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There’s nothing quite like an abrupt change in routine to make you question your time management. Motherhood is a whole new chapter, one unlike anything you’ve probably ever experienced before!
I know when I first became a stay at home mom I felt as though I couldn’t get anything done. It didn’t make any sense to me, as I was home more than ever before. I had no idea how to prioritize my new responsibilities nor did I understand this new chapter required a change in perspective… namely letting go of perfection.
Today I am more in control of my time than ever, and I’m here to share my top 25 quick time management tips for stay at home moms (or stay at home parents)!
Related post: Stay At Home Mom (Parent) Daily Schedule Template
Contents
25 Quick Time Management Tips for Stay At Home Moms (Parents)
New to CWK? Gain access to my free productivity printables library right here!
Audit your day
Before you can make meaningful change you need to understand where you are spending your time. This can be such an eye-opening experience.
Log your activities for a complete day (or more!) and see where your productivity gaps are. Use the tools on your phone to check how much screen time you are taking in and consider your habits throughout the day.
Be sure not to judge yourself and to be completely honest during your audit day(s). This will help you set yourself up for success!
Set daily intentions
As parents, we are BUSY and life is wildly UNPREDICTABLE with littles at home. No two days are the same. It can be very powerful to set 2-3 simple intentions for each day in the morning. These are high priority items and checking these tasks off your list will feel amazing!
A huge part of “productivity” is mindset. When you feel motivated and productive you are more likely to carry that energy with you.
This works because on the days when everything is smooth sailing, and you can check even more to-dos off your list you will feel on top of the world. On the days when everything is seemingly falling apart, and you barely get through your 2-3 intentions you will still find yourself satisfied that you got your highest priority items accomplished.
Write out the family schedule
Keep these details from cluttering up your valuable mental space. Have a family calendar or planner accessible and be sure to look at it each morning to stay on top of appointments, pick-ups & drop-offs, and other activities. Stop trying to hold all these dates and times and reminders in your brain!
Have a cleaning schedule
Oh, how a cleaning schedule can change your life. Instead of waiting until things desperately need attention you can stay ahead of the mess (less scrubbing!) and spend less time cleaning (win!).
You can check out this easy to follow realistic cleaning schedule for busy moms right here.
Delegate
Delegate and accept help. Your teenagers are more than capable of having household responsibilities. Your partner can do his/her own laundry and help with the dishes.
Just handing off 1-2 loads of laundry a week frees up how much time? At least 20 minutes per load… And in 20 minutes you can do your daily cleaning, batch some content for your business or paint your nails. You name it, it’s more time for YOU.
Hire help if you can
It’s challenging to be a house cleaner, child caregiver, chef, party planner, play date organizer, meal planner & more every single day… It’s a full time freaking job and it’s okay to not be able to do it all. In fact, it’s impossible to do it all. You have to prioritize what’s important in the now.
If you have the ability to hire help, do it! Whether it’s hiring a cleaner once a month or once a week, or signing up for a meal service or getting someone to run errands for you, any help will free up some valuable time for you to use where you need it.
Declutter
This one is simple. Less stuff = MORE TIME. Less stuff means less cleaning, less organizing, and, honestly, less losing of objects. All of this means more time for you to spend doing the things that matter to you.
Start slow. Tackle a drawer a day. A cupboard a day. A closet a day. Soon enough you’ll be clutter-free.
To stay that way don’t forget to implement a ONE IN, ONE OUT rule. The secret to successful minimalism and living clutter-free is not in taking more than you release back into the world.
Morning routine
This one is all about setting yourself up for success by starting the day off on an empowered note. Take a few minutes every morning to energize yourself. Practice gratitude, meditate and get your mindset in the right spot.
It doesn’t have to be lengthy and complicated, but it does have to be about you. Click here to design your perfect morning routine.
Nighttime routine
Just like a baby needs a nice wind down bedtime routine, so do you! Prepare yourself for the following morning and set yourself up for a quality night’s sleep. You simply can’t be more productive if you are exhausted (at least not in the long term).
