As we wrap-up New Year’s Resolution season, I’ve been thinking about something my students constantly struggle with: time management. I always assure them that I struggle with this too! I find it difficult to make time to see my friends, get outside, and make it places on time. Children make this process so much more complicated. So, here are five takeaways I want to share about time management for moms.
1. Time management is self-care! When you take time to make time, you get to enjoy the benefits of socializing, staying active, or having those few minutes to yourself. Self-care is not selfish. You’ll come back to your family feeling less stressed out, which benefits the whole household.
2. Cultivating awareness helps. I’m often “running late” because I didn’t realize how much time something would take. I ran over on a phone conversation, doing laundry, or a “quick” chore. Take a minute before you decide to do “one last thing,” and consider how long that task will really take. The more we work on being aware of the how much time we really spend on common tasks, the better we can budget our time.
3. Delegate. It can take longer to teach one of the kids how to do something than just doing it yourself. I so get this. But that initial time investment will pay off in the long run. Think about age-appropriate tasks to teach your children now.
4. Focus. We all think we’re great at multi-tasking, but the research says we are not. Try to complete one task at a time.
5. Get organized. I use a print agenda and wall-calendar, but lots of folks love online calendars with reminders. Figure out what works for you and stick to it. Share your calendar with your partner if you have one. This helps you avoid time conflicts (and other conflicts too).
We’d love to know what works for you. Share your favorite time management tips with our community in the comments below.
