Balancing work, kids, and your home can be super overwhelming as a mom. There are a lot of balls in the air to juggle.
We all only have so many hours in a day. Time-saving tips for working moms are essential.
Do any of these sound familiar?
- You are crushing it at work, but feel like you are failing as a mom.
- You are in an extra-busy season at work, and your house is a disaster.
- You are feeling great about home life, but feel like you are slacking at work.
It can be so tough to find balance. Does anyone ever really?
It is never going to be perfect, but there are ways you can make the most of your time.
Use these tips to help you build time-saving habits and routines as a busy mom.
This doesn’t mean you “do it all” or stress about things being perfect. You are making the most of your time to knock out the essentials faster. This helps your home and life with your kids feel more calm instead of chaotic.
Time-Saving Tips for Working Moms
1. Weekly Planning and Time Blocking
Set aside 15-30 minutes on the weekend to plan for the week ahead.
Start by brain dumping all your to-dos on a piece of paper. Then look at your calendar to prioritize what needs to get done first, and what can wait until later.
Time Blocking
Most people have heard of time blocking by now.
If you aren’t a huge planner, don’t stress. This does NOT mean planning out every hour of your week.
Time blocking is basically just setting up an appointment with yourself to do something and committing to the time. There are so many ways to simplify time blocking that can work for you and your family.
It can be something as simple as cleaning out the fridge. Or more complex, like planning out time to work on a new goal or side hobby every day.
- Pick a day; then a morning, afternoon, or evening. Adding a time can help, but don’t stress if you don’t want to be strict with it right away.
- Ex: “Clean fridge 10 min on Tuesday morning before lunch.”
- Write it down and stick to it.
- Timers are your friend. Give yourself a certain amount of time to get it done. This helps increase your focus, since you only have this chunk of time to finish.
Read more about ways to time block here.
15 minutes spent looking ahead now and making notes can save you time and stress later.
- Check for appointments, important meetings, deadlines, ect.
- What can be prepared ahead of time to make the week go more smoothly?
- Keep a running to-do list.
- Prioritize the top 3 tasks.
- Time block work and home tasks.
- Plan in extra time between tasks and appointments so there is room for mishaps, ect.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you never forget anything. With practice, you can notice went wrong, and find a solution to prevent it next time.
2. Let Go/Say No
Does looking at the week ahead cause overwhelm and stress?
Too many things to get done in not enough time? Stop trying to do everything!
Ask yourself:
- What can be let go or saved for another week?
- What can be delegated or simplified?
- Is there anything on my list that I’m feeling pressured to do but is not what I actually want?
- Am I worrying too much about things being “perfect” or the opinions of others?
It can be tough to decide what to let go with out feeling lazy and careless. Especially if you’ve struggled with perfectionism and people-pleasing.
A good question to ask is: What is going to matter most next week, next month, and next year?
Remember: Kids are only this age for a short time. Your work will always be there.
3. Schedule Time for Family and Fun
Moms can really struggle to allow themselves to be fully present with their families and have time for fun.
Sometimes it can feel like you are wasting time if you stop and have fun.
The reality is, it is actually more productive in the long run to take short breaks. You can come back refreshed with more energy and focus.
It doesn’t need to be an hour-long nap or phone scroll to be fun and helpful!
Examples:
- Sit outside for 10 minutes
- Read a book for 10 minutes
- Spend quality time with your kids.
- Listen to music
- Do a crossword or sudoku
Short breaks can make a huge difference in productivity.
Related: 8 Quick Energy Boosting Tips for Exhausted Moms
4. Set Screen & Work Limits
Work can easily take over your home life if you aren’t intentional about setting a start and end time. Especially if you work from home.
Same thing with your phone. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. So helpful, but sooo distracting if you aren’t careful!
- Set limits on days and times you will work.
- Write it down, use timers, and stick to them!
- Get in the habit of watching the screen time on your phone. It is eye-opening!
- Find your starting point and use app limits and schedule downtime to start reducing screen time.
- Set timers/limits, especially when using social media. Scrolling can be a huge time-waster.
Related: 5 Best Tips for Moms to Reduce Phone Time Sucks
5. Create Simple Routines: Save Time & Brain Power
Small routines and habits can make a big difference. This reduces stress and helps with:
- Better time management
- Reduced mental load
- More quality time with family
- Improved productivity at work
Example routines:
- Create a simple morning routine that can set the tone for a great day.
- Prep breakfast and lunches on the weekend
- Prep kids for school/daycare in the afternoon
- Lay out clothes
- Check backpacks
- Prep breakfast items
- Quick home reset (dishes, tidy kitchen) every evening
- Make it a family event if you have older children.
- Many hands make light work. Music can even make this after-meal routine fun!
6. Outsource and Automate
There are so many great ways to simplify your life.
- Set up auto pay for bills
- Set reminders for recurring tasks
- Involve your kids with chores and meal prep. They can handle a lot more than you think!
- Grocery pickup/delivery
- Amazon Subscribe and Save
- Lawn care
- Laundry
- Cleaning service-This can even be a family member.
- My daughter goes to my sister’s house twice a month to clean. She earns money while cleaning and listening to music. My sister comes home to a cleaner house after work. Win, win!
Related: Best Tips for Getting Kids to Help with Chores
7. Use Micro Moments
Embrace a can-do mindset with small chunks of time.
Use timers and start noticing how long tasks actually take. It will surprise you.
You’d be amazed at what you can accomplish in 10 minutes, 5 minutes, or even 1 minute.
Those dishes that seem to be piled a mile high in the sink? You can actually take care of a lot of them in 5-10 minutes. Even if the dishwasher is full of clean dishes. I hate it when that happens!
Those toys dumped all over the floor? With a little help from your kids, they can be cleaned up in no time. This post will give you great ideas to get the toys in your home under control.
Home tasks that take 5 minutes or less
- Switch and put away a load of laundry. These laundry hacks will help!
- Tidy the main living area. These quick cleaning ideas will help streamline the process.
- Quick bathroom clean.
- Separate mail into piles for bills, important letters, ect.
- Sweep main walking area in garage.
- Throw out old food in fridge and give it a quick wipe.
Final Thoughts
These time-saving tips are a game-changer for working moms. Start using these ideas to manage work and home life. Make the most of your time so you can actually enjoy time with your kids and for yourself, too.
Every family’s routine is different. Start small and adjust as needed.
What are your best time-saving tips? Share in the comments below!
