I can always tell when someone is about to ask me for tips on time management for working moms. I can tell by the subtle signs of exhaustion they are trying to hide, by the way they let the crowd thin before they ask, and because the first words out of their mouth are always something related to my 5 kids.
I’ve been a mom for 17 years, and have been an entrepreneur for just about the same amount of time. I had all of my babies while growing my business. Today, I’m working at a feverish pace because we have to pick up from cross country, football, and marching band, do homework, and I have to get to the meeting for the band boosters. Somewhere in the mix, we’ll make and eat dinner. I’ve got a couple of loads of laundry waiting to be folded. And I still need to exercise. Sound familiar?
Time management for working moms is one of the most critical skills. And while I’ve blogged about time management many times over the years, I think it’s time for a post specifically about the entrepreneur moms, working moms and entrepreneur moms. Because your challenges are sometimes different.
So here you go, 6 tips on Time management for working moms
- Stop fighting against time. The way you feel about time definitely affects how well you organize it. Resenting your busy schedule won’t make you more efficient. So instead, shift your thinking and consider time your greatest resource. Treat it like it is more valuable than all the money in your bank account, because it is!
- Daily Brain Dump. Stop carrying so much information in your head. It’s taking up the space you should be using for creativity. Instead spend about 10 minutes a day dumping all of the tasks that are in your mind onto paper.
- Delegate, Delete, Reschedule- You do not have to do everything yourself. I repeat: You do not have to do everything yourself. Delegation is critical to your success. Get rid of the things that are unimportant altogether. And then if you don’t have time to do something today, reschedule it for when you do have time and don’t think about it until then! Save your mental space.
- Time Block. Stop jumping from one task to the next. It’s inefficient and doesn’t allow you to ever get into your flow. Give yourself more time to work on a single task. For example, I’m going to write 4 blogs today and 4 youtube scripts. Not one, 4. Because I’ll be more efficient with my writing. Thank you time blocking for giving me the time to accomplish that task.
- Google Calendar with Syncing. Can I tell you how much I hate being the calendar master? It’s the worst. And you know what, I have kids who are old enough to put their own events into a google calendar. Let other people help input dates into their calendars and share them to one central location so everyone knows what is going on. And if someone left something off the calendar, well, then it’s not all my fault! Lovely.
- What to do when it all falls apart- This one takes a little too long to explain in an article, so watch the Youtube video for this critical skill.
Working Moms, entrepreneur moms and mompreneurs, you’ve got your hands full. Don’t give up on your dreams because it seems like it would be easier. The truth is, you’re going to be busy. It’s part of your season of life. If you weren’t working and growing businesses, you’d be organizing the school book drive, or cleaning your house. You would fill your time either way. So make sure you’re not beating yourself up for being busy or feeling guilty about working. All moms have their hands full. No moms do it perfectly. So give yourself a pat on the back. You are doing a good job.
For more resources on Time Management for working moms check out some of these past posts.
https://amywalkerconsulting.com/4-time-management-tips-guaranteed-to-give-you-peace-of-mind/
https://amywalkerconsulting.com/a-behind-the-scene-pass-what-being-a-6-figure-mom-really-looks-like/
https://amywalkerconsulting.com/5-productivity-hacks-every-business-owner-needs-win/
