Updated Date: 1/7/14
If you’re a working mother, you know that without a strong support system, it can get very challenging to manage everything that’s on your plate. And, even with a support system, finding the right tools and guidance to help you juggle, balance, and manage your busy life can make all the difference in the world! So if you’re a mother and have a business, read on!
Juggling Motherhood and a Business? Try These Time Management Tips
Managing a business is a huge job in and of itself. Managing a family with children, AND a business, is a monumental undertaking!
If you’re one of those amazing mothers, I bow to you! You are poised to change the world, with your grace, courage and commitment to excellence in your personal and professional lives. You truly exemplify Ernest Hemingway’s quote, “Courage is grace under fire.”
On the good days, you can feel the flow of possibility and happiness coursing through your veins.
But on the not so good days:
every chore can feel like a boulder to lift
you’re overwhelmed and exhausted
you feel like your feet are in mud, and
your to-do lists, if you even have them, are completely overloaded
When you find yourself in this dilemma, it’s time to adopt some helpful Time Management Tips!
Here is a great article for moms by Aby Garvey, Organizing and Productivity Expert at Simplify 101.
Time Management Tips for Mom: How to feel better about a day full of thankless tasks
I’ve been meaning to blog about this topic for quite a while now. It’s something I think many moms can relate to: how do you make yourself feel good about a day full of thankless tasks? Have you been there, too? This is how a participant in last summer’s It’s About Time online workshop described it.
Other than tranquility because the house is picked up, I have no reward for completing tasks. I don’t get thank yous, I don’t get praise. How in the world do I make myself feel good about a day full of thankless tasks?
…I go go go until I drop and then I resent everyone and everything around me. I feel like I am doing all the support work (house cleaning/errands/school support/etc) and everyone else is enjoying the fruits of my labors. It is almost as if I want to stop so someone will notice the nice things they are missing.
Of course when I stop, laundry piles up, dishes are everywhere, the visual clutter drives me nuts and I feel depressed. Eventually I pull myself up by the bootstraps, get everything back in order and the cycle starts again.
I would bet most of us moms have felt this way at one point or another—feeling as if we’re doing so much for our family without thanks or recognition. Plus, so much of what moms do in a day gets undone almost before our eyes. The kitchen stays clean only until the next meal. At best, laundry stays caught up for a few hours— as soon as someone goes to bed and changes into their pj’s, the hamper is back on its way to full! It can be so frustrating.
So what’s a mom to do? Here are some ideas:
Ask for help. If you find yourself taking on most of the household responsibilities yourself, ask for help. Even young kids can help with simple tasks, and little kids get great pleasure out of being a helper. Tap into your child’s interests and natural desire to help. For example, when my son was little he loved garbage trucks. So getting him to empty the trashcans was a piece of cake! Make helping out part of the family culture and everyone wins. Your kids will learn basic home keeping skills which will serve them in adulthood, and you’ll get some much needed assistance. Your family members may even begin to appreciate everything you do for them.
Remind them. From time to time, I will remind my kids about what I (and my husband) do for them. For example, if my kids complain about having to put away their clean clothes, I ask them if they would also like to sort, pre-treat, wash, dry, fold AND put away the laundry, or simply put away their clothes like they have to do now. After having this short conversation, their reluctance to put away their clothes passes quickly, and their complaints turn to thanks each time I drop off a batch of freshly folded laundry.
Remember the big picture. When I start to get frustrated by what feels like a never ending household to-do list, I remind myself that I chose this. I chose to be a mom, and honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. When the laundry starts to pile up I remember that I won’t always have to do laundry for four people. In the blink of an eye, I’ll be doing laundry for three and then it will be for just two of us. Keeping the perspective that this is a choice (and one I would make again in heartbeat) really helps, as does the recognition that my current to do list is temporary. My to-do list will continue to shrink as my kids get older and take on even more responsibilities, until ultimately they (gasp) move away.
Carve out time for you. Take intentional, rejuvenating breaks from your to do list. What activities relax you or make you feel like your needs are being met? When you start to feel resentful of your to-do list, make it a point to take some time for yourself. Think back to a time when you felt better about your to-do list… what things did you do for yourself then? For me, exercising is huge rejuvenator, whether it’s yoga, running or boot camp. Exercise is good for the body and it’s great for the mind—it’s a little slice of quiet time where I can even complete a full thought. What activities rejuvenate you?
Give yourself permission to have fun, even when there’s work to be done. Here’s the thing: there will always be work to be done! So waiting until ALL the work is done to give yourself a break simply won’t work. Stake a claim to some fun time just for you. Decide how much time feels right and will fit into your schedule, and then figure out when it will happen. Could you get up earlier on weekdays to do something fun before the kids get up? Could you go to a dance or exercise class on the weekends? When you do take time out for fun, it’s a win-win. You’ll resent your to-do list less, and you’ll be more energized to get things done.
Article source: http://creativeorganizing.typepad.com/creative_organizing/2012/04/time-management-tips-for-mom-how-to-feel-better-about-a-day-full-of-thankless-tasks.html
Juggling Motherhood and a Business? Try These Time Management Tips
If you’d like some really great Time Management Tips that you can use both at home and at the office, check out these fabulous articles that will really help you out:
What Are Some Really Great Time Management Tips?
What Are Some Really Great Time Management Tips? Pt. 2
What Are Some Really Great Time Management Tips? Pt. 3
These tips will get you focused and keep you energized. So that when you do have downtime with your family, there’s enough of you available to truly enjoy them! And isn’t that where the real juice of life is?!
Managing your business and personal life is SO much easier when you have a great support system…and easy to follow guidelines to get you clear and focused on what’s most important to you.
My book, Ignite Your Life! How To Get From Where to Where You Want to Be, is a great companion and tool chest to guide you on your remarkable journey. It helps you get out of your own way and into action, and moving towards what’s most important to you!
Ignite Your Life! is a simple step-by-step system that will create a profound shift in your life and will bring about the success, abundance and joy that you’ve always dreamed of! When you apply this system to each area of your life, you’ll create the juicy Life and Business of Your Dreams!
Carve out time to start designing the life you want today! Click HERE or go to http://igniteyourlifeBOOK.com/book/ to get your digital copy!
To your magnificence!
Andrea Woolf
‘The Queen of Having It All‘
Author of Ignite Your Life! How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be
Founder of IgniteYourLifeBOOK.com
Co-founder of WakeUpAbundant.com
Ambassador of Manifest Money, HowtoLiveonPurpose.com
P.S. I would love to hear from you! Use the form below to send in your comment or question.