Without a doubt, the most requested blog post topic year after year is for me to share my time management tips. Honestly, I don’t think I’m asked this question because I have it all together or can handle more than other moms. No, rather I think it’s simply because my life is on display on social media and us moms are always trying to learn from other moms. I mean, some of the best parenting tips I’ve received were from other moms!
Before I go into sharing some time management tips though, I want to talk directly to YOU. I want YOU to know that you are enough. You are enough for your family. Each of us is wired differently from each other and thank God for that, right?
The way I happened to be wired is that I thrive when I have a full schedule. I’m a procrastinator at heart, so when I have ample time I procrastinate and actually get less done. When my schedule is full, I am forced to be more organized to make sure nothing gets dropped.
I will say though, if I pack my schedule too full and push myself too far, I hit a wall. It’s actually a family joke that I go, go, go and then breakdown and all the feels come out. It’s definitely a blind spot for me, but I’m aware of it and working on it now. I’m learning to make time for me amidst all the crazy!
Alright, let’s get to the good stuff – time management tips for us moms!
Finding out how to schedule, how to fit it all in is one of the hardest things for moms, right? I think the hardest thing for me to fit into our family schedule is time to workout. Working out is one of those things that I know is necessary for my physical and mental health, but where do I find the time to do it? Between kids activities, work, and social events, it’s dang hard to find time to workout.
I’m no expert, but with each year of motherhood I inquire new time management tips that help me “fit it all in.” It’s a constant work in progress, but I assure you these time management tips will most definitely help you to accomplish more tasks in your day. You will be more efficient with your time and therefore more productive!
Before we start, I want to suggest a practice to do before you being applying time management techniques to your daily schedule. I highly suggest spending a week really studying your current scheduling habits to learn how and where you spend your time. I did this over the summer by using the app, Toggl, which allows you to log in all the tasks you do throughout the day. I did it for a week and it was so eye-opening. Let’s just say I spent more time scrolling on my phone than being productive.
Time Management Tips For Moms:
Plan Ahead –
Planning ahead is key. Make time to sit down over the weekend and plan out your week. Every Sunday afternoon I sit down and plan out my schedule for each day of the week.
I start by writing down each activity I know is a “non-negotiable” aka things that have to happen. These are things like work, meetings, kids’ activities, family dinners, etc. By writing down all the things that can’t be moved, you’ll be able to see where you have free time in each day. From that point you’ll be able to decide what to do during those “free times.”
If you don’t plan ahead the trouble you face is getting wrapped up in those “non-negotiables.” Then, when you come to a point in your schedule with free time you end up being unproductive because you don’t have a plan of how to use that time.
MITs First –
Do your “most important tasks” first.
Once I find out where my free blocks of time are in my day I prioritize the tasks I need to complete. I put the most important tasks earliest in the day when my mind is clearest and I have the most energy.
Wake Before The Kids –
As a mom I have realized that once my girls are up and moving, our day really doesn’t stop until they are in bed at night. They get up and it’s game on until 7:30 pm or so for us. So, I’ve learned that if there are things that I need to get accomplished in peace and quite, they have to be done before the girls wake up or after they go to bed.
For me, I try and fit the following tasks in before the girls wake: meditation, devotional, working out, and skimming my inbox.
Time Block –
This tip builds off my planning ahead tip. Once you know the times of day that you have unscheduled time, time block tasks. Assigning specific tasks to exact times ensure you will complete items on your schedule. For example, if I have free time from 8am – 10 am, I block off tasks for that time period such as 8-9:00 am: answer emails, 9:00-10:00 am: draft blog posts.
I also recommend using the 25:5 method. Set a timer for 25 minutes to work on a singular task. When your 25 minutes is up, take a 5 minute break and then dive back into your unfinished task or a new task.
Get Specific –
Further expanding on the point above, get very specific on how you are spending your time. This will help keep you focused. For example, if I just wrote “blog” down from 8am – 10 am, it’s highly likely I would spend some time idling and possibly not work on the most important tasks.
Instead, get specific. Write things out such as “answer emails” or “draft pitches” or “write X blog post.”
Delegate and Outsource Where You Can –
This tip is huge and took me awhile to figure out. I love being in control, so releasing tasks to other people can be hard. However, when work was ramping back up I knew I needed to set some boundaries and outsource some tasks. One of the things I outsourced was hiring someone to clean our home. House chores seemed to be the one thing I neglected and it was also the one thing that gave me the most guilt. So, instead of stressing out over a task I knew I wasn’t going to have time for, we got help!
The tasks you may choose to outsource will no doubt look different from mine and from the next mom. But again, you are the only you and you know what will help you and your family best!
Okay babes, I hope you found this somewhat helpful! If you have any good tips, please leave them in the comments!
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