6 Simple Time Management Tips For Work-At-Home Moms

Are you a work-at-home mom looking for ways to simplify your day so you have enough time to get everything done? These are the tested and approved time management tips all work-at-home moms should know about.

 

Being a work-at-home mom gives us the massive advantage of staying home with the little ones and saving money on child care. Although, it does come with its own set of challenges. When becoming a mom, we often don’t realize how many things we will have to juggle. Let alone adding a career into the mix of motherhood. As a full-time work-at-home mom myself, practicing these time management tips helped me get on track to becoming productive.

Here you will learn a few time management practices for work-at-home moms that will help you schedule your week in advance, stick to your schedule, and work around your child’s schedule. 

After putting these practices for work-at-home moms into action you will become a pro at managing your day. At the end of each day, you will feel productive and relieved that you got all your work done.

This post is all about time management tips for work-at-home moms.

 

Simple Time Management Tips For Work-At-Home Moms

Prioritize Your Tasks

When you are a work-at-home mom, it can be daunting to think about how much there is to do in a day. Between work, kids, keeping up with the house, etc., it can get overwhelming. Prioritizing your daily tasks can make things easier to deal with.

I once read a book called Eat That Frog! In this book, I learned that putting the most challenging and most important tasks at the beginning of the day will result in a much smoother and less stressful day. I can attest that it is a huge help.

This is why I suggest putting your business work at the beginning of the day. If you have meetings, projects, or specific tasks for your job, put them in the first half of the day or even the morning time if you can.

That way, the rest of the day will be more manageable, and you are not stressing about those big tasks.

Everyone has different priorities, so it’s best to figure out which are the most important to you.

You can even write them down and number them from most important to least important. Then it will be easier when you need to put them on your schedule. After all, we are working around our children’s schedules, so it’s best to be as organized as possible.

Work-At-Home Mom Schedule

Sundays are the best days to take some time to plan out your week ahead. There are many ways to plan your week, but I find two ways to be the most effective.

If you prefer writing in a schedule book, I love this planner. Otherwise, Google calendar is fantastic! Either way, it is best to time block your whole week. That way, you ensure you are intentional with your time during those blocks.

Utilizing both the written schedule and google calendar can also be very beneficial.

You can write down all your prioritized tasks in the planner and then transfer it onto google calendar to time block it. Google Calendar is great because it can also set alarms to remind you what is next on your schedule.

Since we are stay-at-home moms working from home, our schedules can and sometimes will slightly change throughout the day. Sometimes the kids or baby will take a shorter nap than usual, or their mood can make it hard to get some things done.

That is ok; stick to the schedule as much as possible and adjust as needed.

Related Post: Extremely Useful Time Blocking Tips For The Work-At-Home Mom

Here are some scheduling tips.

 

-Work while the little ones nap

Hands down, the best time to do the most important work is during nap time. You can utilize this time for meetings and work that need to be uninterrupted.

If you have a new baby, the first year will be ever-changing when it comes to nap time.

Adjust your plan as needed to work around the baby’s nap times. If the baby does not have a specific schedule, I suggest being very intentional with your time as soon as you do put them down.

-Work while little ones are awake

The next best time to work would be while the kids are eating lunch or having screen time. We often like to limit screen time to certain hours, so this is a great time to give them an hour or two so you can get some extra work done.

-Work after bedtime

Night time is a wonderful time to get any straggling tasks done. After the little ones have gone to bed, you will have some extra uninterrupted hours you can utilize in many ways.

After the kids are down for the night, I always use this time to play catch up or even start on tasks for the next day. That way, I can finish some of the following day’s tasks early.

Put Down Your Phone During Work Time

Putting down your phone is the BIGGEST suggestion I can give when it comes to being productive. Being work-at-home moms, we have limited time to get things done before the little ones wake up from a nap.

This is why it is crucial to put the phone down and be very intentional with your time.

It’s easy to get lost in our phone, and suddenly, an hour passes. I am a victim of this as well.

Now I will put my phone face down while I’m working or sometimes on the other side of the room unless I need it for some work.

Being intentional during your time blocks is crucial to being productive, so you can ensure you get everything done.

Break Up Big Projects

It can be overwhelming to have big projects due by a specific date when you only have periods throughout the day that you can work.

This is where being very intentional with your time really comes into play. It’s easier to not stress when you break up your project into a few days and use your time-blocked work time to complete it.

Worst case, if you know you won’t be able to get it done in the split-up days you give yourself, it can always be beneficial to call a friend, family, or babysitter to help out for a few hours so you can really concentrate.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help. We’re only human, and although we are super moms working from home with kids, we have a lot on our plate. Ask for help when you need it.

When Should You Clean?

If you’re anything like me, sometimes it can be stressful to want to get work done when house chores are piling up. Cleaning is one of those tasks that is always sitting in the back of our minds.

Someone once suggested to me to do the cleaning throughout the day here and there rather than using my essential working time to get those chores done.

That suggestion helped me a lot. So while the kids are snacking, playing amongst themselves, or having screen time, I’ll get some chores done. Fitting the cleaning in the nooks and crannies of the day is a huge help.

That way, we still have our blocked-out time for work and could also spend time with the little ones.

Now, the house may not be spotless, and there might still be a load of laundry to be done, but at least it’s clean enough to think straight.

Wake Up Early

Waking up early can be a struggle, especially if your little ones are early risers. If you can wake up at least an hour before them, it can be a HUGE help.

Waking up before the little ones is a game changer to your overall daily mentality. Having an extra hour to have a cup of coffee, read a book, meditate, or go over your daily schedule before anyone is awake will set you up for a more easy going day.

My little one currently wakes up at 6:30am every day, so I will admit some days are a struggle to wake up early. The days I can, though, always go more smoothly since I’m able to mentally relax and prepare before the day starts.

Related Post: How To Rock Your Morning Routine With A Newborn

Final Thoughts

Time management is a game changer for any work-at-home mom to be successful. Really… time management is vital for all moms. We have so much to do for ourselves and our families that managing our time wisely will help us become less stressed.

These methods are sure to help you re-organize your day to maximize your productivity and still have time for the little ones. This way, you can spend more quality time with the kids and worry less about chores, errands, and work.

This post was all about time management tips for work-at-home moms.

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