What’s the secret recipe? Because I wish I had it. Juggling Mom life and working life sometimes feels like the most unfair thing in the world. You want to give all of your time and attention to raising your family, but you also find meaning and purpose in the work that you do (hopefully that’s true! and if it isn’t, find a new job- we’re done wasting time around here!). If you’re anything like myself, I genuinely enjoy what I do. I love being an entrepreneur, so I sort of like this whole working gimmick. But how do I balance them both? I get asked this quite often- so here’s the scoop!
My Top Tools For Juggling
My top tools that I absolutely, without a doubt could not possibly juggling everything without are:
- Google Calendar/Reminders: everything is listed in here! All of my photoshoot sessions, photoshoot deadlines, kid’s activities, mine and Phil’s plans, birthdays, etc. Using reminders is the best way to keep me on track with the usage of my time. If I didn’t have reminders, I would simply just keep going with whatever I was doing and forget to transition into the next thing.
- Home Calendar: we have a weekly calendar that we use for the day to day planning! This is where I make note of all things down to the hour! I make note of which days are for grocery shopping, when I will run to get gas, the kids activities, what hours I plan to work distraction free when help is here (this has really helped eliminate any tension about me needing to work for some uninterrupted time each week), what is getting cooked for dinner, etc. This helps the entire family be on the same page about what to expect on a day to day basis.
- Airtable: entrepreneurs, this one is huge! This tool keeps me in check on all of my deadlines for my various projects- blogging, vlogging, social media, etc. I plan out my content for the month which helps eliminate the thought process behind those tasks on a day to day basis. Airtable allows you to mark things off as done and you can view it all in a list mode, which I love!
- Notes App: lastly, the notes app or my physical notepad. I literally write down all of the small, mundane tasks that are on my mental “to-do list.” That way I can erase them or cross them off as they get accomplished. This tool is generally saved for all of my lower priority tasks- yet, tasks that can’t be forgotten about.
Planning and Efficiency is Key
While we have day to day routines, certain times for certain things to happen- for example, everyone is woken up for school no later than 7:15, dinner happens between 5:15-5:45, bedtime is between 7:30-8:00, etc.– every day still looks entirely different. For my entrepreneurs, flexibility within your days is a beautiful thing. Some mornings I use for tidying up the house, while others are dedicated to emails, editing, gallery delivers, etc. However, that flexibility is also sometimes my hardest challenge. Therefore, planning out my week, down to the hour is incredibly helpful. Walking into each morning with a game plan for my time is crucial. For my Mama’s working outside of the home, the same applies. Start planning out the hours you spend at home. Give some undivided days/hours to your family and kids, while other days may be a “to-do list” sort of evening. Regardless of what it may be, plan it out. Without a plan, it’s easy to feel like you’re being pulled emotional, mentally, and physically in multiple directions at once.
It sounds crazy, but I truly block in time for my kids (hello, phone reminders!). I have to block in “play a game before bed” or “floor play with Sadie” because if those small, undivided attention moments are not intentionally planned out for my day, I’m suddenly filling that time with editing or unloading the dishwasher. Sometimes, in the chaos of just trying check off the next thing, I forget to sit down and truly connect with the kids, play with them, take a moment to relax with them. So as silly as it sounds, setting a reminder and scheduling this into my day has truly made a difference.
Prioritizing Your Most Important Tasks
I could stay up all night long reading off the running list in my mind of all the things I have to get done (as I’m sure all my Moms can relate to). Looking at the week ahead, prioritizing what is most important, which deadlines need to be met, and leaving the other tasks for later days is crucial. This part also takes a LOT of impulse control for me. When I have a deadline that is coming up and my morning has to be dedicated to editing or responding to clients, a pile of dishes in the sink becomes my easiest and biggest distraction. The second I just “take care of those real quick first,” I’m suddenly reorganizing the pantry and there goes my work time.
Using different apps/tools to keep my daily tasks organized and my mind focused is necessary. Prioritizing what all needs to be done first and foremost and then getting to secondary tasks is the best form of time management. Blocking in bits of time here and there, make it easier for me to check off lower priority tasks without entirely neglecting them (hello, rushing wave of overwhelmingness). And in my mind, it’s easier for me to ignore the dishes in the sink when I know come 5pm, I’ll have 15 minutes while cooking dinner to load them up.
Time Batching and Multi-Tasking
This might be your biggest friend- time batching and multi-tasking. Being able to check off smaller, similar tasks at one time is the definition of time-batching. For example, Sadie is now eating solids and I am making her pureed foods. If I know she is running low on food, then I can plan one day during the week to prep meals for her. That day, I will also plan a slow cooker meal for dinner. So while I am prepping Sadie’s meals, I can also prep dinner, and at the same time, load up the dishes. Killing all the kitchen birds with one stone if you will.
If I have a gallery deadline coming up, I will utilize lunchtime to export the images. When files are exporting, my computer becomes useless. So I will wait run that process during a time when I physically cannot be tied up to the computer because I am needed elsewhere. Again- killing two birds with one stone. Strategically batching similar tasks together, multi-tasking throughout the day is the only way to do it all. If you are tackling tasks one at a time (which sometimes that is required), your efficiency is lowering by the second. The quicker you learn to multi-task and batch everything into groups, you will save yourself so much time.
Lastly, Delegate…
And lastly, when shit becomes too much, delegate! Offload your plate, Mama! Delegate, delegate, delegate!
Yapping more about this topic on YouTube HERE!
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