If you’re feeling:

• Overwhelmed because the bills keep piling up, and you can’t keep track of them.
• foggy from lack of sleep staying up with your newborn.
• Blahhhhh because you’re scrounging for junk food out of the pantry.
• Annoyed because you missed that doctor’s appointment last week.
• Frantic from juggling work commitments, family time, and soccer practice.
• Tired because you never get a break.
• Like you have to do it all alone, and you can’t get everyone on the same page.

Then I want to say, you’re NOT alone. I’ve been there. Done that. And I was THROUGH.

So, I started taking control of our schedule, focusing on priorities, engaging my husband in daily and weekly habits, and we started to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

This can be you too, mama.

If you commit, here’s what you’ll get…

You can still be “spontaneous and fun” without the chronically late part. You can also be the goal-oriented mom working hard towards your goals while balancing work and family, yourself, and actually having it together…instead of “pretending like you have it all together.”

Or you can continue to be the overwhelmed one, just trying to get out of the mess enough to breathe again.

If you follow these step by step time management tips, I promise you’ll see an incremental increase in productivity!

• My time management and productivity increased dramatically.
• I get more done but I have more downtime.
• I started showing up places on-time.
• I have peace of mine that I’m not forgetting anything. And I’m confident that I can meet my obligations.
• It makes me feel good that I can meet expectations!
• Including the goals, I set for myself.

Time Management Tips to be more present

Improving time management is a lot like organizing your home. You have to declutter, prioritize, and be realistic.

But my guess, is you’re doing it all in the wrong order! I want to break down my time management techniques and tools so you can use them too. Let’s go!

Step 1: Choose ONE time management tool for EVERYTHING

Seriously, I mean it. Everything.

Okay, this is the BIGGEST thing you need to change right now.

How many of you have sticky notes, notepads, pretty planners, Google, 5 different apps, e-mail, and a wall calendar to manage all of your appointments and to-do lists? I’m pretty sure it’s 95% of you.

To start getting your schedule in order:

• I want you to collect all of your calendars, notes, notebooks, etc.
• Pull up the computer and grab your phone. Lay them all in front of you.
• Now, choose ONE system that can handle:
  • your home schedule
  • work schedule
  • cleaning schedule
  • kids calendars
  • to do lists
  • dog walking schedule
  • whatever else you need and make that ONE system your ONLY time management system.

You Might Also Like: How to use Trello to organize [family style]

Step 2) Commit to having all your appointments and info in one place.

Why do this?

• You’ll be able to see the big picture.
• Things won’t fall through the cracks.
• You’ll also have a better idea of what’s actually going on rather than trying to keep it all up there in your tired brain.

If you’re a tech person, use an app on your phone. If you like writing things down, commit to one planner that you always carry with you.

Looking for time management tools?

We love Google calendar, but I’ve also used a bullet journal in the past. Other friends swear by their paper traditional planner, and still, others use apps like Cozi or Timetree.

Don’t forget to delete all your other apps so you won’t be tempted to use them!

To commit to this step, tell your significant other or some other person who will hold you accountable that you are ALL in, and you’re doing an overhaul of your time management strategies.

Step 3) Write down your time management Must Follow Rules (MFRs)

When managing your schedule and to-do list, the best piece of advice is to have a process in place for everything aka a “rule.”

To avoid falling into old habits, you need to put new habits in their place.

I like to call these Time Management rules “Must Follow Rules” (MFRs). They are promises you won’t break to yourself no matter what.

Try finding 3 MFRs the first week and stick to them so you can start creating habits of being more present.

Here are some MFRs to find some space in your calendar:

Protect your family time.

Schedule blocks of it on your calendar to protect the time. At the minimum, we need 6 “blocks” of family time to feel connected. For example, evenings twice a week + morning, afternoon, evening on Saturday + mornings on Sunday = 6 blocks of time.

ALWAYS put appointments in your planner immediately.

I always add appointments to my phone RIGHT when I’m scheduling it to avoid over-committing.

ALWAYS check your Google calendar before scheduling a playdate.

If you don’t have your planner, let them know you will get back to them so you don’t over commit. Don’t be afraid to say “no” and schedule it for a later time.

Get up early before the kids.

Morning is my most productive time of day. I know I’m setting aside time to knock out a couple of priorities for the day before the chaos begins; therefore, I even sleep a little bit better because I have planned time to take care of things in the morning.

If you’re a time blocker, commit to the time block and stick to it.

If you want a free time blocking template, grab it here. If you want to learn more about time blocking read this article from Forbes! Time blocking is great for priority setting.

Put time on your calendar for all your to-do list items.

