Being a busy mom can make it hard to get everything done. You may often feel overwhelmed and ready to throw in the towel. However, there are ways to get more done. Whether you make a color coded to-do list or use a planner, you can get everything done. Here are just a few of the best productivity tips for busy moms.
Productivity Tips for Busy Moms
Make a Color Coded To-Do List
The reason a color coded to-do list works is that you can quickly glance at your to-do list and see what needs to be done based on category. For example, you can color code your to-do list based on how long something will take. If you have items that will take 5 minutes or less, use a highlighter to mark them green. You can then mark items that take less than 10 minutes blue and so on and so on. Then, when you have a few minutes, you can work on projects that fit that time frame.
Focus
Many women believe they are amazing multi-taskers, but what we don’t realize is that we are actually just good at switching our focused attention very quickly. This constant switching actually is bad for our brains and can cause cognitive damage (read this post). It’s important to limit your distractions and focus on one thing at a time. Turn off your Facebook notification and close down email to help remove unnecessary distractions.
Take Advantage of Nap or School Time
Nap time is the perfect time to work on things that require your complete concentration, such as paying bills. If your children are in school, and you’re a stay at home/work at home mom, you have several more hours to work on getting things done. Take advantage of this time. Have a plan and work that plan so that you can focus on getting done what you need to get done while the kids are busy because we all know how much will get done once they’re home…NADA.
Lineup Errands
When you go out to run errands, lineup as many errands as possible. This not only saves time, but gas. If you run all your errands one or two days a week, this gives you more time to work on other things. If you’re running out each day to do one or two things, it can end up eating up your entire day. Devote one or two days a week to running errands and use the other days of the week to take care of things at home.
Use a Planner
Last, but not least, use a planner. You’ll be so surprised at how much more you get done when you’ve organized your to-do list into a planner. When using a planner, make sure that you give yourself enough buffer in between things so that you never feel overwhelmed if something takes longer than you thought. It also helps to have a monthly kitchen calendar so that you can see everything that needs to be done on certain days with just a glance.
I like to combine using my Bullet Journal and my planner. I use the Bullet Journal as my external brain. It holds all my lists and my weekly brain dump of things to do and remember. Then I take that list and assign the items to days of the week in my planner. This way I’m not overwhelmed by the enormity of my to-do list. You will be amazed how much you actually get done with this system.
It can be hard to get everything done, but with these tips you’ll have a much easier time being as productive as possible.
What are your favorite productivity tips?
