Time management is one of the toughest things to master as a person, but becomes even doubly difficult as a parent whether working outside the home or not, especially a parent of a young child. I’ve struggled with focus and being task oriented for almost my entire life, and I have a lot of hobbies outside of my day job, so having strong time management skills were a MUST. It is because of this need for laser focus, that I started looking into different way to stay on course and meet my goals. I thought that it would be a great idea to share those tips with you in a new series that I’m simply calling Time Management for the Busy Mom.
Let’s be honest, even on some of our best days we struggle to stay focused and on task. One chime from Facebook, a notification on your phone, or a co-worker calling your attention to something other than the task at hand, is enough to derail even the strongest and most focused of individuals. And once you’re pulled off that task, it’s hard to bring yourself back to exactly where you were before.
[Tweet “The dictionary defines time management as the ability to use one’s time effectively or productively, especially at work.”]
I’ve read that it can take you 15 more minutes to get your focus back on track. The worst part? In that time, it’s easy enough for someone else to come along and interrupt what you’re doing. It’s enough to make a grown-up cry!
Believe it or not, there are many, MANY different ways to keep you focused on the end result. Simply doing a search of Google will turn up millions of hits on how different individuals handle their procrastination, and stay focused. Just like with anything, no one way will work for one person – if you try one method and it doesn’t work, I encourage you to try again and not give up! You will find your focus gold and will wonder how you ever survived without it.
Since we as mom’s, whether we work inside or outside the home (this can be SAHMs too), learning how to be focused and have great time management skills will help make your days run smoother and will keep your sanity about you.
Here’s my list of the Time Management Techniques that I’ve tried:
This list is not all encompassing of every possible time management trick out there, but can be used as a guide to find your comfort zone. I will also be covering each item in their own post to provide details on how each works, how I used it, whether it worked or not and some ideas on how you could tweak it to work for you.
- Pomodoro Technique
- Urgent / Important Lists (Prioritization)
- Block Your Time
- Creating “Tickler” Files
As I try new or different ones and as I do, I’ll update my post and share those results with you, too.
If you’re looking for some great posts that talk about time management here are some additional options:
For bloggers: Blog Clarity’s post on 25 Tips to Become a More Productive Blogger or Write Better and Faster with One Simple Tip.
For Moms: Time Management Tips for Moms or Time Management: 6 Tricks for Parents to Stay on Track
Your turn!
Have you tried any Time Management techniques before? Did it work, did you feel more productive? If so, I’d love if you shared them in the comments below.
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You’re singing my song! I have a ridiculously hard time staying on task and an even harder time getting back on track once I’m interrupted. Of course, having a two year old daughter at home with me all day, every day doesn’t help!
Those were great links you shared, hopefully at least one of those things works well for me!
Thank you for sharing! Coming to you from the Turn It Up Tuesdays link-up 🙂
Yeah, the 2 year old can definitely derail even the most focused of people. My little cutie does the same thing! 🙂 I hope you find value in the links, too!! Thanks for stopping by!
The only thing that has ever worked for me is to prethink my day in advance and create a to-do list. it works best for me if I do it the. Night before and then look it over and edit it the morning of. I am such a visual person that i have to write it down or I forget. I try not to get too crazy over organization though because I know the Lord has His own plan for my day, so I try to stay flexible.
…I said try:)
I love the idea of doing it the night before, Bekki!! I need to get in a habit of doing that!! Thanks for visiting!
I am a planner nerd; always looking for time management/planning tips. I have 2 lists: what I have to do today and a master list of everything to do. Thank you for sharing!
I’m also a planner nerd!! haha I can’t get enough when it comes to organization!!
What are tickler files?
Hey Jenny! I’ll be going into more detail in a separate post, but basically a tickler file is when you have a group of folders for a set amount of time, usually it’s 30 to 31 days. And you plan for the month ahead, by placing any reminders for future dates in that days folder. Then you pull that folder when the day arrives! Hope that helps for the time being!! Thank you for stopping by!
Excellent tips about Time Management! I definitely struggle with this in my life between, family, full time job, and passions!
Yes yes yes!! Those are my exact hang-ups, too. I hope in my coming posts, that they help you manage your time better. 🙂 Thanks for visiting!
When I became a stay at home mom, time management was a big issue for me at first. It took some time to get used to different ways to improve my time management. My suggestion don’t give up. Great post.
Thanks for visiting, Joyce! I appreciate your support and encouragement!
I’m always looking for ways to manage my time better. I’ve tried so many planners it’s not even funny! Ultimately it comes to down to discipline and a good routine for me. Thanks for sharing.
haha Planners! Now there’s a funny thing. I’m obsessed with them, so I am constantly looking for something new or better. Currently I’ve been using my Erin Condren Life Planner, but I’m already feeling like I need a change. Thanks for stopping by!
If there is one thing I need to work on its time management skills. I’m the worse at it. All it takes is one little thing to knock me off course. I’m going to try some of these techniques.
Oh my goodness!! I’m the exact same way, Katherine! I have loads of tips to share over the coming weeks, I hope many of them can help you. Thanks for visiting.
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