Busy Mom Tips

Hopefully by now you have settled into a routine after the back to school craziness.  Are you wishing you could put an “out of order” sign on your head and run away?  Thank you to The Peaceful Mom for the inspiration for today’s blog…

Are you searching for a way to get it all done and stay sane?  Do you wonder if it is even possible to do that?  Is your to-do list growing while your time seems to be slipping away?

I know my daughter is grown but I do still run into days like this.  I think I still suffer from the same overwhelm I did so many years ago juggling work, business and family.  Here are some tips from the Peaceful Mom and me.

#1 – KICK MOM GUILT TO THE CURB

It is okay if you don’t get everything done.  Let me repeat “it is okay NOT to get everything done”!  Some things can wait.  Yup, I still suffer with mom guilt.  🙂  The best way for me to get things done is to set THREE tasks a day as my top priority.  I used to do this when Belinda was growing up.  Picking just one or two things to get done during the week while I was working full-time and being mom taxi.  I seemed to forget how well it worked until a business coach, Desiree Wolfe suggested the same thing for my business.

Some tasks can wait, it all depends on what needs attention at the moment. I have started using my Passion Planner for more then just keeping track of office hours, weekly to dos, business stuff and medical appointments.  I am using it to list my 3 things for the day.  I love the fact it has space to make lots of notes  as well as a spot to celebrate “good things which happened”.  Now, I am sure you could accomplish more than 3 things in a day BUT for those days when getting 3 things done is a struggle, you will want to have this system in place.  Sometimes the list looks like this:

• grocery store
• write blog (or be mom taxi)
• don’t lose my temper

Yup, when brain fog sets in, this could be my list of things to do.  The biggest accomplishment is no losing my temper and on some days it is a true miracle.

#2 THINK TINY

Do you have “time pockets”?  You know the 5 or 10 minutes while you are waiting for the kids in the school line or washing some dishes as you cook dinner.  I like the term “time pockets” instead of multi-tasking.  Pick a task to do while you are waiting (one which will only take a few minutes)… waiting for the kids, waiting in line to check out, waiting for your gas task to be filled.  How many time pockets do you have and how can you fill them to get more things done?

#3 – CHOOSE YOUR TOOLS

Busy moms need practical, functional tools to stay on top of all the details. Let’s face it we are not only juggling our own stuff but things for the entire family.  I use a paper planner, the calendar app on my phone and Notes on my phone.  I talked about my Passion Planner.  It is where I dream big, set my goals and priorities then create a weekly plan to pull it all together.  I use my smart phone calendar to set notifications and keep track of appointments because it is linked to my iPad and my MAC.  The benefit of Google Calendar is you can keep everyone’s stuff organized then share it with everyone across all devices.  You need to find a system which works for YOU.

#4 – MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOURSELF

I take time each week to plan for the upcoming week. My planning time is Sunday evening and I plan out:

• My Calendar: Set the goals, projects and top priority tasks for the week and time block on my calendar.  I also prep for the week for posting on all of my business pages with CinchShare.
• Meals:  Planning for meals is a BIG help for busy moms.  Since I only cook twice a week, it is not tops on my list.  
• Money:  This is now part of my Sunday night routine.  Review the bills which need to be paid and figure out what the budget will be for the week.  

When you take the time to plan, you will find the week goes some much smoother.  Include scheduling the planning time on your calendar so you don’t make excuses.

#5 – BUDDY UP

Carpooling can be a life saver for the busy mom.  Team up with someone to share the mom taxi role.  You take the kids to practice, she picks them up.  You watch her kids so she can run errands and then swap so she watches yours.  Remember we don’t have to do it ALL!  Teaming up with other moms gives everyone a break.  No help?  Why not limit your kids extra activities and your extra commitments.  No, it won’t make you a bad parent!  

The BIGGEST tip is to remember what is really important and stop obsessing over little things.  For many years, I felt guilty for leaving Belinda a daycare from the time she was 6 weeks old BUT when things came together and I was able to quit my job to work at home, I realized what was important.  She didn’t remember spending days at daycare when she remembers (I hope) is the time we spent together while she was in HS and my schedule was flexible.

Remember you are doing the best you can do with everything on your plate.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Time Management – Does it Exist?

 Are you a hot mess?  Are you already dreading this week and it is only Monday morning?

Today should have been my first day back in the office after being gone for a week BUT Irma had other plans.  I did spend some time in the office last week BUT I’m not sure how much I actually got done.  It is Monday and I am playing the avoidance game.  Avoidance is a time waster which leads to being hard on yourself, right?

When it comes to business especially one online – wasting time will be the death of it.  I don’t mean time you take to renew your physical and mental powers because we need to do it in order to keep going.  I’m talking about the wasted minutes and hours which get out of hand….. the black hole of Facebook or Pinterest or Instagram.

