11 Ways busy mums can stay organized and manage time efficiently

Some schools of thought believe the idea of a “Super Mum” and others don’t. But is it amiss to say infer that successful working mums can also be called Super Mums?

There is a lot of work and planning that goes into pursuing a successful career, being darn good at it, and also being a mum. It comes with its fair share of responsibilities that need to be catered to. And just like parcels of tasks flowing in an endless array, all of them are equally important.

Unlike our predecessors, women in this 21st century, are chasing their dreams and career fulltime while also doubling up as mums. They wear multiple hats which makes it even more daunting to stay ahead of tasks, remain organized, and manage their time efficiently.

Often, working mums hardly find ample time to spend with their spouses, go on date nights, catch up with friends, or even enjoy some free time alone! They’re often busy mums are more stressed and less inspired to have fun when they need to. With this in mind, there are a few ways to effectively manage time and achieve better results with both ‘work at home’ and at your ‘worksite’. The key to this is planning and a little more discipline.

Here are eleven useful tips that should get you started on the right track, have a look!

Always have a to-do-list

Creating a to-do list makes it easier for you to plan for the day. It also helps you remember what you have to do, by heart. It’s much better to plan your to-do for the next day the night before, as this gives you more time to figure out how to achieve your tasks before the day comes. If you prefer writing them down in the morning, before dawn, that may work as well, but you wouldn’t have as much time to prepare.

Create a calendar for both work and family

It’s more effective when you manage all your tasks with one master calendar. Most busy mums prefer not to include personal activities in their work calendars.

Keeping a calendar for every activity helps you stay abreast of what you need to do and how much you should allot lot to an activity; whether it’s dropping off the kids at school before a 10 o’clock meeting or going grocery shopping before date night with bae. With a properly managed calendar, you’ll be better organized and have more time on your hands.

Chose a day in the week to finish up tedious chores

Small shifts of little household chores like laundry, cleaning, tidying the house can be time-consuming if you take a holistic look at it. You should try picking out a day of the week for specific chores, so you can plan how much time you’ll need to get that done and out of the way. Grocery shopping and cooking fall into this category as well.

Devote time for meal planning

Since meal preparation is an entire process, before you start the new week, plan your meals. Working with a schedule can help, that way you know what meal(s) to prepare, for each day.  It helps to intentionally plan your meals 20 to 30 minutes before you start getting busy for the day. Doing this also gives you the luxury to check your list of ingredients, to know which ones are available before you start cooking.

Plan grocery shopping into your calendar

Grocery shopping can be quite tedious if you don’t plan yourself and make a comprehensive list of everything you need to buy. Driving long hours to the grocery store and getting stuck in traffic while trying to get cash from the ATM and then struggling to get a parking space at the mall can be agonizingly frustrating if you don’t plan properly for your grocery shopping.

Your list should include every ingredient, beverage, and food item you will need for the week. It’ll save you the cost of buying unnecessary groceries during the week and that of eating out.

Delegate as many tasks as you can

Not every task needs your attention, you can delegate some to family members if you have relatives that stay with you, or you could make arrangements for them so you can focus on finishing up other tasks that need your attention.

Get your kids to help with chores

If you have grown up kids, you can get them to help out with chores while you focus on other things. If your kids are still little, you can also get them to pick up their toys once playtime is over, that way they’ll start learning how to keep a tidy environment.

Get your kids ready for school in time

It’s not easy jumping out of bed at 5 am to start prepping the kids for school you know, and you wouldn’t want to start looking for missing home works or books when you’ve got about 30 minutes before school resumes.

It helps if you get up an hour before wake-up-time to get the kids ready for school. You should also pack bags, prepare lunch and refrigerate, cross-check homework, including getting school clothes ready a day before, so you have fewer things to worry about when it’s school time.

Leave your work at work

If it means turning off email notifications after work, do it! You need some sanity; else you’ll go bonkers. This will help you relax, focus more during family time, and be less cranky about unfinished work.

Don’t leave out date nights with your spouse

Yes, as much as it sounds impossible to achieve with your endless list of unfinished tasks, date nights for you and your spouse is very important. Make plans for bae as you plan out the week in your calendar. Remember he comes ‘Before Anything Else’ so, while you're focusing on being the best mum and bagging that ‘staff of the month’ award, don’t leave out date nights with bae.

Have fun with the girls

You need to make time for your close friends too. Mmm-hmmm, it can’t be all work and no play. Susie will eventually become a boring lady if that happens. You need to catch up with your girls, go for parties, make new friends, network, and shake the stress away! Particularly in that order. That’s what adds some color to your otherwise boring routine.

Hope this was an interesting read? If it was helpful, feel free to leave a comment, like and share with friends.