Managing Your Time to Eliminate Your Stressful Load

Mrs. Meredith Baxter, a sales manager in Sacramento, California is one stressed-out mom. On top of that, she suffers from what is called the "working-mom guilt syndrome." She is always on client calls, overseeing a dozen sales agents. Her weekends are spent either doing household chores, running errands, or doing the laundry. Her three children have already grown distant. The husband, for his part, says they find her behavior similar to Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street. They don't want to be near her because she was always ill-tempered or irritable.

But Mrs. Baxter is not a rare woman. In fact, she is a portrait of a 21st century working woman who has stepped forward... leaving behind the days when women were seen as "lovely, domesticated creatures." She is definitely not the the "plain housewife" of the 50s or 60s.

Today, there are many women who have proved themselves in the field of education. After earning their degrees, they went ahead to make a mark for themselves in business and in other fields of endeavor.

For Meredith, the stress and anxiety of juggling three roles: as a wife, mother, and career woman -- has just been too hard. But in her desire to remain competitive at work and dutiful as a mother and spouse, she still tries to find a solution to her dilemma.

According to time management experts and professional organizers, we allow all sorts of time wasters to creep into our day. These interruptions include non-essential phone calls or being disorganized about things, which eventually cause us to lose time during that often frantic search. The experts also pointed out these time-saving tips that every busy woman should consider:

GET ORGANIZED AND STOP MISPLACING THINGS - Keep your cell phone, purse, and keys near you or inside your office bag so you won't need to do that 15-minute search every single morning.

CONTROL TIME WASTERS- Interruptions like the phone can be a real time drain. Those few minutes that you keep on the phone can add up to a lot of lost time. Free yourselves from this "communications slavery." Use an answering machine and then turn off the ring tone of your mobile phone. Try to settle for a vibrate tone when you are working. Pick up and check your missed calls only during breaks or when you have completed most of your tasks.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR INBOX - Email is one of the most important things in 21st century living. But this handy-dandy technology can be a great time waster if those endless 'Spam' mails keep coming in. Think of those precious minutes wasted every time you sort through unwanted or unimportant mail. Turn on the spam filter of your e-mail account. Tell your friends that you don't want junk mail. Answer and discard email as quickly as possible.

TAME YOUR SNAIL MAIL - Sort it out, get it over with, and don't allow your mail to pile up. Throw junk mail instantly. Put in a designated place and do away with paper clutter.

SIMPLIFY - Take a few minutes to review your projects and tasks. Make a priority list. See if can cut corners. Know what is essential and your main goal. Don't do 10 goals that will drive you crazy. Simplify your commitments and learn to say "NO". Also simplify how you use and get information from the Internet, newspapers, magazines or the T.V. Practice the art of multi-tasking while waiting for your son to come home from school. While your child is away, write personal letters or balance your checkbook. Schedule your errands for the week like every Friday or Saturday.

If you find yourself at home or on your own, resist the urge to rush things as if there is no tomorrow. Spend as much quality time with your spouse and children. Resist spending your weekends just doing house work. Take time to meditate and best of all take time to play. And yes... with these helpful tips you can beat the clock.