Whether you're a stay or work at home mother, we all need some productivity tips to get things done!
Being a stay-at-home or work-from-home mother can often feel like time is slipping through your fingers. We are constantly trying to juggle many different responsibilities on our shoulders. Between the kids, housework, cooking, and taking care of yourself, you barely have time to finish a hot cup of coffee without reheating it again. There always never seem to be enough time. That’s why these 10 productivity tips for staying productive at home are so handy – they will help you get more done in the day without letting it overwhelm you or exhaust you!
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1) Start Early In The Morning
Rising earlier before everyone else wakes up allows you to have some time to yourself. Be it having a shower, doing your morning prayers, getting a workout, drinking a cup of coffee or even eating breakfast. You will feel fresh and energized to conquer the day. Once everyone is awake, spend quality time with them and enjoy their company as you start your tasks and morning routines.
2) Plan Your Day Ahead of Time
Create To Do Lists: Make lists out of everything that you wish to accomplish each day/week/month/year. Set up a schedule for yourself where you know what needs to be done at what time such as mealtimes and bedtimes.
Set goals: Set small goals which are achievable. Goals help keep us motivated and focused towards achieving our targets in life. They also help you to have a vision of where you would like to be in future, plan how to best manage your time and energy to complete them and reduce the likelihood of procrastination.
3) Prioritize and Break Down Tasks Into Smaller Chunks
Prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency. If there are multiple tasks with same priority, try to do them together so that it will save your time. Break down big tasks into smaller chunks so that it will be easier for you to complete them within a short period of time.
For example: Plan your weekly grocery shopping instead of doing it daily; pack lunch boxes instead of making them every day; prepare dinner once in two days instead of every day etc.
4) Have a Cleaning Schedule
Create a checklist of specific areas to clean each day for thirty minutes and repeat weekly. If you are not able to finish cleaning, you can always come back at it the following week. In this way you will not be overwhelmed and can focus on a selected part of the house in a small amount of time. The key is to have a plan so that you do not spend hours just staring at your home wishing that there was more time in your day.
5) Set Up a Dedicated Workspace
If you have a spare room, try turning it into an office. Or have a table in the master bedroom as a place to work. By having a workspace, it helps you get into the zone of working and being less side tracked. You can also create your own rules such as no kids allowed or no cell phones so that you are more focused on your tasks at hand. Make sure to keep your space clean with everything organized. This will help keep distractions away and allow you to focus on what is important which is getting things done!
6) Recognize & Limit Distractions
Keep distractions, for example mobile phones, away, on mute or turn them off during your working period. All of your distractions are not necessarily bad. To make sure you stay on track and are being productive with your time, define what you do and do not consider a distraction.
For example, whilst running errands, limit yourself to one or two quick stops (i.e., getting gas at a gas station versus buying new shoes, that is more of a want than a need) Be sure to recognize when you are feeling distracted because it makes those moments easier to avoid in order to be more productive.
7) Use The Pomodoro Technique to Increase Your Focus
It is hard to focus on one task at a time when you have other tasks or distractions around. This is especially true when it comes to housework, work from home jobs, or running errands with children. The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in which you break down your work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short 5 minute breaks. This technique has been found to be one of the most effective and popular ways to increase productivity.
8) Simplify Tasks
Make life easier by ordering everything online when possible. From groceries and household items to baby stuffs and clothes. This saves you the time and effort and prevent impulse purchases. In doing so will also allow you more opportunities for other things like exercise or even just relaxing with your family!
9) Family first, Work second
Ensure your children are taken care of first before trying to sneak in any work. Give them lots of attention and love. For example, you have made them breakfast and they are eating so now you can try to eat too and start checking emails or type in some work. It is easily tempting to try to do a quick work before you settle your children. However, you can also easily end up lengthening your work time and prolonging meal times.
10) Take Care of Yourself
Being a mom is hard work. Make looking after your mental and physical health and wellbeing an importance. You will need all the stamina Every Single Day even when you fall sick. Eat well, sleep early, do your prayers and stay positive. Don’t let things get to you! There are going to be days where it feels like everything has gone wrong and that there is no way out of it.
And then there are going to be days where you feel like nothing could ever go wrong or that nothing can stop you from achieving what you want in life. So do not let yourself fall into either of these two extremes – just stay in between them and find balance. You’ve got this Mama!
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Now that you are a mother and have experience in taking care of your children, have you ever wished you knew what you are in for before becoming one? Whether you are a seasoned mom or a soon-to-be mom, check out these 10 things I wish I knew before having a baby.
