Countless things tag at a mother, and sometimes you wish you had a third arm. The worst feeling occurs when you know you have been doing so much yet don’t feel productive. It feels like being trapped in an endless maze of duties from which there is no way out. But what can you do to ensure that you don’t get so overwhelmed?

Here are 11 Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

 

How Can a Busy Mom Reduce the Chaos? To be more productive, you can make use of these simple tips:

1. Be an Early Riser

You can make a point of waking up a little earlier than your family, but you should not mince on your sleep. Use this time not only to get some peace but to make a general plan for your day. You may also choose to exercise or read something spiritual. Waking up before the chaos will help you have a better start.

2. Be Flexible

Though it feels great when the days go exactly according to plan, there is no telling what can happen particularly when little children are involved. So if dinner isn’t on the table at the exact moment you expected, don’t fall apart. Adjust and make the best of it. Have a list of what must be done on that day and that which can be pushed to the next day if your time deviates from your plan.

3. Learn to Retreat

Even moms need a little time off. Take some time to yourself and do something you enjoy. This will help you feel refreshed, and you can accomplish much more. Don’t let mommy guilt stop you. Remember you are also important and you deserve some time to take care of yourself. Take a break and relax a little.

4. Delegate Duties

Choose tasks that your spouse and kids can handle and assign these to them. A lot of moms are overscheduled as it is and a little help from the family will help you maintain your sanity. You may be surprised that they actually want to help.

5. Keep an Activity Diary

Make a note of your daily activities and how much time they take and note those that you never got around to doing. Such a diary will help you identify distractions. This will help you save time and you can then organize your daily duties to be as efficient as possible.

6. Outsource Certain Jobs

If your time at home is limited or you have some physical limitation, you can choose to hire some help. This includes getting a cleaning maid for the house and finding tutors for your children. Just make sure that you don’t neglect family time as your family needs to spend time with you.

7. Say NO

You simply cannot be everything to everyone. You don’t have to sign up for every school event or join every group or committee. Make a list those that are most important to your children and make a point of participating in those. Otherwise, learn to say no.

8. Plan Ahead for Meals

Days can get so busy that getting a healthy home cooked dinner on the table becomes a challenge. This creates the risk of living on junk food because there is no time to cook. You can choose to use the weekend to prepare meals for the rest of the week. Designate a day for grocery shopping and spend an afternoon cooking and freezing meals.

9. Don’t Obsess

Some days things will not go as you planned. Learn not to obsess over things that go wrong and do not beat yourself up about them. Remember you cannot control everything. Make amends where you can. Otherwise, simply let go and focus ahead.

10. Slow Down

For most moms, days become a whirlwind of activities. It is one thing after another until suddenly it is dinner time and not much has been accomplished. To slow down, keep track of the activities that fill up your day. You can then break them down into time frames and create an easy-to-follow routine for you and your family. For example, having an after school routine for your children can give you time to prepare dinner.

11. Talk to Other Moms

It helps to share with other moms and find out how they deal with their own chaos. Just be careful not to fall into a mom pity party. Rather, empower and encourage each other and share the triumphs you have experienced so far in your motherhood journeys.

It is an understatement that mothers have their plates full. But they always give their best. The above time management tips will help you maintain your sanity and find some peace in the chaos. You might even reach the often elusive end of your to do list.

 

About the Author: Ruming Tan is the founder of SMILETutor Tuition Agency, a leading innovative home tuition service provider in Singapore. Ruming is also an avid author of articles relating to education and homeschooling topics and also creates tuition assignments for home tutors.