Time limits, what does that mean? It means establishing a block of time for a certain activity at an appointed time.  Then fearlessly just do it.  Easy to say.

Think about the one thing you do not like to do.  Something you procrastinate.

A person, I did not expect to see that their car is cluttered with soda bottles, fast food wrappers, and other things scattered about the vehicle.  I asked her, “Why is it so hard for you to clean out your car?”  She said “I live in my car”.  I cannot help but think, then why not keep it nice for yourself.

I suggested to this young person that they make a day once a week before they go to work in the afternoon, to leave about 40 minutes early, get the car washed, go take the trash out and use the vacuum that is free, and then get the car fueled.  Go inside and have a snack before work.  She said she might try it.

Being that I use to have the same problem, and it can still be a problem if I am not careful.  My husband is a great influence because he likes a clean car.  I do too.

A different problem I had was being overly stressed when needing to make phone calls and or handle mail which required an action.  It was detrimental the way I handled it in my thirties.  What was I thinking when I would just shove my unopened mail in a three foot long drawer in the kitchen.  I was in my thirties then with three small sons and a job that required a lot of hours.  With the boys homework and extracurricular activities, and my college homework, and work, life was very overwhelming at times.  When the power went out, I would fish around in this long drawer looking for any mail from the power company.  My ex husband was not paying child support at the time and life was so hard pressed.  I feel great sympathy for single parents with many responsibilities. When family pitch in and help where they can, the mother can have free time to do bills and clean the home.

What has been working for me is I have a personal rule that I make all necessary phone calls before 11 a.m.  I make the phone calls then so it cannot get put off to another day.  If I did it in the afternoon, some companies close at 4 p.m., depending on their time zone it is earlier.  Lunch time calls are not always good because others are taking lunch too and you may not get the party you need.  There are some companies that close on a Friday afternoon.  Calling by 11 a.m. is a rule that prevents me from procrastinating.

Anxiety can cause imagined unlikely troubles, sometimes I still do it.   It is awful anxiety that I feel, and it can be unrealistic to assume that I would be tied up on the phone for a couple hours.  Many feel that way too.  Or concern that I would not be able to answer the questions.

By appointing a time limit to start something, and estimating the time it should take, it is a nice surprise when we get it done faster than assumed.  The reward is that it is done.  I like to write in my calendar what time I called, whom I talked to, how long the call took, and what is the anticipated results.  This helps me so much.

I am striving to figure out my July calendar of domestic events.  I love the zone method a popular domestic authority established.  One week per area of home gets a special deep cleaning all week.  Imagine if a person was done in three days.  It takes a job per day.  I like the program.

Creating my master list to finish some things that have been lagging on.  The nagging of my mind when I see such makes it impossible to feel peace.  Knowing I am getting more done and I am getting acclimated to the routine gives me encouragement to continue on.  They say, practice makes perfect.  I do not want to be perfect, just greatly improved.    My Master List is a form of establishing time limits.  Because with the master list, I know what is my priority.  It feels goo to see how many I can get ticked off early in the week.  I am eager to see the week where I get it all done early, if that happens I can look at my master monthly list and see what I can get done.  When I have to rest extra, this method helps me to keep from getting overwhelmed.  Of course, I am not an expert, my home is still in a state of recovery and remodeling.  It is just getting better.

The weekend, I did not finish anything I strove to work on last week.  It was an unusual weekend, and we were able to enjoy friends, and get some needed rest.  When things seem out of your control, we can just relax, enjoy it, and get back on track on Monday.  Time Limits can help us to accomplish more on our priority list.