The Times, They Are A-Changin'

So, what are you up to this week?  The Spartan household is implementing some new changes this week.  As I briefly mentioned before, I am no longer working from home.  The late night hours that I was working were becoming less and less profitable and the time commitment consequently became more and more burdensome.  For about the last year, I have worked at nights until 11:30pm or midnight, and then I felt the need to stay up until 1 or 2am to "wind down".  And mornings with Junebug always came too early, even though she sleeps in until 9am.  (How blessed I am to have a good sleeper!) 

Before I stopped working, James and I talked about ways we can trim back on our budget and how we can make better use of our time.  Getting time back into your hands can be a lot like getting a lump sum of money--if you don't budget it properly ahead of time you'll nickel and dime it away and wonder where your fortune went.  So, we instituted a bedtime for ourselves and created a daily routine.  Today is day 3, and let me tell you, things are already looking up around here!  There's more family time, more time allotted specifically for bible study, our house is much tidier, and I feel more like me.  Ughh, now we need to get more exercise in the mix.  One step at a time, right?

Our neglected home gym.

Having a distinct bedtime has made it much easier to have a predetermined wake-up time.  And you know what?  Just 3 days in I feel happier already.  And closer to my family.  Budgeting our time is truly as important as budgeting our money--neither resource feels stretched when you create an outline of how they're to be spent.  And you know what they say--time is money. 

While I've been focused on living well on a budget for a while, I am finding that budgeting my time is just as important.

What do you do to maximize your time?

I'll be writing about our budget changes later this week--so keep an eye out!