Best time management tips for working moms [100% Effective]
Have you stumbled upon this article trying to learn the best time management tips for working moms?
Time management is especially important during the summer months for working parents, especially working moms. I admit it, I am still mastering the art of time management. That said, I have been told, well by myself, that my superpower is finding the 25th hour in a 24 hour period. For me, it is all about effective time management techniques.
For us moms, especially those of us with younger children, summer means multiple trips a day to pick up and drop off the kids at camps, about ten times more laundry per week, a much dirtier house because of all the dirt that comes in via our kids, dogs and others. Oh and of course, our jobs.
Did you know that despite popular belief, work actually gets busier during the summer months?
For most corporations, July, August, and September form the third fiscal quarter, which is generally their busiest quarter (unless they are in winter sports!). Not only that, many people go on vacation for a week or two during the summer months. Sadly, work doesn’t take a vacation so who gets to do it?
But fret not. My 100% effective time management tips for working moms are here to save the day. Use these tips and be sure to let me know how they work for you.
Are you ready? Let’s go.
1.0 Get a Planner
Get a monthly planner which has individual days as well. My favorite is the Law of Attraction planner.
At the beginning of each month, plan out your month, and be sure to mark the important days and events on your planner. Mark the birthdays, project due dates, camp start, and end dates, anniversaries, every big-deal date goes on your at-a-glance month.
Each Sunday, carve out 90 minutes in the morning before everyone wakes up, reflect on your last week and plan out your upcoming week. This is where you get granular. Assign one main work-related theme and one main home-related theme to each day of the week. One each! You can have multiple days that have the same theme but no more than 2 themes per day. These are some of mine:
- Work themes: Fundraising, CEO Day, Catch Up Day, Meet and Greet Day, Content Day, etc.
- Home themes: New classes, Grocery, Laundry, Cleaning, Meet & Greet, etc.
Assigning themes to your days helps you focus and get efficient. It also helps you have a routine. However, what you will see is that your themes will certainly outnumber your days! So what to do? Great lead into the second tip, but wait before we go there.
Take a good look at what you accomplished last week and what you didn’t. Be honest with yourself and reflect on what made you successful in getting stuff done and what happened that you couldn’t finish some of your tasks. Take notice because we are going to take these learnings into consideration as you plan your week.
2.0 Make a Choice: Delegate or Let It Go!
If you want to have a semi-unchaotic house and you want to be able to dedicate time to making memories or advancing in your job, you have to make a choice.
Either let your house get messy and chaotic or let someone else pick it up for you.
You don’t have to break the bank, you can hire someone to do light cleaning for you for just a couple of hours or make a dent in your laundry. Alternatively, let it go! Without guilt or shame, let it go and choose to spend your time on what is most important.
3.0 Stick to Your Plan!
Have you heard about scope-creep? That is when a project gets bigger and bigger because “while you are at it, you might as well…”
Your weekly plan is your project. Don’t add stuff to it without taking something off. When you plan your week on a Sunday, commit to sticking to your plan.
If you start adding stuff in, guess what, you have wasted your time reading this blog.
If your Wednesday is work Catch Up day and your home Laundry day, don’t add the neighborhood association meeting to that day unless something comes off. This is the hardest thing about time management.
Similarly, be disciplined enough to do what you are committed to doing. If you were going to generate content on Tuesday, then do it, unless you absolutely are unable to. My favorite phrase about planning: “Plan what you do. Do what you plan”.
This according to me is one of the best time management tips for busy moms.
4.0 Have a To-Do List
I am a big believer in having to-do lists and the satisfaction of checking stuff off.
It serves as a great motivator and record of what has been accomplished. To make it more fun, have plenty of color markers, sticky notes, and stickers to make it fun.
5.0 Say NO!!!
Among all the other time management tips for working moms, this has to hold utmost importance!
So many opportunities show up every day that could mean something big. Or maybe small but meaningful. A new volunteer position at the local nonprofit, someone pings you on LinkedIn and wants to “pick your brain”, a neighbor asks you to hem their son’s girlfriend’s skirt, you name it…
I am a believer in giving and serving; when you have enough to give. When on the other hand you are scrambling to find time to take a shower, giving 2 hours of your time to your neighbor’s son’s girlfriend is silly. Please, politely decline these opportunities to change the world. Try this: “Oh, this sounds like such an amazing opportunity and I am honored that you thought of me. I am not sure if this is the best time for me to commit my time. Perhaps in the future!”…There…Didn’t that feel good?
Here is how I politely said no to someone who reached out and wanted to “pick my brain”
6.0 Reward Yourself
Each Friday, give yourself a little reward for managing your time effectively.
The reward could be that you get to spend your newly found time with your loved ones or take a nap or even, take yourself out on a date and enjoy a nice glass of wine.
Whatever that you feel like can be a great motivator for you to get your planner back out and plan for your next week.
Final Words!
After exploring all the top time management tips for working moms, I hope that you know how to take the first step.
It’s a matter of practice and as you move forward, you are going to see the results of managing your time more efficiently.
That being said since you would be just starting to follow this guide, allow us to help you manage your time in the meantime.
We, at Call Emmy, offer all the essential services (house cleaning, babysitting, laundry, meal preparation, etc.) that will allow you to focus on your work or spending time with your family. All you need is to install our app and book the service. Easy peasy!
Lastly, here’s one of our relevant articles that may interest you. Enjoy!