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I don't know about you by my schedule is way too full. Each week I face my planner with a bit of awe and amazement. I wonder how in the world I will get to every appointment, how I will get every task done. By the end of the week I am scrambling to make sure I have accomplished everything.

Typically I do accomplish everything however. But it wasn't always this way. In the past, before I figured out how to manage my time better I would constantly be at the end of the week facing an entire weekend of playing 'catch up' with my planner.

I'd like to share one of the things I do now that helps me keep my time better managed and my schedule under better control each week. This one tip that I use on a daily basis has been instrumental in helping me be able to juggle home, family and work. It can help you too.

The tip is simple'delegate. I know you hear that a lot, but are you actually doing it? I'm not talking about all the delegating you should be doing at work either. I'm talking about the delegating you should be doing within the family.

If you have children then they should be pulling their weight around the home and within the family, especially when it comes to their own lives and needs.

Are you doing your children's laundry? If they are over the age of 9 and can reach into the bottom of the washer then my question to you is, 'Why are you doing their laundry for them?' If your child can indeed reach into the bottom of the washer then they should be doing their own laundry. It isn't that hard to learn and by having each child do their own laundry you will free up an incredible amount of time for yourself.

Are you and your husband both working full time, yet you are doing more around the house after hours than he is? Again, I'd like to ask you,'Why?' The married men I have spoken to have confessed to me that they indeed do NOT do as much around the home as their working wives do. However, they also say that if they were asked to do anything they would. But their wives never ask for help.

Apparently we wives think that the husbands shouldn't have to be asked to help us out. Well, obviously they do. So make a list whenever you need help from dear ole hubby. Chances are very high that you will find your husband completing all items on all the lists you give to him. So delegate things to him. Don't expect him to pull his fair share around the home without you asking for the help.

Are you taking on more 'optional' things than you have time for? Did you agree to help your mother with her anniversary party plans, yet you don't have the time? Did you agree to help out at your son's school even though you know for a fact you don't have the time to be there this week? 'Why?'

Do not volunteer yourself for anything you do not have time to do. Let the people delegate the things they need from you to someone else. You can not possibly be the only person who can get these things done for these people all of the time.

Here are a few other things that I delegate to others in my life, thus freeing up a lot of valuable time for me to use on other things.

1. Grocery delivery. It costs very little, yet it frees up so much time.

2. Maid Service. I have a maid service come into my home every 2 weeks to do the scrubbing, vacuuming and dusting. The cost really isn't all that much compared to the time it frees up for me and my family.

3. Gardeners. We have a gardening service that comes 2 times a month to cut our lawn, pull our weeds and make our yards look beautiful. The cost for this service is VERY low, yet our yards always look wonderful. It is totally worth the money.

4. Kids cooking. My children are responsible for dinner one night a week each. When they were little we ate a lot of macaroni and cheese, but now that they're teenagers the dinners are quite delicious. This frees me up 2 evenings a week for paperwork and such.

5. Let those kids walk. We parents used to walk all over creation when we were kids. For some reason, however, we drive our children just about everywhere they need to be. Well, stop it. Have your older children walk everywhere they need to go. They will be in much better shape and you will have much more time.

I'm sure that you can think of other areas of your own lives where you can delegate things to other people. In fact, the better you get at finding other people to delegate activities and chores to the less hectic your life will be, and the more you will be able to accomplish each day.

Don't be afraid to delegate. Every highly successful person uses delegating as a prime tool in their arsenal to success. You can be one of them too.

Copyright 2005 Kerry Flinders