The concept of time management is easy. All you need to do is to plan and divide your time between specific activities. As a work-at-home mom, you know that nothing ever goes as planned.
What do you do when motherhood eats your time? Here are some practical tips that you can start using today.
Get up early
You probably heard that successful people are early risers. You should too.
Most kids don’t get up until 6:30 or 7:00 am. By getting out of bed an hour or two earlier, you should have accomplished a lot of things by the time they’re up. It may be difficult at first, but you’ll get the hang of it.
Avoid distractions
Distractions can kill your productivity and derail your task entirely. In fact, studies suggest that it takes about 25 minutes to get back on track after a distraction.
Social media is one of the biggest distractions we face. You start browsing your newsfeeds, watch a couple of videos, and look at pictures of cute dogs, only to realize you lost an hour of your time. Avoid checking your social media accounts. You shouldn’t read or answer an email while working either. If it helps, turn off your smartphone so you won’t be tempted to check on it.
Organize digital files
If your desktop is a mess, chances are you spend a few minutes of your time finding the files you need.
Are you familiar with the saying, a messy house is a messy mind? The same goes with your computer or laptop. Clean up your desktop and folders. While you’re at it, organize your work station. Depending on the amount of files, images, and ebooks, and other content on your laptop, this will only take less than an hour.
Get digitally organized. You’ll end up saving time for more important tasks.
Take advantage of small bits of time
Being a work-at-home mom is one of the most difficult jobs. You have to look after your kids, do household chores, do errands, take the kids to after-school activities, and then do your job. Sometimes, it feels like there is not enough time to get things done.
Do more with less time by taking advantage of small bits of time. Make use of walk time, drive time, and down time. Listen to podcasts while walking the dog, read a book or clear the trash out of the car while waiting for the kids to get out of school.
Pay attention to burnout
We get it. You have work to do and children to take care of. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go out of the house.
When you work constantly, you’ll end up feeling stressed and burned out. Give yourself some time to relax, even if it’s just an hour a day. Go for a walk, have coffee with friends, watch a movie or just take a long, hot bath. It may be difficult to carve out some me time out of your busy schedule, but you’ll feel rejuvenated and become more productive later on. Trust me.