How to practice time management as a mom

Time management techniques.

Time is the most expensive resource you have as a mom, more so as a stay at home mom who is building a home business.

This is because, without adequate time management techniques, you will never be able to achieve all that you set out to achieve.

There are many competing needs for your time, your ability to manage your time well will determine how well you are able to meet those needs.

In this post, I will be dealing with how to use various time management techniques to save time and ensure that you achieve all that you desire.

Today is the 3rd day of the stay at home mom challenge also tagged Be the best mom ever challenge.

The response has been rewarding, people on my email list are clicking and finding out what their money mindset is, they also read my post on How to raise a child.

If you have not read that post please ensure you do, as this will only make meaning to you after you have gone through the first two days of the challenge.

The single most important thread that runs through my whole challenge is how best to optimize your activities and overcome your challenges as a stay at home mom business owner.

This is because when all these are well taken care of, you can truly be the best mom ever as you get fulfillment from achieving your life goals and also taking care of your loved ones.

If you want to get the first two parts of the series on the Be the best mom ever challenge, then join my email list below.

My challenge often involves worksheets and tips which is specific to my email list members alone.

Steps To Practicing Time Management Techniques

Set goals

Before you jump into trying to manage your time or determining the time management techniques you will use in your home.

You must have an endpoint in mind.

What are you trying to achieve? For a mom, there are lots of things that call for your attention in a given day.

From the meals to the laundry to school runs or perhaps doctors appointment.

You must determine that you will have an activity you will consider done at the end of your day or it is practically time wasted.

That is why the first place to start your time management skills practice is by setting a simple goal.

I wrote about goal setting in this post.

Read it here to learn how to set actionable goals that you can achieve.

After setting your goals, it is time to organize your activities.

Organize Your Activities

Organization skill is a key skill you must have as a stay at home who runs a business or else the business will never get off the ground.

Picture this

You are just about to seat down to start working on your computer when the baby decides to poop.

You have no other choice than to get up and go clean up.

If you have studied your baby well you can avoid this.

I started potty training my son early, scratch that he started potty training himself when he saw others go to the loo.

I noticed that once he has had breakfast, he goes to the loo.

In fact, when he is not willing to eat much breakfast, I perceive he wants to go, so I take him to the toilet.

If you are not observant of this issue, you may dress him up and put him down to play only to get up and go clean him up again.

The key to organizing your activities is to first observe the patterns and routines in your home.

That is informal but works, and use that to organize all your activities.

You can choose to put all your home-based activities in a time block.

And then your working activities in another time block.

Time blocking is marshaling out a specific time when an activity needs to be done.

For example, while making and packing my kids launches, I also make breakfast.

For all the time I spend in that kitchen, it is solely dedicated to cooking, cleaning up and packing meals.

Once I leave that kitchen, that time block is used up.

I move to the next activity on my list.

Build Activity Blocks

Your activity block is what determines what you do per time.

The best way to build an activity block is to create activity in the home that can be done at the same time within the same vicinity.

My Laundry is just next door to my kitchen, I can start laundry while I am cooking.

While waiting for the meals to get done, I can unload the washer and load another or go for drying straight.

By the time the meal is done, the laundry is also done.

Allot Time To Your Activity Block

When you have built your activity block, it is time to assign time for each activity.

This is because if you do not allow time for each particular block of activity you may spend more time doing what you ought to have finished doing.

Assigning time gives you a sense of urgency so you can actually complete your duties on time.

The best way to allot time to your activity block is to assign your best time zone to activity that requires a lot of concentration.

I love to write when the kids are in school because that is my most productive time.

There are no distractions and I can achieve more.

But what happens when they are home?

I realize it is their time so I concentrate on attending to them and helping them with homework.

I also endeavor to listen to their discussions and chirp in when I need to correct something or point out something.

The next productive time I have is when they are asleep.

Create a Schedule:

I wrote a post on the 11 steps you can take to creating a schedule that really works for you as a stay at home mom.

Honestly, when I started that post, I did not know the post will be that long.

But as I went along, I came to realize that scheduling takes time and also requires consistency.

One of the greatest inventions of man, as it pertains to time tracking, is your calendar.

Without a proper schedule and a calendar that keeps you in check, you will not achieve your goals.

So ensure you read my post on creating a schedule that works for you.

Once that post hit Pinterest, It got more than 35,000 views with people clicking on it.

I realized it is a timely post for the times we live in, please read it.

Use Time Management Tools

You can not do time management without using the requisite tools that will help you to manage your time effectively.

I wrote a post on how to kick chaos and get your home business organized.

That post has done very well.

I will recommend that you read it to know the time management tools you can use.

I use some of the tools I mentioned in the post, so I know it will help you.

Review Your Activity Block

Every 7 days, review your activity blocks to see what needs to be adjusted.

Your activity block when the kids are in school will be different from when they are on holiday.

You will need to make adjustments for life changes or season changes that impact your schedule.

Productivity Matters Not Time Spent.

Some times, people are so fixated on the activity that they forget that results are what matters.

What is the use of doing laundry if you never get the clothes cleaned and ready to wear?

Be more focused on achieving results than the activity itself.

In my email list, I will share with you some productivity tips.

I will also make available to you a worksheet to help you put your productivity in perspective.

Develop a System

In my email list, I will share with you time management techniques you can use.

I will also share with you a template for using that time management technique so that you get results.

Sign up here to get all the goodies that I promised in this post.