Do you often feel that there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything that needs to be done – done? Be sure that you spend your time wisely. We make budgets for our money, so why not budget our time as well. Not every activity that you have planned every day is necessarily an activity that is “important”. For example, watching the re-runs of Survivor (or in my case Monk). I will veg out in front of the TV for a whole day when a Monk marathon comes on (even if I have seen the same marathon before). And then, of course, the next day I am rushing to do all the things I was supposed to complete the day I was Monk-i-fied.

Here’s a tip: Budget your time wisely. Even if you have to write it into an Excel spreadsheet, just like you would your household budget. Write out a list of all the activities you do, prioritize them, and budget how much of your time you really should be spending on them per week. For example, if you belong to a book club and it meets every week for two hours – make a decision. While you may love participating in the book club, you may find that you are stressed to get things finished after the meeting (e.g. cooking dinner, helping your kids with their homework, completing orders from your website). If this is the case, then you just might have to dump the club! Its fun, but not necessarily a priority. You can find another way to enjoy reading, such as a virtual or online book club with no specified time requirements where you can participate at your leisure. You’re not giving it up, you are “budgeting” your time to fit it in while reducing stress.