The Best Time Management Tips For Busy Moms

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Hey, hardworking mamas! Are you constantly juggling family, work, and personal responsibilities, all while trying to find the perfect time management strategies that suit your unique personality? It’s not always easy, is it? Time management for moms has never been a one size fits all. Many of us have struggled to find effective time management techniques that align with who we are as individuals. Whether you’re a procrastinator or multitasker, it’s important to tailor your time management approach to fit your specific needs. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore time management strategies based on different traits, so you can discover which methods work best for your one-of-a-kind schedule. 

Let’s dive in and find the perfect time management strategy for you.

5 TIme Management Strategies for Busy moms

Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro technique would work best for:

• The mom who stays too long on one project
• Moms who find themselves easily distracted
• Work-from-home moms

How the pomodoro strategy works for busy moms

With Pomodoro, the strategy is to work in small sprints with timed breaks to increase your productivity and focus. To accomplish this strategy, you will need to plan out your tasks for the day beforehand. Use a timer set to 25-30 minutes for each task. Once you have completed your first task, you will time a short break, usually 10-15 minutes. Repeat 4 times to complete a Pomodoro set(4 tasks/4 short breaks). Once you have completed a Pomodoro set, you will take a longer break, typically 30 minutes and restart with a second Pomodoro set. I find that, If you work from home and struggle finding work-life balance, this is a great technique to keep you focused and organized.

Try this online Pomodoro tool to time your tasks.

Rule of thumb: Ensure you are working and taking breaks during only your allotted periods. Time from one task should not spill into another. If you complete a task prior to the alarm, use this additional time to review what you completed and make small improvements.

Maximize your morning

Maximizing your morning is beneficial for:

• All moms
• Moms who crave routine
• Need more time for family or self

Boy, does the bed feel a little better when the alarm goes off the first and second time, or is it just me? As working moms, maximizing our mornings can result in daily success. Although, we often complain about not having enough time in our day, waking up earlier may better align us to make the evening less stressful.

Tip: Try using the extra hour or two to work out, meditate, read a book, watch your favorite TV show, etc.

List making

List making is great for those who:

• Have type-A personality
• Enjoy the feeling of self accomplishment with physically checking off a list
• Feel a overwhelming sense of anxiety based on number of tasks needed to complete
• Regularly forgets tasks that should be completed
• Better recall information when written

Making a list is great for get-it-done type-A moms. In spite of the type-A’s can do attitude, their main struggle can be their high-level attention to detail and overlooking the prioritizing of these items. Lists are beneficial because they allow Type-A moms to release overthinking and gain some mental clarity through jotting their tasks on paper or in an app like Notion. Checking items off a list keeps the type-A mom accountable and creates a sense of pride from getting it done. 

Rule of thumb: Having a journal, notebook designated for lists or notes keeps you organized

Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent, and not enough time on what is important.

Steven Covey

Eat the Frog

“Eat the frog” is best for moms who:

• Find themselves putting off important tasks
• Are always busy but don’t seem to get much done
• May require more structure in day-to-day planning
• Lack motivation to start tasks

With this time-management strategy, you don’t actually have to eat a frog. You will identify your most important or harder tasks and prioritize these to be completed at the start of your day or when you are most efficient. The smaller tasks that would take less time follow will follow.

This time management strategy is great for moms with a large amount of tasks to must complete ie. all of us. Particularly, burn out and procrastination are a common issue amongst moms. This fatigue may arise if you have subconsciously ignored the larger tasks and have been multitasking the smaller, easier projects. Not prioritizing the important tasks may lead to irritability and anxiety; Subsequently, making you less available to the little ones once you take a rest.

Rule of thumb: If your “frog” is too large to tackle in one time allotted sitting, then don’t be afraid to break the frog down into smaller chunks. Make this technique work for you, but the goal is to prioritize what is most important.

Batching tasks for moms

Batching tasks works for:

• Task juggler
• Usually working past your planned stop time
• Moms with a second job
• Planned days of rest

Basically, completing tasks in one batch creates more freedom throughout the week. This could be why task batching is regularly mentioned in and outside of the mom community. Evidently, Batching tasks allows for decisions to be made in advance, creating more time for planned rest and other activities with or without the kiddos. Because tasks are completed ahead of time, Tasks that have been batched can be cleared from your mind and allow time for more leisure activities. Choose a day of the week to prepare multiple tasks for the week.

Tasks that could be batched

• Choosing wardrobe for the week
• Laundry
• Meal prepping
• Cleaning

Truth is, finding the right time management strategy is essential for busy moms juggling multiple responsibilities. No matter which technique you resonate with the key is to tailor your approach to fit your unique personality and schedule. By implementing the right time management strategies, you can reduce stress, increase productivity, and create more time for leisure activities, ultimately leading to a more balanced and fulfilling life as a supermom.

If you have any recommendations of other strategies, please drop them below to benefit another mommy. Want to maximize your time at work? Check out How to Stay Active at a Desk Job.