Best Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

Best Time Management Tips for Busy Moms – When you’ve had it with always being late, forgetting appointments, and just never getting anything done in the day, it’s time to take a good look at the best time management tips for busy moms.

Do you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day? That no matter how prepared you get there’s always something that you miss? Or that you’re always running around like a chicken with your head cut off?

The good news is that you’re not alone! There are so many other moms out there just like you who are feeling overwhelmed, underappreciated, unproductive, disorganized, and just run down.

What can be actually done about it?  Is there anything that actually will work for busy moms?

Thankfully, the answer is yes! I have found the best time management tips for busy moms that are actually going to help you.  Here are the steps that you need to follow in order to make sure that you have the most productive day that you possibly can.

1. Set up your to-do list.

Put it ALL out there. You can even add in brushing your teeth and making breakfast if you really want to. Don’t leave anything out.

Be sure to include any time that you need to leave the house as well as any time that you have to be somewhere specific.

I’ve found that a great hourly planner works wonders for planning my days and finding where I have wiggle room or free time. I started using my Erin Condren planner, and I don’t think I’m ever going to use another planner again!

2. Consolidate where you can.

Once you have your whole day planned out by the hour or by the minute, you can go through and see what kinds of things you can do with the extra time that you’ve found that will to save time and money.

For example, I know that on my way home from dropping my son off at school,  I passed right by Costco. If I need to do a Costco run that day I might as well do it first thing in the morning right after I drop him off. This will save me two trips as well as the gas that comes along with it.

Or if I’m in the house all day and I know that I need to sort the laundry but also change all the sheets,  I make sure that while the washer or dryer is running I get all of the clothes that need to be washed or sorted out done.

3. Set up your time block schedule.

I am in love with time blocking! It is a fantastic concept that sounds a lot more technical than it really is. In a nutshell, time blocking is just taking a set amount of time (like 20 minutes) and setting a timer for yourself and committing to do just one task during the time period.  

Let’s say you really want to sort out your children’s seasonal clothing. I don’t know about you, but this is a task that for me to take an entire day!

That’s why you set the time block for yourself. It keeps you focused, keeps you on task, and it really helps you know that there is going to be an end time. You’re not just kind of stuck sorting clothes for the rest of the day.

Once the timer goes off, then you give yourself a five-minute break, and then you move on to the next task for the next 20 to 25 minutes.

This kind of schedule was a game-changer for me. It’s kind of a race against the clock but in a really good and productive way.

4.  Make your meals simpler.

I am a huge fan of simple meals. Not just because I can’t cook to save my life, but also because I can’t tell you how many times I think of trying a recipe and I see that it has like 20 different steps and I freeze and I usually just wind up either using a frozen pizza or buying something at a restaurant.

Not just am my huge fan of simple meals, but I’m also a huge fan of freezer and batch cooking. I buy all of my stuff in bulk and then I put everything into freezer bags along with the rest of the ingredients to a very simple dinner and then I’m done.

It’s really easy to make more than 20 meals in one day just doing batch cooking.  My favorite resource for any kind of batch cooking meal planning is $5 dinners by Erin Chase. She really not only makes it so easy to follow these recipes, but she also makes the food completely delicious.

Not to mention it’s so much easier to realize that I didn’t have time to make dinner at 4:30 and just thaw one of the freezer meals and throw it in the oven. It saves me so much time and energy!

You can get a free video series all about freezer cooking with Erin right here!

5. Get the kids involved.

I’m about to sound like the meanest mom in the known universe. I make my kids do their chores. And I don’t pay them for it. They know that they are part of this family and they have to take over some of the responsibilities.

My 6-year-old is responsible for making sure that all of his dirty clothes end up and the dirty clothes hamper. He mows the lawn for us each week. And he is also in charge of taking out the recycling to the recycling bin. He helps with some of the dusting and vacuuming as well.

My three-year-old unloads the kids’ utensils from the dishwasher.  He also helps me start the dishwasher. He is also in charge of making sure that his dirty clothes end up in the hamper and he also helps with the washer and dryer. We Windexes the windows (at least, the parts that he can reach).

And my two-year-old takes care of his clothes, toys, and has started to help unload the kids’ plates and bowls.

So much of our days as moms is just picking up after our children.

And while I totally know that that is just a fact of life, it also doesn’t do our kids any favors when we always pick up their messes and don’t hold them responsible for their own mess.

It is always so important to me to emphasize to my son’s that we are all part of this family together. I did not make all of the mess in the house, so it isn’t fair that I’m the only one that has to clean it up.  (They really understand the concept of “fair,” so this kind of logic works really well for them.)

No matter what you do or no matter what you have your kids do or even no matter how old your kids are, there are always things that they can do to help. And I’m not talking about having them help when you’re making dinner. (No, we want dinner to be a shorter experience… not a long one!).

Have your kids help out with their share of the jobs around the house. It will help you unload a lot of stress and take a lot off of your plate but it will also help to teach them to be responsible for their own messes as they grow up.

Some of the best time management for busy moms really is just to take a step back from the craziness and really take a good hard look at your to-do list. Is it all really necessary? What can you get rid of or just move to the back burner? What is most important?

What is your favorite time management technique?