Mums are very strong people. We have the hardest jobs and work for long hours. We get things done no matter how tired we are without thank you and acknowledgement sometimes. Sometimes, it seems impossible for us to complete our to-do list.
To some mums, they’ve tried and failed to get their productivity to where they want it to be. The average mom gets only 17 minutes of alone time per day, barely enough to take a shower! So, their number one problem is time and productivity.
Here’s a compilation of 18 productivity tips for mums.
1.) Start your day early
Waking up earlier than your kids seems difficult but it is the best thing to do. If you wake up an hour before them, you can use the extra time to get yourself together. Before they wake up, you’d have some quiet time, exercise, eat your breakfast and do your house chores.
2.) Set a Flexible Schedule
Setting a schedule is priceless but you have to be willing to accept changes to that schedule as a mum. These things happen so allow yourself have some flexibility if things come up. The key thing is finding a schedule that works for you and sticking with it.
3.) Take 5-10 minutes to plan your day
This will greatly increase your productivity. When you identify what you want to accomplish and write it down, you increase its likelihood of happening. You can do this last thing at night or first thing in the morning. I find it works better when I do it at night so I know exactly what to do first in the morning.
Take time to create a to-do list at the start of your day, week or month. You can decide to write the list in order of priority. The items on your list should be realistic within the given frame of time. For example, for a daily to-do list, 5-10 items is optimal. You can also have a list of important tasks to complete within a week or month.
4.) Focus on your least favourite task first
Take a deep breath and tackle that task you loathe. If you don’t, it will wait for you the next day. If you do it, you will feel much better.
5.) Make out time to focus on your kids
Our productive minds are always eager to get things done and we forget to make out time to play with our kids. Doing this makes them feel loved and gives you positive energy to do your work. In the end, kids won’t remember the time you spent wash their clothes or arranging their toys. They’ll remember the times you spent with them even if you were just starring at the stars together.
6.) Make Plans for Healthy Activities
“Health is wealth” is one of the most underrated sayings. You can only carry out your activities as a mum if you are healthy. So, when making your schedule, make time for exercise, meals and snacks. Your “me time” gives you time to refresh and be more productive. If you skip this time, you may break down.
7.) Prioritize
As you make your to-do list every day, choose and focus on three things as your priorities for the day. If you can accomplish these things, you can move to other things on your list.
8.) Start Small
This doesn’t mean that you should be mediocre. It means that you shouldn’t overwhelm yourself with tasks you can’t accomplish. It’s okay for you to dream big but it isn’t bad to start small. You can break down a big task to smaller tasks. Make sure you make your to-do list actually doable.
9.) Get Sufficient Sleep
Who doesn’t like sleeping? You probably haven’t gotten enough sleep since after your kids were born, right? It will be difficult for you to have a successful day without rest and enough sleep. So get sufficient sleep because your body needs rest. If you haven’t gotten enough sleep, take a nap during the day.
Read also: Self Care Tips For Busy Mums
10.) Don’t Multi-task
This sounds like a bad advice but it is actually a good one. Multi-tasking prevents you from focusing on your priorities. Ticking off your tasks one after the other helps you increase your productivity. You can multi-task a little like loading the washing machine or dishwasher while doing something else. These two don’t require your full attention.
11.) Hire Help
You are not meant to do everything on your own because you are not a superwoman. Accept that you can’t do it alone and hire a maid. There’s no shame in that, it doesn’t make you less of a mom.
Trying to do it alone will make you burn out and break down. Get someone to help you with some house chores and outsource some of your official tasks too. You may think you don’t have money for that but there’s only so much you can do.
12.) Batch Process
This simply means working on similar tasks at the same time. Is this multi-tasking? NO! it is just working on a group of tasks at the same time instead of jumping from task to task. It saves you a whole lot of time. For example, you can do your laundry and your kids laundry at the same time so you can tick that off your to-do list. Instead of doing them on different days.
13.) Have a Positive Mindset
Stop thinking that you don’t have enough time to get things done. To be productive, believe that you can get things done on time. Start with small tasks and pace yourself. Be positive, focus on what you have and not what you don’t. Try not to feel defeated all the time because your kids will inherit your attitude. Have a positive attitude and mindset towards everything.
14.) Get your kids involved
Let your kids help you with some housework if they are grown. Assign tasks to them according to their ages. Your husband should also help you do some things in the house. It isn’t bad to get them involved because they benefit from the tasks. I won’t write much about this because I already wrote a post about benefits of making your kids do chores.
15.) Know your limits
You need to be self-aware and know how you like to work. You shouldn’t always practice what works for others because it may not work for you. So it is important to know your limits and find out what’s best for you. Are you someone that easily forgets and needs a reminder for everything? Do you procrastinate or you can meet deadlines? Do you work fast or slow and steady? Choose the one that works for you.
16.) Learn to Unplug
Not your laptop charger but distractions. You may be working and you just decide to peep Instagram a little. Before you know it, it’s 50 minutes gone! So forgetting about distractions like social media is necessary to complete your to-do list. In stead you can schedule time to go to social media after your priority tasks are completed.
17.) Eliminate Non-essentials
Don’t spend time on things that don’t matter just because it is in front of you. Identify the things that are important so that you let go of the things that are not. When you say yes to something, you automatically say no to something else.
18.) Be Grateful
Don’t forget to be thankful for all the tasks you’ve been able to complete. Don’t be worried about the things you haven’t done. Tomorrow you try again.