Stretching the 24 hours clock on AIP

Everyone has the same number of hours in the day but some people seem to be able to accomplish more, why is that?

Being an AIP mom ( which entails extra cooking and food preparation time ), I often get into the topic of how I balance my time amongst, family, business, blogging, my health... and the list continues. By no means am I implying that I have it all figured out and am always on tops of things, I am merely sharing some of the techniques I found helpful for me to find my style of time management. I still get frazzled at times, but I don't get wrapped up and let it carry me away to the land of out of control stress anymore. In the past, stress has triggered my Ulcerative Colitis to flare up no matter how diligent I am with my diet. Now, I am better at addressing this important component to my healing health.

Time management is usually thought of to increase productivity, for someone with a chronic condition, it is essential to maintain a low stress level for health's sick.

Here is my strategy.

• Finding your most productive time. I find that I am more productive in the early mornings so I get up a couple hours before the rest of the family awakes to get some me time to practice yoga.
• Start with structure as my guideline. I use several methods to keep track of things; a calendar,  make lists both pen to paper and on my phone.
• Get them done and cross them off. Once I have the task established, I try to complete them one by one and get them off my mind, it is a sense of accomplishment I enjoy feeling. 
• Be flexible. When unexpected things come up, I have learned be open and go with the flow. 
• Prioritizing. Sometime I want to do what I like first and leave the other ones for later, prioritizing keeps the more pressing tasks and projects that require more time higher up on the list. 
• Regroup and reset. Anytime I start to get overwhelmed, I have learned to stop and reassess my workload and health status. I have learned it's ok to say "no" to previous commitments sometimes. Asking for help and learning to delegate is not a defeat or sign of weakness. It is a sign of intelligence.
• FOOD - find easy to prepare recipes like this  and batch cook ahead of time. My children seem to be always hungry so having ready to eat AIP/ Paleo food in the house is very important. 
• Practice makes habits. Once I keep using my techniques over and over, I can into the groove and things just flow easier even when I am busy. 

Tools 

• Personal Kanban " A kanban is a tool to visualize, organize, and complete work. - See more at: http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/primers/what-is-a-kanban/#sthash.dQTUNUHS.t5mwAOwC.dpuf"  on fridge, this is a great tool especially for visual learners, I also make graphic versions for my kids
• Set reminder alarms on my phone, I make good use of both the 1st and 2nd alert the calendar app on my phone
• Stay calm and take deep breathes, it seems so simple yet so powerful. You can do it anywhere. 
• Practice yoga daily, this is a really important one, I certainly feel the difference if I miss my practice a couple of days. It is high on my priority list and I have to make time for it. 
• Get enough sleep, it is not worth it trade rest time for work time, 30 mins later a few nights in a roll will catch up on me. 
• Believe that when things are crazy that it's only the ebb and flow of life, it will level out and balance 
• Trust you inner self to that you will bring things in order 

I hope these ideas will help you add to your time and stress management system so you can maintain better health. What technique do you personally use that is effective? I would like to hear what works for you too.