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Soccer Moms Rejoice: Kick up Your Time Management Skills in Five Easy Steps

Soccer lore has it that the term first saw the light of day when a city council, hopeful in the mile high city of Denver, supplied her with a soccer mom credential for becoming a council member. Right, wrong, or indifferent, the truth of the matter clearly indicates that soccer moms fulfill one of society's most important and time-consuming tasks: ensuring that your young one and his team mates make it to their soccer games on time, in style, and well-fed.

Being a bit of a mother hen, the typical soccer mom will be the nurturer of the carpool, the time keeper for the practice rounds, the snack volunteer, scrape bandager, and communications hub for other parents, babysitters, siblings, and so forth. Yet at times soccer moms find themselves on the receiving end of criticism, first and foremost for a propensity to over-scheduling their children (and themselves) and for sacrificing valuable opportunities for their children to simply enjoy the friendships they are building.

While a lot of the criticism against soccer moms is simply the result of nonsensical stereotyping, at times it may appear that a kernel of truth can be found in these statements. Many a time a soccer mom's schedule is more demanding than a politician's reelection campaign, and adding to this the pressures and time commitments of family, career, and personal hobbies, it is clearly evident that soccer moms are in desperate need of excellent time management skills. For those who may not have quite attained the highest levels of this art, there is hope! Follow these five easy steps for kicking your time management skills, and you will not only meet all your deadlines, but will also enjoy doing so.

Step one is common sense, but it cannot be underestimated: know your objective. Let's face it, driving a car full of kids to a soccer game in and of itself sounds incredibly easy, but if one of these kids' moms suddenly cannot come to pick up the child? What if someone gets injured? What about little Sue's sister's ballet lesson that is only a five-minute drive from the soccer field? What is your objective? It is easy to fall into the trap of alleged teamwork, with your being the only one working. If you are willing to take a van full of children to the game, but will not be able or willing to supervise them after the initial drop off, please be sure to communicate this clearly. The children's parents need to understand that you will be glad to get them to the game, but getting them home, or getting their siblings to ballet lessons, is out of the scope of your objective.

This note ties in with step number two: learn to say "no" and mean it. Once you know your objective and have built your schedule around it, avoid exceptions. These exceptions are sometimes unavoidable, such as an injury on the soccer field, but oftentimes are simply the result of the poor planning of others. Remember that your job is not to rescue another parent every time they have over-scheduled themselves, but instead your job is to see to it that you and your children will enjoy the time you have at soccer, learn the game, interact with friends, and do so without the stress and panic that goes hand in hand with poor planning. So if another parent asks you to take little Sue's sister to ballet practice, and if this will upset your whole schedule, since it might require you to pull your son out of practice early, politely but firmly say "no."

Steps three and four go hand in hand: begin each month with a to-do list that covers that particular month only, and then allocate sufficient time to the tasks. For example, does a particular month host the biggest game of the season? If so, you will want to adjust your time schedule to permit for extra practice sessions, awards banquets, and trips to the trophy shop. This may mean that your child's other activities may need to be rescheduled or alternate rides may need to be secured to assure that everyone's needs are met. Do not spread yourself so thin that an awards banquet leaves you in a lousy, stressed out mood!

And last, but not least, step number five: have fun and enjoy the process rather than the result!