Time Management Tips for Busy Moms
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If there is one thing that all moms need to be good at, it’s time management. Being a mom is a juggling act for sure. With all the responsibilities of the day, it’s important to be able to make time for the important stuff and find ways to be more efficient with the time that we have. One of my least favorite things to do is to be rushing all the time due to a lack of planning. With that said, here are some of the things that I do to save time for what matters most!
Run Errands in the Morning
A real time saver that has worked wonders for us as a family is deciding to run errands or shop in the morning when the stores first open. Running errands first thing in the morning saves us time in every aspect of running errands. We find that the parking lot has tons of available spots (even the most coveted parking spots next to the cart return), most items we are looking for are stocked, and register lines are short if there even is a line. When you’re bringing children with you on your errands, getting it all done in the peace and quiet of the morning time is the way to do it!
Create Routines
This is such an obvious time management hack, but if you haven’t started creating routines for yourself yet, it’s time to start. Following routines keeps the flow of the day going without missing anything vital. And most importantly, following routines ensures that everyone’s daily needs are met. I have routines for how we all get ready and dressed for the day, meal planning, cleaning, bedtime, you name it and we probably have a certain way we like to get it done in this family. Honestly, routines don’t have to be long and complicated. I just find that when I do things in a certain order, I’m less likely to miss steps and waste time back tracking. The best part about incorporating routines into your day is that your children thrive when routines are in place. Eventually, they know what is expected of them and sometimes they even start working with you instead of against you. Also, establishing routines makes time blocking your schedule a whole lot easier when you know when you have open times to schedule appointments or play dates in between predictable daily routines.
Plan Meals
Planning out your meals for the week saves so much time in the long run. Feeding your family is not something that you can ever get away from. It is something that is ongoing and at times, time consuming. However, if planned out right, you will save your sanity and your time. The way that I plan out what to eat everyday involves more than just writing out a list of meal ideas. I go into more detail and write out a schedule for when I should thaw out meat, when I’ll have time to do some extra baking, and also when I can fit in some extra time to do ingredient prep for certain meals. This kind of schedule helps to prevent any common hiccups that can happen when trying to prepare meals at home. Planning out your meals also doesn’t mean you have to cook everything. Cooking is something that I enjoy and love to make time for, but that doesn’t mean that on a particularly busy week, we don’t schedule in picking up a pizza. If you would like some extra meal planning tips, check out my previous blogs, “Easy Meal Planning Tips” and “Toddler Meal Planning Tips for Busy Moms.” If you'd like access to my free meal planning worksheet, you can join my email list!
Premake Breakfasts and Lunches
Any time during the day, when I am alone with the children, is not a time that I want to be too preoccupied with something like cooking a fresh home cooked meal. I have juggled cooking fresh midday meals a time or two in the past and it gets crazy quick when you have a couple little ones running around. If I can help it, I will usually plan on cooking homemade meals for dinner when I have the help of my husband to play with our kids after work. For breakfasts and lunches, I find that heating up pre-made breakfasts that I freeze in bulk and leftovers for lunch saves me so much time and energy midday. It also keeps me on schedule with all of our daily tasks, appointments, and of course, playing without having to delay meals or snack times.
Give Yourself Extra Time
Why does it seem like even the most organized families inevitably have a chaotic time leaving the house? No one is immune from this phenomenon that starts when you have kids. That is why, when I know we are supposed to be somewhere at a particular time, I find that giving myself more time (like 15 extra minutes) to get there, gets me there on time. With small children, you never know what will come up as we are all putting on shoes and jackets on the way out the door, but with a few extra minutes, you don’t have to worry about being late!
Declutter Clothes Seasonally
Decluttering clothes this often is something I wish I did even before having kids. It wasn’t really until I had my first child that I took clothes decluttering seriously because with babies, you will be buried in clothes and clutter if you don’t address it that often. When decluttering clothes became a seasonal routine for me, I found that it saved so much time in the long run. You no longer have to waste time sifting through clothes that don’t fit or are no longer being worn to get to the good stuff. When there are less distractions in your closet, you can spend less of your time figuring out what you and your kids can wear everyday.
Teamwork
As much as I would love to claim I am, I am not super mom and I definitely need help to keep our home clean and running smoothly. I feel so blessed that I am able to work as a team with my husband to get everything done! He works full time, but he understands that homemaking can be more than a one person job at times and he never puts the full responsibility on me when he is home. Together, we are a well oiled machine that keeps this home running at tip top shape! With good communication, we’re able to divide and conquer! For example, I precook/bake our children’s favorite breakfast foods ahead of time to be frozen in bulk, while my husband heats up and prepares our kids’ breakfast, as well as empties the dishwasher every morning, so that I will have a few extra minutes to myself to get ready for the day. I guess my point is, if you have one, never be shy to let your partners know when you need a hand so they can help you carry the load!
Clean Right Away
Not putting off immediate messes doesn’t seem like a time management hack, but I swear it is. One time, I timed myself to see how long it took me to put away dishes and clean the table and floor after breakfast, and it took me a whopping 5 minutes! Granted, it was an uninterrupted 5 minutes which doesn’t always happen, but it was only 5 minutes nonetheless! I can guarantee that if I had left the mess to continue building on itself throughout the whole day before cleaning it all at once in the evening, I would take way longer to clean it all up and I probably wouldn’t have that long of a time that was uninterrupted available to me. One foreseeable barrier to this is not having the tools needed to clean a potential large mess quickly and efficiently. Sometimes spilled milk on the floor does take the average person more time to clean up. In the case of spilled milk, or really splattered anything, I love using the Tineco Vaccuum Mop for my speed cleaning needs! When your tools make it this easy, there’s no excuse to put off cleaning for later. Cleaning messes up right away goes along with putting things back where they belong right after using it. If this practice of maintaining a clean home becomes routine, you’ll be saving so much time in the long run!
As a mom, managing your time efficiently will make a world of difference in your efforts to get it all done! With a heavy load, it’s hard not to feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day to do it all. Hopefully these tips will help you save time, so you can feel accomplished while spending any extra time you have with the people you love!
