Time Management For Moms

When it comes down to managing time, its a tough task for anyone. When you have the title of “Mom” it makes time management even harder to nail! You’re going to work, dropping kids off at school, completing laundry and cooking meals to no end. We are often running around, not knowing if we’re coming or going! This feeling can become non-existent if only we put in place a few tips to assist in time management. Below are 6 things you can do to manage your time more efficiently. 

Be sure to get enough sleep.

This is a difficult task because we are usually the first one’s awake and the last to bed, but its definitely necessary. When we don’t get enough sleep, it affects our focus and mood, amongst many other things. If we’re in a bad mood or can’t focus, we may take longer to do things. Not being able to focus on the tasks at hand ends up wasting valuable time. I’ve figured out that I can function efficiently with at least 6 hours of sleep; anything less can make for a disastrous day! Figure out what your minimum sleep number is and try your best to always meet that requirement, if sleeping longer isn’t an option.

Make a list of daily goals. 

Make it a habit to write your daily goals down. You can do this once you wake up or at the start of the week. Making daily goals will allow you to mark tasks complete, after accomplishing each one, and move on to the next thing.

Before I began writing my daily goals, I would spend valuable time trying to remember what I wanted to do. That time that is spent trying to recall what is next can actually be put into getting things done. Doing this has saved me over an hour a day. I’m sure it can save you time as well.

Get the family involved with household tasks. 

We often think the load of getting things done is strictly on our shoulders. You don’t have to do everything by yourself! Once you realize that, life will become a little easier. Assign tasks to the kiddos! There is something for everyone to do that won’t put you in a position to have to go behind them to re-do. 

In my household, my 2 and 4 year old pick up their toys before bed. They sing the infamous “Clean Up” song and get to it! My 9 year old vacuums the floor and brings all of the laundry from the rooms to the washrooms on designated days. My husband makes sure all the food is put into the refrigerator after dinner, the garbage is brought out to the garage and all the electronics/lights are turned off in every room. 

Delegating these tasks allows me to not be up for long periods of time after everyone is in bed. It allows me to turn those original 6 hours of sleep into 8. Winning!! 

Be okay with shortcuts every now and then. 

Some of us make sure we do everything by the book! I used to be one that never served my family on paper or plastic plates! I don’t like to have dishes sitting in the sink overnight. I actually don’t like to have dishes sitting at all, so I tend to wash immediately. However, staying up to wash dishes, once the kids are done with dinner and showering, can be a headache. 

Being a mom, we also know that we can have last minute schedule changes that cause us to need to crunch time even more. I now keep paper plates, cups and plastic utensils in the pantry. If its a day where I’m just not in the mood, have a lot that needs to get done or want to have time to spend with my husband, I pull out that paper dinnerware. Once they are done eating, I put them in the recycling bin and keep my day moving! 

Embrace multi-tasking. 

It’s great to give your undivided attention to something to be sure its done correctly, however, some things can be done simultaneously and save a lot of time! 

Are you prepping for dinner? Your child needs help studying for that test? Why not drill some of those study guide questions while chopping the onions?!?!? 

I’ve begun deciding what items on my daily goals list I can do together. I often find myself prepping for dinner while assisting Jaylen with studying or folding laundry while making appointments for their dental checkups. 

By multi-tasking you get more done in less time. 

Set boundaries. 

Setting boundaries can assure that we don’t allow others to mess up our daily routine. It’s ok to say no if someone ask you to do something you didn’t plan for. If I know that I have an hour set aside per goal for the day, and me adding another thing to do can potentially put my entire schedule at risk, that is infringing on my time boundary and I can’t allow it. 

This doesn’t mean that your schedule can’t be arranged to accommodate someone or that you must say no every-time. However, I found myself putting things I initially planned to do on the back burner to get something that was sprung up on me done. If we are serious about managing our time properly and efficiently, we must be mindful of boundaries. 

Conclusion

Time management doesn’t have to be a constant struggle. If you implement a few of the tips above, you are sure to find that stress decreases and your household can run more efficiently! 

Until next time Kuties, 

-Keon