Quality sleep
Speaking of which, make sure you are getting some quality sleep. Yes the newborn stage and toddler years make this difficult, but try to maximize the sleep you are getting! You might have to go to bed earlier than you like, but it’s just a phase. These years will be gone before you know it.
Reduce distractions
Take a look at your daily audit and your screen time. Where are you getting sucked into things like mindless scrolling?
Turning off the notifications on your phone is a huge game changer. Social media and apps are designed to get you addicted and keep you coming back. If your phone doesn’t buzz or ding, you are way less likely to pick it up. It’s simple.
Read more about how to avoid distractions and get more done in this blog post.
Learn to say no
Look, I’m not saying say no all the time. It’s about balancing your no’s and yeses. You can’t over commit yourself! You’ll find yourself crashing and your productivity tanking.
Brain dump
If you haven’t already noticed, I’m all about reducing mental clutter to free up brain space for creativity. Brain dumping is the best hack to quickly clear your mind. It’s simple too, just take a blank sheet of paper and write down everything on your mind. Sometimes that alone is enough! Other times you need to then prioritize the items into categories (urgent, important, delegate, delete) and make a plan to tackle them.
Grab my free brain dump printable template here.
Time block
Time blocking is really about batching tasks and focusing in on one thing. It’s incredibly effective, especially when it comes to running a business. You can read my in depth guide to time blocking here.
Learn to prioritize
You can’t do it all, so you have to learn to prioritize what’s important. And guess what?! This is ever shifting! Pick and choose, and let go of perfection. Having a spotless house with a newborn? Not a priority for me. Eating healthy with a newborn? Still a priority for me. Pick and choose.
Use a planner
Once again, it’s all about putting things on paper and getting it out of your brain…
I rounded up the 8 best planners and organizers for busy moms in this post here. You can also grab my free planner printables and get planning today!
Eat healthy
How is eating healthy a time management tip you ask? Well, it’s a lot easier to be productive when you aren’t in a sluggish food coma. Food is fuel. That’s all I’m going to say about this one.
Stay hydrated
It goes hand in hand with eating healthy. Taking care of your physical body means less afternoon crashes and more energy. Ultimately it helps you increase your productivity!
Exercise (energy boost!)
Exercise doesn’t drain your energy reserves… it replenishes them! Find an exercise program that lights you up and get your body moving! It can be so dang hard to get started… but I never regret it once I do.
Accountability partner
Find someone with the same goals as you and hold each other accountable. Set “deadlines” to keep you on track and share your wins!
Meal plan
My bread and butter and biggest parenting time saving hack ever. I spend 5 minutes to create a weekly meal plan and never waste any time wondering what to make. It’s amazing!
Learn how to meal plan right here. I walk you through my signature 5 step system. It’s easy peasy!
Meal prep
Meal prep goes hand in hand with meal planning. Proportioning out snacks, so they are ready to grab, chopping veggies for the week, and washing fruits are all huge time savers and help you make healthy choices too!
Batch cook
Making muffins? Bake double and freeze half. Future you will thank you.
Cooking a pot of soup? Double it and freeze half. Future you will thank you.
You get the point. You already have all the ingredients and measuring spoons out – double it up!
Order groceries
If you live somewhere with grocery delivery take advantage of it. I spend about 15 minutes selecting my groceries for the week versus a 1.5-2 hour store trip every week.
Batch errands
Going out to run an errand? Run as many as you can in one go to save yourself the time spent getting ready to go out, buckling in kids, driving around, etc.
Recap of these 25 time management tips for moms
These are 25 actionable tips to maximizing your productivity so that you can free up your time for family, fun, and the business of your dreams. Remember, there is so much more to life than being busy 24/7. Take time to slow down and be present and enjoy those sweet kiddos while they are young!
Join the CWK community and receive access to the free productivity printables library
Xo,
Kinzy
You might also like:
How To Avoid Distractions and Get More Done
How To Work From Home With Toddlers
A Realistic Cleaning Schedule For Busy Moms
