Mom life is incredibly hectic, with seemingly endless responsibilities to fulfill and tasks to check off your list. How do you find the time to do it all? With these eight time-saving tips, you can accomplish your big and small to-dos and still set aside special moments for all the things you love.
1. Pick Your Priorities
Determining your priorities is the best way to save your time and energy — which tasks and events in your life matter most to you and your family? If eating a meal together is at the top of your list, you might think about spending less time on lower-priority items, like extracurricular activities, to carve out space for those family feasts.
You can feel more confident about letting go of the things that don’t matter quite as much once you’ve decided what’s most meaningful to you. It’s OK to pick your battles and release perfectionist ideals. At the end of the day, making time for the most significant activities is essential.
2. Write It Down
Visualizing your to-do lists and upcoming events is a great way to utilize your time sensibly. Create a family calendar and hang it up on a wall or in another area where everyone can see it. With an easily accessible calendar, everyone can prepare adequately for future activities. Your calendar will also help you see what you have time for, saving you from overcommitting and piling your plate with too many obligations.
Jot down your tasks, and keep them in categories to complete now, soon or later. You’ll feel even more empowered to continue your productive momentum and achieve your responsibilities as you check off items. If your list becomes overwhelming, reassess your priorities to determine which tasks are worth your time.
My Favorite Planners
3. Stay on Top of Meal Prep
Preparing your daily meals in advance can lend you more free hours down the road. Every day, you’ll know exactly what you need to get each meal ready. This advantage can cut down on minutes wasted deciding what to cook or running to the store to grab missing ingredients.
When you have the time to cook meals, double or triple the batch and freeze the extras. Then, you can pop one out of the freezer for a fast and convenient meal on a night when you are crunched for time.
4. Outsource Chores
You probably want to spend as much time as possible laughing with your family or relaxing in a quiet moment to yourself — not constantly running around catching up on chores and missing out on memories. A great way to reserve time for important activities is outsourcing your household chores.
Working with a professional cleaning crew, using pickup laundry services or hiring a landscaping company can save you hours every week, allowing you to enjoy more of your free time.
5. Give Everything a Home
You can prevent plenty of headaches and steal more free hours by assigning everything within your home a proper place. Get your whole family involved, too, so they know where everything belongs and can put items away correctly.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
– Shoes and jackets in the entryway to make it easier to get out the door on time
– Color-coded bins for each child so they know where their belongings are
– Drawer dividers to keep cooking utensils separate and easy to find
– Filing cabinets with labeled folders for important documents
My Favorite Organization Items
6. Ask for Help
It’s perfectly fine to rely on your support system when you’re feeling overwhelmed — that’s what they’re for! Your partner, parents, in-laws, siblings, friends, neighbors and other loved ones can offer much-appreciated help when you need it.
You could also delegate tasks to your kids. They may need practice to complete certain to-do items correctly or require reminders to finish on time, but teaching them independence and responsibility brings multiple benefits — from knocking one more job off your long list to giving them the necessary skills to live on their own someday.
7. Turn to the Internet
The internet can be a mom’s best friend for preserving more time. You can shop online and have your purchases delivered to your home or ready for pickup if you’re already out and about. Many services and utilities allow you to set up automatic payments online, helping you stay on top of your bills while protecting your energy.
The World Wide Web can also assist with:
– Ensuring everyone is appropriately dressed for the weather
– Finding the right resources to help your kids with homework
– Creating easy, healthy meals for your family
8. Use Your Time Wisely
Remember that the internet can be a double-edged sword. Research shows that 83% of parents use social media, with many of them checking various platforms multiple times a day.
To spend your time in the most efficient ways possible, practice mindfulness with your internet habits. A few techniques to ensure you use your time online productively include:
– Setting time restrictions
– Remembering your purpose and intent when pulling out your phone
– Avoiding your phone when you’re bored
Saving Your Moments for What Matters Most
As you follow these eight tips and continue simplifying your life, you can spend more time building memories with your family, focusing on your career, relaxing during your much-deserved me-time and accomplishing whatever else you do as the super mom you are.
