of goals. Chipping away at your master list in this manner will get you farther than keeping a running to-do list that never seems to go away.

Prioritize
Almost everything needs to be done “yesterday”. But guess what? That’s not possible. Put the hottest fires first and everything else will have to wait. It is human nature to put off the stuff you hate to do - but this will only bog you down. Make yourself do the worst stuff first, then you will breeze through the rest of the day.

Create an Action Plan
Setting your goals is the easy part. Another essential parenting tip is that you need to outline the steps to make it happen. One of your goals can be as basic as getting little Suzy to her swimming lesson on time. But it is not enough to leave it at that. What are you going to do to make it happen?
You must write down these actions: pack Suzy’s swim bag, allow for driving time, allow time for changing, allow time to chat with other parents and Suzy’s friends, after the lesson need time to change into dry clothes, time to drive home.
If your write out your actions, you might realize that that half hour appointment will actually require one and a half hours of time.
You may then realize that what you thought were realistic parenting goals, are in reality not that achievable.

Don’t Give In to Distraction
You could have the best plan in the world and one little distraction can throw you off schedule. I can tell you the two biggest distractions that face today’s parents: phone and internet. If the phone rings and you are in the middle of one of your action plans resist the urge to answer it! With caller ID it is easy to screen calls, let the call go to voicemail. Make sure you have some phone call time built into your schedule and call back when it is convenient for you. You may end up playing phone tag - but you will accomplish your goals. If you don’t know by now - the internet is a black hole, it will suck you in and it is hard getting back out! Again, budget internet time into your schedule, set an alarm if you have to, and just walk away.

Allow for some Down Time
Parents aren’t robots and parenting is a full time job. Give yourself a lunch hour, a coffee break, some time to read the paper, exercise, work on a hobby, or do something that you enjoy.

Avoid Hobby Overload
That being said, hobbies can create time pressures of their own. As much as we are parents, we are also individuals with a wide variety of interests. Take an avid reader for example, a bookstore is like a candy shop. And the library is even more tempting - a huge building filled with free reads! So what happens? You borrow every book that strikes your fancy and your bedside table turns into a huge, unread, to-do list. Don’t turn your hobby into work. One project, one book, one activity at time will be more enjoyable in the long run.

Small Accomplishments = Greater Success
Nothing beats the feeling of getting things done. Set yourself up to succeed on a daily basis!

photo by Beachy

Now that the school year is in full swing, our days are busier than ever. Between school itself, homework, after school activities, and instrument practice, little time is left for anything else - and certainly not chores!

ButI need the kids to make home a priority as well. The whole family benefits when the kids clean up after themselves and help with general upkeep.

Here is a list of 20 chores kids can do even when time is tight.

1. Take the trash out.
2. Collect trash from all household wastebaskets.
3. Make their beds.
4. Refill handsoap pumps in bathrooms.
5. Collect bath and hand towels for laundry and put fresh ones out.
6. Replenish Dixie cup, tissue, or toilet paper supplies in bathrooms.
7. Set the table.
8. Clear the table.
9. Put toys away in playroom.
10. Organize their bookshelves.
11. Run the vaccuum.
12. Clean out 1 drawer or area.
13. Dust their room.
14. Clean stuff out of the car (wrappers, books, toys, etc.)
15. Get lunches or snacks ready for the next day.
16. Pull weeds.
17. Clean fingerprints off of doors/mirrors/walls.
18. Put their own clean laundry away.
19. Bring dirty laundry to laundry room.
20. Create their own “To-Do” list for tomorrow.

Heather (at Home With Heather) has an excellent blog with tons of useful information for work at home moms. (WAHM’s). She also happens to be one of the first bloggers that I networked with, and she probably doesn’t know it, but has given me a lot of guidance - via her blog - on my foray into the world of blogging.

Last week Heather was talking about meme’s, which is sort of a blogging game where one one blogger “tags” a bunch of other bloggers - which means that the “tagged” bloggers are asked to write a post about themselves. The subject of each meme is a little different, but you get the idea.

To add a fun, new twist to the traditional meme, Heather has started something called a “cross blog conversation”, where she has asked specific questions of a few bloggers. We will answer in a post and ask her a question back.

So, Heather has asked me for my best tip to other WAHM’s (work at home moms) for juggling a busy life. Definitely not an easy question. Perhaps a Letterman list of ten is the best way to handle this:

• 10. Time Management
• 9 . Lists, Lists, Lists,
• 8. Carpools
• 7. Meal Planning
• 6. Scheduling every detail, including household chores
• 5. Keeping a well stocked vehicle
• 4. Sunday planning time for the week ahead
• 3. Make your kids lunches the night before
• 2. Make dinner early in the day so it is ready at dinner time
• 1. And the number 1 tip (drumroll, please) - No stress, improvise, and be flexible! Do not expect perfection from yourself or you will be disappointed.

Unfortunately, many of us WAHM’s expect to be able to do it all perfectly and feel a sense of failure when we don’t get it done. Setting priorities and attainable goals is key.

Heather’s question was actually very timely, because I recently wrote a post called How to Increase Productivity While Working from Home on my other blog - Blog Resources Online.

Now, Heather, my question to you is this:

I love success stories and you are obviously one of them. As a new blogger, I am wondering how long you have been blogging, how much time you devote to blogging, is blogging the only business that you run from home, and at what point did you feel comfortable enough to make the switch from corporate America to working at home.

Okay, I know, that is more than one question - just write your whole biography while you’re at it! Actually, an answer to any part of that question would be fine.

And sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you. You see, my time management (#10 above) has been rather efficient lately, but the problem is that I need more time to manage - and I can’t create that!

Boo! I was disappointed to learn that the upcoming iPod Touch will have no input capabilities for the calendar function. You can still sync your calendar to your computer but all input will have to be done on your computer. This dashes my hopes for PDA type functionality. It is a shame since the technology is obviously available (on the iPhone).

You can read the full review of the iPod Touch at PC Magazine.

The bright side is that I will save my money and continue to use my hybrid method of organization, which is working well for me.

Update: You can now use the iPod Touch as PDA! This functionality has been added by Apple!