Making Time to Parent Well

One of the most common reasons we give for not doing all of the Christian parenting things we know we should be doing is that there just isn’t enough time. And some weeks that is true. When everyone is sick with a nasty virus and three major things have broken down all in the same week, you are in survival mode at best.

The rest of the weeks we parent though, our lack of time is often because our priorities are wrong or we lack time management skills or some other factor that we can control. We aren’t always quite sure where to turn for advice on things like time management. It seems most of the books focus on employment tasks, not things impacting our homes and families.

Morgan Tyree has sought to help with her new book, Take Back Your Time. It’s a time management system that has some unique aspects that separate it from others I have seen over the years. While some of the beginning chapters have a lot of general organizational tips, it’s in the heart of the book where she introduces her somewhat unique system.

I won’t try to summarize her system, but it basically involves understanding your most and least productive times and ordering your tasks accordingly. It’s a bit more complex than that, but not so complex that the reader will become frustrated and quite trying.

Having said that, her technique does involve some paperwork – at least in the beginning. She includes sample forms, which are too small to be very usable, but are easily replicated.

As a fairly organized person who manages my time better than many, I can see where her techniques could be very helpful for those who struggle. Once you get used to the system, it should become easy to do without a lot of forms – perhaps a color coded to do list instead.

I actually appreciate the thought behind her system and may add some aspects of it to my schedule. I already do that unintentionally at times, but I think doing it intentionally would have a more positive impact on both my productivity and my guilt.

If you struggle with time management, I think this book can provide you with a helpful framework. If you are trying to squeeze a little more productivity out of an already productive life, her methods may be able to help you do that. It’s definitely a book worth reading to see if it will work for you.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.

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Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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