The Ultimate Guide Of Time Management For Working Moms

Do you ever feel like there’s not enough hours in the day as a mom?! I’m sure you have been there if you are in any season of motherhood, especially if you are working. I have compiled all the tips for time management for working moms!

The best thing as a mom is to learn to be insanely scheduled and routined. I was literally googling how to work on time management when I first became a new mom because it seemed like the days just slipped by.

This post is all about time management for working moms.

Best Tips For Time Management For Working Moms

Importance of time management for working moms

First off, let’s cover the importance of time management for working moms. I have truly never been more shocked by anything than how fast time goes each day with littles in tow! It’s so easy to get swept into reaction mode and for most of my 4 year motherhood journey, I was reacting.

It was about a year ago, when my daughter was born, and I went from 2 to 3 kids 3 years old and younger that I realized the weight of my daily load was more than I could react too. That is if I wanted to be productive.

Some close friends with more kids than me gave me encouragement that (1) there was enough time in the day to get done what needed to be done and (2) it all relied on how I approached my time and (3) I needed strategies to create more space in my day.

That’s when I developed my new routine. I made tweaks and will continue to do so with each season of motherhood but these basics that I’m going to show you are for sure evergreen. Let’s dive in!

How to work on time management

Learning to manage your time is a skill. If this is totally new to you, I have put together a list of 9 ways to go about implementing time management into your life.

1. Recognize your limits

Everyone only has 24 hours in a day and the reality of having kids, a full time job, house or marriage to maintain takes a lot of time. This is the first step to learn how to manage time at home and work is to understand your limits.

Set up your non negotiable items, then plan to build out the rest of your day from there.

2. Brain dump daily

Have you heard of this exercise? It’s where you sit down and put everything that’s in your head on a piece of paper, a brain dump. The idea is to relieve the mental load you carry so you can go into your day distraction free.

Personally, the brain dump is the foundation to my day. I do this first thing in the morning and then assign these things a time slot in the day or month so I know they will get done.

3. Have a game plan

Every day, have a game plan, what can be automated or routined, should be. This elevates so much mental load as a mom and kids of all ages thrive on routine. Each day should have a rhythm and be predictable to allow for your enjoyment of your family in between. This is why I rely on the brain dump so much!

Once I do the brain dump, I put the items that need to be scheduled into my calendar. I always set a notification for when these need to be done so I do it at the assigned time. The precious time I have to myself each day can’t be wasted searching for things to do but rather must be planned so I use the time efficiently.

4. Set attainable daily goals

Everyday do a “Top 3”. These are the top 3 things that have to be done that day otherwise you can’t go to bed. It could be anything from finalizing tax document, to turning in a work presentation, to sending out birthday invites.

Having non negotiables scheduled first thing will help you have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

5. Time block

Time blocking is where you divide your day into chunks of time and assign tasks to those chunks of time. This method is proven to allow people the most deep work on tasks because they are not constantly context switching from one task to the next.

As a mom, it also helps my mental load knowing I can enjoy time with my family now because later I have time set aside to work on what needs to get done.

6. Mornings are gold

There is so much research out there that says how you start your day sets the tone for your day. Getting up early to be able to have some time to set the right tone has been a huge game changer for me personally.

As a working mom of 3 under 4 years old, getting time to do 1-5 on this list plus quiet time and drinking coffee in peace is essential to the rest of my day. I highly recommend reading this book if you need inspiration on starting the morning early!

7. Simplify meal planning

Batch planning meals has extremely reduced the amount of effort and time I put into meal planning. I learned this strategy from another mom influencer but I plan my meals 2 months out, yes 60 days at a time. This way I’m only sitting down to meal plan once every 8 weeks instead of every week.

This strategy is genius because it allows bulk purchases of certain ingredients making grocery bills cheaper and less time consuming in the long run.

8. Delegate and outsource

Get help! This could look like many different things depending on your budget. There’s Instacart to do your grocery shopping (use my code SBLESSE192 for $10 off!). Or grocery pick up at WalMart and Target.

It could mean hiring extra childcare or getting a housekeeper. Getting help where you can and whenever you can is the going to make this load so much lighter.

9. Scheduling family time

Lastly, my favorite thing to schedule is family time. When you’re trying to balance so much, it’s essential to schedule fun time as well. It’s so easy to get wrapped up into what needs to get done, especially if you’re Type A like me, and forget to enjoy these years with your kids at home.

For me, it’s setting rhythms with my family like Bible reading time, outside play or a walk. Just think small, 20 minutes to set the routine but make sure it’s uninterrupted and distraction free.

Check out this article for more tips for working from home mothers!

Special circumstance time management strategies for working moms

1. How to manage time as a new mom

Being a new mom is both the best and so tough. As a Type A, productive person, I always struggled a bit with the adjustment of a newborn. Having been through 3 postpartum seasons and about to be in my fourth this year, I need this reminder as well.

Give yourself time to adjust. Once your body is recovered and you’re feeling up for it. Implement new routines for yourself and your family. This will look different for every baby you bring home but push yourself to get into a rhythm early. Add in great habits like walking, showering, eating and prepping healthy foods, first. Then add in the other essentials and then work.

2. How to manage housework with a baby

The best way to manage housework with a baby is to break out the tasks by weekly, bimonthly and monthly tasks. Then build out a schedule and do only those tasks on that designated day.

My favorite new system I built post babies is my laundry system. Each room on my house has it’s own laundry basket and each day of the week I do a different rooms laundry and put it away. Instead of doing all the laundry in one day, I just have a small amount of laundry to do and put away each day making it so manageable.

3. How to manage time at home and work

For a full time working mom, managing time at home and work can usually leave you feeling like you’ve failed in both arenas. My solution for this is the daily mom planner I put together (you can get it above for FREE) that includes both a brain dump and time blocking schedule for your day.

A lot of motherhood is adjusting expectations, having realistic goals and not apologizing for not getting everything done you used to before. These years of having small children are limited and you do not need to apologize for not having the availability like you did for work before. Get what you need to done and be confident in your worth.

What other time management tips would you give to working moms? Let me know in the comments below!

This post was all about time management for working moms.