time management tools to help you thrive as a busy mom and conquer Monday mornings!
Waking up Friday morning is the BEST feeling ever-a few hours at work and then you ride off into the sunset, ready to enjoy your weekend.
Then, Monday morning hits and you find yourself scrambling around- looking everywhere for your daughter’s gold sparkly sandals, triple checking if you have enough diapers for the day because you forget to get some at the store last night.
You rush off to work just to find out you forgot to change out of your slippers…
By 9:15am on Monday morning you have one thing on your mind: Is it Friday yet?
There isn’t coffee strong enough to turn some of these Monday mornings around.
So instead of just doubling up on lattes these days, let’s turn your Monday mornings around!
Unfortunately, there are some pretty good time management tools out there on the market but they are so overcomplicated that it turns busy moms like you and I away.
Instead of making your life complicated, let me help simplify it for you!
With these 7 easy time management tools, let’s get your chaos turned into calm and coordinated!
Calm and Coordinated
Don’t let the term “time management tools” intimidate you.
You actually have access to these time management tools already, and this super simple process starts on Sunday.
Sunday Funday is still going to happen BUT you are going to carve out a little bit of time this Sunday to make sure your Monday-Friday is calm and coordinated.
It is amazing what less than 30 minutes of planning will do to your entire week.
In 30 minutes, you will have your week outlined, your husband on board and you will know the whereabouts of those gold sparkly shoes.
7 Simple Time Management Tools
My motto is “organize tasks, get in and get back to life!”.
You are a busy, working mom: You DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR COMPLICATED!
Grab a simple calendar you can carry in your purse, put a calendar on your fridge or use an online tool like google calendar or Trello if that fits your family more.
I personally use this simple and effective weekly look ahead planner to highlight the important things, which you can download for free.
Bottom line, just start by grabbing a pen and blank piece of paper… seriously!
I designed these time management tools to be that simple (end effective)!
1. Highlight your priorities
Each week we have a lot to get done, right?
Some of these things are routine and other things are one-offs, all equally important.
Which is why you want to start your weekly look ahead with highlighting the priorities.
Are there any extra events/appointments/commitments this week?
Write those down first.
Make sure you have child care coverage, your work arranged if needed etc. to accommodate these priorities.
For more help to determine what priorities you have, consider creating a vision board! Check out these vision board ideas to help you see how it can help you move one step closer to your goals!
2. Pick the things you can delegate
I’m going to be honest, this has been the hardest thing to convince myself of even though I logically understand the concept.
Organize tasks for the week so you can delegate things that others can do and delegate the things you don’t like to do!
I once heard a story about a guy who owned his own car lot. He talked about how he would spend all day on Saturday mowing the lawns of his rental properties. It occurred to him one day that he could pay a high school student to take this chore over and spend the morning has his car lot instead.
If he sold even just 1 car it would far outweigh the $50 for the work he delegated out.
This time management tip is especially important if you run your own business or are in a service industry where you can trade your time for money.
And quite honestly, if cleaning the bathrooms steals your joy, do yourself a favor and get a quote on how much it would cost. You might be surprised at what you are willing to pay to keep your joy!
3. Schedule important meetings
Now that you’ve assessed the priorities of the week, any of the priorities that need follow up items like scheduling a meeting, make sure and do that on Sunday.
If it isn’t possible to accomplish that on Sunday, make a list where you can organize tasks that still need to occur.
Then take the 3 minutes during this time to put an alarm reminder on your cellphone for Monday so you do not forget!
Is it time to fit in a date night?
If you are anything like me, then I am guessing the answer is yes! Make sure and coordinate a babysitter during these 30 minutes of planning time so it is all taken care of.
4. Pick 1 Day For Extra Fun Family Time
I absolutely refuse to get sucked into living life on autopilot.
My husband and I both work full time and we want to maximize the time we have with our children.
Now sometimes this simply means including them into things that need to get done in a meaningful way, but we have made it a point to be intentional about doing 1 thing “out of the ordinary” each week.
This doesn’t have to be an activity that costs money.
It could be a trip to a new park, a picnic, reading books outside like we are camping, getting to make cookies or having a mid-week play date in the evening.
What things do you do to be intentional about maximizing quality time with your family?
5. Plan Out Dinner
Of all the things that suck away my time, it is trying to come up with the answer to “what’s for dinner?”.
Seriously, some days my husband texts me that question at 11am and by 5:45pm I’m still being indecisive.
So we totally changed this process because there is no reason I need to waste as much time as I was on this question (I’m embarrassed to admit that I added it up and it totaled like 2.5 days wasted a YEAR!).
Check out my simple family meal planner process that you can easily take care of during this Sunday planning time.
6. Write Things Down
Focus is a major component of success.
And I don’t care if you are trying to grow into the CEO of your company or just make sure you remember to bring class treats on Wednesday, being successful means you need to have focus!
The best way to help you focus is to have you write things down.
As you saw in the family meal planner, we write our meals down for each day ahead of time which helps make sure the necessary ingredients are written on the grocery list.
I’ve mentioned above that you need to write the priorities for the week down, whether it is on your own personal purse calendar, in your phone or on your fridge, writing things down and keeping them visual is key to keeping you focused!
7. Communicate With Your Spouse
Talking to your husband is considered one of the time management tools available?
Yep! Well, at least it is a vital part of my 7 simple and effective time management tools. And if you aren’t convinced this belongs here, think of it this way: choose to follow time management tools written by middle-aged men or follow the guidance of a busy, working mom actively balancing career and motherhood 😉.
The reason talking to your spouse, or whoever is your main support during the week, is because if you don’t communicate the plan, how are they going to support you effectively?
My husband would prefer I do the planning about 85% without him, which is totally fine. Once I get the outline done, I touch base with him and we talk about if he is going to have a late workday or an earlier than normal morning, which days he needs to fit the gym in etc.
Then we hash out the family meal planner for the week and we are set!
He knows what is for dinner, what we’ve got going on for the week and what areas I need his help.
A Mom’s List of Time Management Tools For Success!
Time management is a foundational pillar to success, no matter what your goals in life are.
Using productivity tips like the Power of 3 and including more daily habits of successful women into your routine is a great formula to help you achieve your goals!
