I used to think I had my sh*t together, but the truth was, I was struggling. I was tired every day, run down and still failing to get shit done. How could I spend 6 hours a day while the kids were at school and not do everything I needed to? I decided it was time it switch things up and start better managing my time and being more productive.
Here are some of the things I put in place that changed the way I manage my day.
I get up early
My day starts at 5am every morning - before the rest of the house wakes up. I make a coffee, put on a load of washing and use this alone time to spend an hour being productive by replying to work emails and scheduling my social-media posts for that day. If you're a mum and you're struggling to stay on top of things and get shit done, I recommend you get up at least an hour before the kids and use that time to be productive. You will be amazed at how much stuff you can get done in that one productive hour.
I have a schedule
Yes, I schedule everything. I don’t know how I remembered anything before. Now, I'm old school and used to prefer paper schedules, but recently I switched to a digital version and I'm sold. I like that I can view it on my phone and quickly add things on mobile. I include everything on my schedule, including time to clean the house, working hours and kids’ activities.
I keep my house organised
I'll cover this in a separate blog post, but I’ve basically Marie Kondo'd my house and got rid of just about everything we don't need. I gave everything a place, and that keeps the mess to a minimum - which means less cleaning-up time.
I meal plan
I never go to bed without knowing what I'm cooking for dinner the following night. At the end of a long day, the last thing I want to do is scramble to work out what I'm cooking for dinner. Having a meal plan allows me to be organised, but it also allows us to eat healthier meals at home. You can read more about my meal planning HERE!
I think of ways to make my life easier
It's the simple things that make the biggest difference. I prep the next day’s school lunches as soon as the kids get home, lay out their school uniforms and make sure bags are packed the night before. I never stop thinking about ways I can change things to make life a little easier.
Bel Zubakin
What tool or app do you use for your schedule?
ohsobusymum
That's a great question! Sorry, I forgot to include it above. At the moment I'm using google calendar (free) which is easy to use on my iPhone and MacBook.
Nathan
The link to the meal pre page doesn't work 🙂