As I’m sure we all know, being a mom is a full-time job.
Looking after our kids can take up all of our time if we aren’t careful and it can be hard to get anything else done.
If you want to be more productive in your days, with whatever productivity means to you, here are some of our top tips to get you started.
When there’s a will, there’s a way.
Have a Schedule
We can’t expect ourselves to be productive if we don’t engage in planning or scheduling.
Having a schedule allows us to know exactly how much time you have in the week and where your free gaps are.
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking “I’ll do that later”, or “I’ll get to that at some point”. We usually never actually do it, unless we make a plan with a specific time to do so.
Keep yourself accountable and keep all of your tasks at the forefront of your mind by keeping them on a planner or a schedule.
One where you can see it regularly is the best idea, so things can’t slip away from you.
Prioritise Rest
This might not be a tip you would expect to be on a list about productivity but it is a very important part of it.
In order to be productive, especially to be consistently productive, we need to look after our rest and keep it as a priority.
Sleep and rest help your brain function.
When you don’t rest enough and try to push through and keep being productive, you will just feel foggy and sluggish.
You will end up not achieving much and feeling worse about it than if you just rested in the first place.
Schedule your time in an efficient but reasonable way. Schedule time for working and doing whatever you need to do but don’t forget to factor in your 8 hours of sleep every night.
Accept Help from Others
You don’t have to do everything alone.
If you need to be productive but are struggling to do so because of your children, try and outsource some assistance from grandparents, friends, partners, or professional childminders.
Your children can end up more frustrated when they want your attention but you can’t give it to them fully because you are trying to get stuff done, so let them go off and have some fun and entertainment elsewhere for a little while.
Try not to feel guilty and remember that everything you are doing is for their benefit as well.
Don’t Multi-Task
Multi-tasking is another thing that you would think is helpful for productivity but it is actually more of a hindrance.
When you concentrate on too many things at once all you do is achieve less in each separate thing. Juggling too much just means you drop more balls.
Try and focus on one thing at a time and keep those things higher quality with higher focus.
Doing one thing at a time will also feel better mentally and will stop you from getting too overwhelmed.