When I first started reading Time Management Mama by Sarah Korhnak and Beth Anne Schwamberger, I didn’t expect to be surprised. I have piles of time management books stacked throughout our house: in the bedroom, in the office, in the family room, and *ahem* in the bathroom. And I’ve read ALL of them. To be honest, I expected that this one would be like the other hundreds of time management books that I’ve all ready read…. It’s not. Here’s my Time Management Mama Book Review!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my policies here. As always, my favorable opinions of valuable books and learning opportunities are 100% my own.
Time Management Mama Book Review
After reading Time Management Mama: Making Use of the Margins to Pursue Your Passions cover to cover in less than 2 days and rereading it multiple times since, this book has become my go-to time management resource!
Why?
I’m so glad you asked. 🙂
It’s By Moms for Moms
This is not your father’s or your husband’s time management book. This book is written BY moms FOR moms. Like so many of us, Sarah Korhnak and Beth Anne Schwamberger are women leading multi-faceted lives full of children, family, housework, AND a passion for their business.
An Emotional Component
I laughed and LOLed. I cried and smiled and nodded my head in agreement. And I scribbled A LOT of notes (which is a very emotional experience for me). #ImJustWeirdThatWay
It’s Funny
I don’t know about you, but most of the time management books I’ve read make me feel stressed, incompetent, and just plain depressed.
Not Time Management Mama!
It’s funny and full of stories, jokes, and just a touch of sass!
The Gift of Hope
I actually felt HOPE while and after reading Time Management Mama. When I finished it I sat, slightly stunned with a goofy smile on my face, feeling excited about the changes I could make to my time management techniques and my life.
“Life Management Mama”
This book should be called “LIFE Management Mama.”
In the three weeks since I read it and applied the ideas and techniques, I’ve completely changed my life for the better. At a time when it normally falls apart (summer break)!
UPDATE January 2018: I’m STILL using these techniques to fine tune my priorities and my passions, and to better manage the valuable time I have to work on my business!
A Gorgeous Planner, Oh My
These ladies had me at “planner.”
BTW, I LOLed again when I watched these adorable kiddos! 🙂
Learn more about the The Brilliant Business Planner here.
I “Know” These Ladies
Okay, I don’t really know them. We aren’t close, personal friends, but I spend many precious hours each week on their Brilliant Business Moms site listening to podcasts, reading posts, hearing stories. I feel like I know them. That’s a heck of a lot more than I can say for most of the authors of my other time management books.
If you own a business, you should check out Brilliant Business Moms. #Seriously
Powerful Action Items
After reading this book, I walked away with powerful action items that I was able to implement immediately.
I’ll share a few. Don’t worry! I won’t give it all away.
#1 ~ “Good is the enemy of best.”
I read these six works over and over and over again, because I knew they would be important to me. And, oh, how right I was!
I now know why I’ve been doing everything halfway….
Why nothing is finished….
And why I’m constantly frustrated and overwhelmed and lying on the floor in a puddle of tears!
It’s because “good is the enemy of best.”
#2 ~ Finding my top passions and goals.
This is intimately tied to #1 above. If good is the enemy of best, then I need to know which pursuits I want to give my best. For me, it’s my family, our finances, making our home a haven, creating a daily exercise habit, and publishing killer content to my blog.
#3 ~ Don’t waste small blocks of time.
I’m always frustrated because I crave a 5-6 hour work day in which to get all of my to dos done and to really focus on my big projects and dreams.
Well, guess what? That just isn’t going happen!
This book helped me wake up and take a nice, long sniff of reality. I have kids, a husband, dogs, friends, family, never-ending piles of laundry, a messy house, ongoing chauffeur duties, and a day job. I’m NEVER going to have 5 or 6 hours to dedicate to a project or a goal. And now that I think about it, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
So, now I know that if I want to realize my goals and dreams, then I have to be the “best” at productively using my 10 or 15 minute blocks.
#4 ~ Dedicate big time blocks to a big dream.
My big dream is to write a successful, helpful, and informative blog. So, when Hubs leaves in the morning at 6 am AND after I do at least 15 minutes of yoga, I hit the office and work that blog like a crazy woman.
Final Thoughts
If you are knee-deep in motherhood with small children crying, making messes, and needing, please, please read this book!
I SO wish this book had been available when my children were young. It was a challenging time. One I’d never give up, but challenging all the same. I felt lonely, isolated, overwhelmed, and depressed.
But if I could have gotten my hands on the hefty dose of hope and inspiration that Time Management Mama gave me, things would have been different: more positive, more focused. I could have looked beyond the day-to-day blur and the exhaustion and realized that “mom” was (and is) what I want to be “best” at.
Related Posts You Might Enjoy
If you enjoyed today’s post, you might also like these posts:
How To Meet Your Goals Every Time!
How to Get Your Kids Involved in Your Home Business
5 Must-Read Books for Home Business Owners
So, what do you think? Does Time Management Mama sound like a book you want to read? Have you read it? What did you think?
If you haven’t all ready clicked on one of the links throughout this post, you can get Time Management Mama on Amazon here.
Thanks for joining me today,
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Oh Tiffany, I teared up reading this! It gives us such joy to see that our book has made a difference in your life. HOPE – oh yes! I was nodding like a crazy person saying, “yes, this is exactly what we want to give moms!”
Your review is awesome, fun, thorough, and we feel so honored that you took the time to write it!
Thank you again. We appreciate you so much!
Oh, Beth Anne! I didn’t mean to make you cry! :0)
Time Management Mama is so great, and I’ve been telling everyone I know about it. It’s such an amazing resource, and more importantly, you and Sarah both do a great job of showing your real lives as moms. My kids are older, but I immediately felt less isolated, felt less pressure to be the “super mom” that I’d created in my head, and felt hopeful. SO, so awesome!
I’m SO glad you enjoyed the review! I had such a fun time writing it! Thank you for taking the time to stop by and share your thoughts.
I am headed over to buy this one right now! I definitely need a better time management system… I always feel like I need an extra 10 hours a day to get everything done. Is it just in e-book form or can you buy an actual book? Also, did you buy the planner? I’ve seen it on Instagram and have been debating on buying it. Thanks for the great review!
Hi, Sydney ~ Thanks so much for visiting today! I often have the same time problem, but I’m experiencing great results by using the ideas and strategies in this book! Plus, it’s a fun and entertaining read. :0) It’s only available in Kindle format, but if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download “Kindle for PC” for free from Amazon, then read it on your computer. I debated buying the planner, but I ended up purchasing it a couple of weeks ago. And I’m so glad I did! I’m a big journaler and planner, so I love seeing my thoughts and plans on a pretty paper. I also like everything all together in one place. If you end up getting the book and/or the planner, I’d love to hear what you think! Feel free to comment here or on social media. Have a great day!
Thanks so much for sharing with us at Merry Monday. Sounds like a great book. Who doesn’t need to improve his or her time management skills? I do, for sure.
Thanks, Sherry! It is a great book, and it’s funny! :0)
This book sounds amazing & I’m off to buy it right now. You did a great job sharing it, and I’m so glad I learned about it from you — thanks!
Hi, Lisa ~ Thanks so much for your sweet words! I hope you find this book as helpful as I did! I’m actually getting ready to read it again as a little refresher. Come back and let me know what you think about it. I’d love to hear your experiences! Have a wonderful weekend!