Motherhood is a very demanding and time scheduled job. From meals that needs to be made and served at specific timings, to routine house chores that may not seem that important but imagine ignoring your laundry for a month. Not only will it smell but one of your family members would throw a tantrum for not being able to wear their favourite shirt for a month. While buying clothes can be an option but is it economical?
That’s why your productivity each day is very important. You may be at home all day but that’s your office and you got to make that butt moving! Here are some helpful tips that hopefully can help you manage your time wisely:
1.Put your phone in another room
As much as our phone appear to be part of our body, it isn’t. Yes, there’s so much important things in it but let me remind you you’re at your safe place, your home. It wouldn’t hurt if you put it in aside a bit far from you or if possible in the other room so you can give your whole focus on what you’re doing. You can still hear it if someone calls you, so stop making the excuse of emergencies.
How many times have you tried cooking a 30 minute meal but took you more than an hour to do while multitasking watching Youtube videos. The dish needs to simmer…I’ll watch for a while. And without you noticing, 20 minutes have passed instead of a 10 minute simmer. Now your kids are jumping around the living room, crying and hungry. You get irritated easily cause you yourself are hungry. Oh man! This ain’t just a scenario I’m making up…this is me 2 years ago!
Luckily, I’ve learned to be more mindful of my actions.
2. Take regular breaks
While others may think that this is just a waste of time, taking breaks actually helps you be more productive. Giving your body and mind a break for a few minutes helps it have a great start again and make you motivated to move forward.
At times, you might not notice that you’ve been just wasting time doing over and over a task that not only frustrates you but also not help you move towards your goal. By learning to be conscious and be aware of this, you can take a short break and come back with a clear mind. The solution to your problem might be in front of you all along, you’re just too aggravated to notice earlier.
3. Do the hardest task firsts
Your motivation and that feeling of being inspired is always at its peak when you start your day. So why not tackle all those hard tasks in your to-do list first. Not only will you have a fresh and clear mind but also all the energy you’ll need to accomplish it.
Those easy ones can be done after and since its that easy, even if your motivation wears out, you’ll still be able to do it.
4. Work smarter, not harder
This tip is applicable to every kind of career, profession, and gender. Learning the wisdom of being able to accomplish your task with the same quality outcome while doing it half the time you used to is total win!
Always find ways to make your job easier for you. Whether it be with a use of a better technique, different product, new technology, or even asking for advice from people. If that is what it takes to save you time to accomplish a task without compromising the quality of outturn, then that’s the wisest thing to do.
5. Remove distractions
When we say distractions, we tend to think of our phone when in reality it isn’t just it. When you try to accomplish a task, anything around you that doesn’t add value for you to finish it is a distraction.
Learn to set a specific time and find a place where you can have an hour or two to finish what you are eager to do. You’ll be surprised that it only takes 30 minutes in a coffeeshop by yourself to do a content rather than do it at home juggling doing work and kids having their screen time.
6. Have a dedicated workspace
Having a dedicated workspace at home may seem only for people who can afford to have more space at home before the Pandemic. Now that it’s been 2 years since Covid has been brought chaos to world, I’m pretty sure every household big or small has made ways to have one. Whether it be a part of your dining area or kitchen or bedroom.
It doesn’t matter where it is actually as long as you feel comfortable and be able to concentrate doing your task.
7. Focus on one thing at a time
Mother’s swear of finishing more with multitasking but unless you’ll be doing two-task partnered with a machine, don’t do it. Doing laundry plus another task is a great idea. All you have to do is throw your laundry on the machine, press a button and leave it then you’ll have your whole self and focus to do another task. It’s only after some time that you’ll need to come back but by then, laundry is done. That’s multitasking. Great smelling clothes and another task done without any disruption. A win-win!
Mother’s swear of finishing more with multitasking but unless you’ll be doing two-task partnered with a machine, don’t do it. Doing laundry plus another task is a great idea. All you have to do is throw your laundry on the machine, press a button and leave it then you’ll have your whole self and focus to do another task. It’s only after some time that you’ll need to come back but by then, laundry is done. That’s multitasking. Great smelling clothes and another task done without any disruption. A win-win!
Cooking while cleaning the house where you’re required to both be physically present isn’t a good idea though. Not only do you add more risk burning your lunch but also there’s a high chance of you bringing bacteria on your food. Cleaning your hands every now and then may seems a great idea until you realise how time consuming it is and how much water you waste washing every 5 minutes.
Why not whisk a quick meal then after focus on cleaning the house. Sounds like a great idea, right?
8.Plan your day the night before
Last but not the least, plan your day the night before. Not only does it helps waking up much easier knowing that your day have already a direction/path to follow but it also helps you not to forget the things you need to accomplish.
Having more time to remember your tasks is very helpful.
Hope these useful tips help make your life a bit easier. While there’s no easy thing in life, you can only be better. That’s what I always tell my daughters.
How about you? What words of wisdom do you tell your kids often?
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xoxo,
TheMommyWithAGoal