I have talked about time management in the past and really wonder if we are managing our time or our tasks?  When I sometimes find myself obsessed with everything BUT working productively in my business I go back to the basics:

#1 – Block distractions.

I know it can be easier said then done.  How often do your keep multiple tabs open so you can see if you get any messages.  Block email and Facebook alerts (all social media), turn off your phone (or at least lower the volume) and hang a “do not disturb” sign on your home office door (if you have one).  What are the things which distract you from getting work done?

#2 – Set a time to begin work – and stick to it.

When you turn on your computer for work, give yourself a certain amount of time (10 minutes or so) to surf the ‘net and review your email before you begin.  Set a timer if you have to so you can then focus on work.  Switch into work mode and don’t look back until you’re done.  I have done the back and forth thing, jumping from one thing to another and the end result is my brain becomes mush and it is more difficult to focus.

#3 – End your work at a set time.

This is a tough one for this workaholic.  Hubby works the swing shift so I try to set my work hours accordingly.  Does it work?  Sometimes.  I do some early morning hours, then head back in the afternoon till the early evening.  Are there times when I spend more on my business and less time everywhere else?  Yes, usually for several days during the month when I am closing parties or it is the end of the month.  I am practicing on a regular day, setting a time to stop work so I can refresh myself both physically and mentally. I find when I do this, I am more focused when I am in the office.

#4 – Distinguish busy work from working toward goals.

I am so guilty of this.  Busy work can be a waste of time. Remember the “black hole” I mentioned earlier, the truth is you may be procrastinating.  Did you set a goal which is TOO BIG or are you afraid of failing?  They should scary you but you can break them up into manageable steps.  The best way to beat procrastination is to take action!  Do something to move forward

 

What is your best tip for managing your tasks instead of your time?  We all have 24 hours in a day, there is no changing it.  The difference is how we decide to work during those hours.

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Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Time Saving Tips

WOW! Where did the month go?  I am so glad that the weather has warmed up here in New Jersey.  I LOVE the Spring.  It is the last day of the month, for some the kids are on Spring Break.  For others, they are just wondering where time went, right?

Over the last two weeks, I have been concentrating on being more productive in my business and in my personal life.  I was tired of saying “there is not enough time to XYZ” or looking at my to do list and seeing NOTHING checked off yet feeling busy.

My first step was to really put the AMAZING Passion Planner that hubby got me to work.  I have been sitting down on Sunday night and planning out my week.  I mean EVERYTHING from work to be done in my business to errands to chores in the house to meal times and sleep time.  WOW!  I now feel like I am accomplishing something.  The planner is broken down into 1/2 hour increments so I plan my tasks that way and I keep checking the clock – especially when I am in my office.  When it is time to switch tasks, whether the task is done or not, I switch.  It took me a little while to get used to it but it has helped me to stay on task.  It has also helped me to stay focused and get things done.

Focusing on one task is actually a proven strategy used by many successful entrepreneurs.  Okay, maybe not planning every minute BUT “picking 1 task to focus on”.  You pick one thing and do it, blocking out all distractions.  There is a program called Rescue Time for those who may not have the willpower to be self-accountable when online.  I haven’t tried it but I know some who have.  It is an application that runs in the background of your computer and measures how you spend your time so you can make better decisions.

A problem area for me is setting time limits when I meet with a hostess, a customer or go to a meeting.  Even in my personal life, this is a struggle.  I am trying hard to stick to a set amount of time.  I assign travel time to the meeting, meeting time (usually an hour unless scheduled for longer) then travel time home or to the next task.  Vanessa Coppes said  “Meetings can be time vampires.  So, be cut-throat when it comes to managing your time so you can focus on high value tasks.”

Get up earlier. It really is true that “the early bird catches the worm”.  Research shows that mornings can make or break your day.  By scheduling my day with tasks, I push myself to get out of bed earlier so that I can get things done.  I know that if I don’t get up and get moving, things will fall by the wayside and tasks will not get done.

For the “people pleasers” out there.  Yes, that can include me.  Practice saying NO!  You don’t need to say yes to every request.  When I don’t have everything planned out, I tend to say yes to everything and then I take on more than I can handle.  When we do this, we kill our productivity.

Are you the proverbial multi-tasker?  Been there, done that!  Believe it or not it is the WORSE way to get things done.  Research confirms that all the multi-tasking causes our brains to be rewired and as a result we get less done.  It will take practice but you will be amazed at the difference when you have mono-focus on one thing.

Finally, did you know that by saying “I don’t have enough time” or anything along those lines, you are actually drawing less time into your life.  You want to speak the positive to the Universe because the Law of Attraction really does work.

When you protect your time, you will protect your energy, your business, and your life.  What is YOUR best time saving tip?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!