Actually schedule “to do” things like cleaning time, mommy time, and relaxing time. This gives you the confidence that you “have the time” to do what you need to do instead of always going from item to item on your list and never stopping to be present in the moment. I recommend only choosing 5 per day. Be realistic with how much time it will take. And always give yourself extra time.

Step 4) The most important MFR

If it’s not on mom’s calendar, it won’t happen.

This is especially important if you’re balancing multiple people’s schedules. I joke with my husband that he’s not allowed to leave town for work unless it’s on the calendar. He sometimes adds it last minute but at least we’re getting there!

Any process you choose should help eliminate decision making in the moment or eliminate the need to memorize anything (to decrease decision fatigue).

It should save you time and decrease duplication of schedules.

If you always follow your processes then you know the bills are paid on time, everyone is where they need to be, and your to do list has been tackled.

Don’t forget to talk about your new processes with your spouse and family at your next family meeting.

Time management tip: Make it a rule in your house, that if it’s not on mom’s calendar it doesn’t happen. It doesn’t matter if your husband told you verbally or your kids brought home that flyer. Make it a rule aka a process, that unless it’s on your calendar, they don’t have a reason to get mad that it didn’t happen.

---

Want a way to transform your calendar to both be more productive and free up your time for the stuff you really WANT to do?

I have loved the idea of timeblocking and I think you will to. I created this free template to help you track your time for a week as well as figure out your mast to do list and priorities.

Download the time blocking printable here!

---

Step 5) Consistency is everything

Once you have that process in place, consistency is everything in establishing a new habit.

It’s great to keep the process simple so that no one forgets. That’s why the rule above is helpful, “If it’s not on mom’s calendar, it’s not happening.” You are managing expectations with everyone when you enforce this rule.

And if you consistently enforce it, everyone will be happier because they know what to expect and you will go from chaos to calm!

Step 6) Clean out the clutter

Once you’ve got your one time management tool in place, you’ve established your MFRs, and you’ve applied them consistently, it’s time to take a hard look at your schedule and to do lists to get rid of those items that are weighing you down.

Let’s say you put an item on your to-do list for Saturday like “Go through basement boxes.”

But when Saturday arrives something either comes up to fill your schedule or you don’t feel motivated. So you push the item down the list. It hangs out on your list as a glaring reminder. This cycle happens over and over and over again.

When you see items like this on your calendar and to do list, it’s time to set yourself free. Why are you still hanging on to this task? Because you think you SHOULD do it eventually? Because you feel obligated to do?

Do yourself a favor and declutter your calendar and to do list.

If it’s something you want to CHOOSE to do, then do it first thing tomorrow. No excuses and get it over with.

For everything else, take it off this list unless you’re able to either do it today or schedule it at a reasonable time.

Stop letting that item hang over your head. Stop carrying it around as baggage. If it was really that important you would have done it by now. Say goodbye to all these items and just take them off the list. You’ll feel so much lighter!

Time management tip: Take everything off your calendar and to-do list that you’ve been putting off for more than a month. For the items you really need to do, but are dreading, “Eat the frog first.” Do that thing first thing in the morning when you wake up.

---

A case study:

I love to read. And I’ve got a lot of books next to my bed. For a while, I put “reading time” on my calendar, but I just never seemed to get to it. Whenever I saw it pop-up on my calendar I would ignore it but then feel slightly guilty every time. Isn’t that ridiculous? I would feel guilty for an item I didn’t even have to do! Once I took it off my reminders I gave myself the freedom to choose.

And do you know what?

I found myself choosing to read more often than when it was actually on my calendar.

Step 7) Don’t make commitments you can’t keep 100% and on time

As a person who used to be addicted to “busy” I’m telling you, the best thing to help your time management is to decrease your commitments.

Unless you can make a commitment and meet expectations close to 100% of the time, you shouldn’t commit to that item. This includes being somewhere on time.

Have you ever said you would show up for a party, knowing that you might have a conflict? But you didn’t want to make the other person feel bad by telling them you couldn’t come? Practice saying no and managing expectations. The other person might be disappointed initially that you can’t come. But they will be even more disappointed when you just don’t show up after RSVPing yes.

It’s okay to say no. Only commit to what you know you have time for! And now that you have your awesome time management tool set-up, you’re well on the way to making better decisions to fill your time with only what brings you joy.

Time Management Tip: Promise yourself you’ll only commit to things if you know you can be there on time, every time. If you’re not sure, then don’t sign-up or promise to be there.

So are you feeling more present?

Let me know if these tips inspired you to try something new.

Drop a comment if you’ve tried out these time management tips. I’d love to hear if they helped!

Don’t forget to enter your e-mail to receive more awesome mom and productivity tips in your inbox.

[convertkit form=5222804]x