These tips are an essential part of time management and they are all mistakes I’ve made and still have to look out for on a regular basis. I see you over in the Facebook Group and my DMs and I know you are working so hard. I know it’s frustrating when you are trying something new like my 5-block method and then you hit some obstacles and bumps, fall off, and don’t want to get back on.

Please know that I want you to succeed and feel confident with my 5-block method. I want you to have a time management system that works for your family. I want you to know how to prioritize and schedule your Fundamental Needs and have a home management system for you and your family that really works.

This system really works. If you haven’t dived into my 5-block method you can find the free download here and read on to avoid these mistakes while you are working on it. The 5-block method is key to all of this and if you are struggling it probably is because of one of these 4 time management mistakes.

First of all, yes you need to be planning your schedule week by week. Per month is far too long to get into the nitty-gritty. You need to have your calendar set before Monday and the first thing you should put into your calendar are your appointments, the things that dictate where you have to be.

Those things that have a specific time and deadline are foundational before you build anything else into your week. You are double-booked because these things aren’t in your schedule. This is why you’re forgetting your commitments last minute and flying out the door while texting your friend that you can’t hang out because you forgot about soccer practice.

These things can be forgotten so easily. Look at your kid’s school schedule, your husband’s schedule, your pet’s appointments, and kids’s sport schedules. For your kid’s school schedule put in any celebration days, early release, etc in your Google Calendar. Put in the notes section anything special they need or if anything has to be turned or that you need to remember.

What do you have going on this week that you’ve already prescheduled out? What are your work appointments? All of that cannot be overlooked. Alright, mistake number two. 

Buffer time can be categorized as transitions. Somebody always has to go to the bathroom right when we have to go somewhere. I have just learned that you need to add more buffer time.

I need to add a buffer onto the beginning and on the end of when I’m planning out my day. Every single one of your time blocks needs to have buffer time. I can guarantee this is one of the most crucial mistakes you’re making right now.

Your time blocks need to have a buffer for cleanup at the end of them. This doesn’t mean that you need to make that time block longer it just means that you need to have a tidy cue triggered in your brain. You can even signify this inside of your paper planner with just a ‘TC’.

This is the time where you spend the next 15 minutes before you go from your work block into your PM block tidying your space. You don’t want to leave your space with a dirty coffee cup and snack wrappers and your earbuds uncharged with cords laying everywhere.

It’s not just the kids it’s you too. In your nighttime routine, you don’t want to rip your clothes off and jump into bed. You want to wake up to a nice neat bedroom.

Have this transition time built in. This will keep you from leaving a trail of mess and running out the door late. Okay, mistake number 3.

One of the worst mistakes that you can make is to try and make your schedule perfect. It’s not going to happen. I see this mistake all the time. Women come into the Systemize Your Life Academy and they are so on fire to change their life, and they will, and you can, but not right this minute.

You cannot craft a perfect schedule on Saturday for the entire week. There are things that you can’t predict. Those things are going to happen especially if you have children. 

So why even try to sit down and make a schedule if none of it’s going to go according to plan? Because most of it will go according to plan. The more you practice this the better you will understand your family and how to run a home management system for them.

The more you get in there and practice this without the expectation for it to be perfect, the better and closer to perfect it will become. Release yourself of any expectation for the first several weeks if not the first 2 months of this time blocking thing.

I even fall into this too sometimes you guys. I get my hopes up and everything is perfectly laid out. But then a kid is sick or somebody wakes up in the middle of the night. I then sleep through my morning routine and I’m bummed because I didn’t get to put a little check in my habit tracker.

I get it, I understand. I’ve been doing this long enough that I know you’re setting yourself up to fail if you’re crafting for perfection.

All right let’s look at the fourth and final time management tip that you must avoid when planning your schedule.

You want to get it all done right now. Your to-do list is really long and it’s been really long for a really long time. I know that you have an incredible ability to craft a schedule that runs you ragged. You know how to get them kids in the car and throw snacks in the back. You can whip up a meal and get stuff done.

You know how to get a bazillion different people to a bazillion different places. You can nurture and nourish every single person from sun up until sun down until you’re exhausted.

I know because you’re a mom and I’m a mom too. I understand so so much how easy it is to just say “Well it’s fine, I’ll just make that up tomorrow. It’s not a big deal, I can do all of that today. I’ll just squish in my hour of work after everybody goes to bed tonight.”

You keep over-committing and over-promising when you know you don’t want to deliver to that capacity.  You’ve created a monster. Let’s be clear nobody expects this from you, they just think that’s the way Mom is.

You want to give your kids and your husband everything. You want to make everyone happy. But the problem is that there is no sustainability in that way of life.

I know how I want to show up for my kids, for my husband, for my house, and for you in my business. If I overcommit to any one of those things then one of those other things suffers deeply. That’s why I created everything that I’ve created here. Systems have literally changed my life in so many ways.

I too have been there and understand these mistakes and have learned to form them. These 4 time management mistakes are real and important for you to avoid every single week when you are planning your schedule.

Find out which mistake (or maybe all of them!) is most important for you to figure out and let us know inside the Facebook group. Show us your action plan so you don’t make these mistakes going forward. Share it with a friend, your husband, and your kids. These systems will change your life.

If you’re ready to commit and get all my life changing systems that have worked for so many women come and find out more details on the Systemize Your Life Academy. The more mistakes you can avoid the faster you will get where you want to go! I’m cheering you on!