We’ve all heard the term, but time management can become a little bit of an illusion or a pipe dream when you’re a busy working mum with so many things to juggle, so much technology to delve into and use, and still the ever-increasing to-do list.
So how can you use technology to help you really maximise on the already packed 168 hours a week?
Time management tip 1: She who fails to plan, plans to fail
Spend just the right amount of time planning. This is a tough one. How do you know if you are spending too much time planning, and so wasting time? How do you know if you are not doing enough planning, and so working inefficiently?
First of all, work out which of the two categories you fall into:
1. You like to plan – do you spend the day making lists, looking at calendars, and dreaming up new strategies to try in your business or at work?
2. You don’t like planning – you like to ‘go with the flow’, but somehow still manage to get things done (sometimes by the skin of your teeth). And, you often forget things because you have so much going on and forget sometimes.
Both types of mums will have their time management problems, but here is my simple solution: don’t spend so much time planning that you don’t get anything done, and don’t not plan because there will be things that just won’t ever get done.
There are some great iPhone apps that make this even easier – try the Schedule Planner, which is free and you can even see how much sleep you are or not getting. There is also My Daily Planner, which costs 59p and lets you manage everything in your life in one place – work, family, meeting, appointments, to-do lists and more in a snapshot.
Time management tip 2 – first to bed, first to rise
Yes – you don’t get as much sleep as you wish you could anyway, but sacrificing an extra half hour or hour adds up and you’ll find that you start to shift some of the workload.
If you can wake up an hour earlier than everyone else, there is a kind of serenity about working while the rest of the house is asleep. Plus, there are absolutely no disturbances – so you can really focus on what you are doing and get it done a lot quicker.
This works better than staying up late and feeling exhausted and resentful when the alarm clock goes off. Simply go to bed a little earlier, and wake up earlier.
Time management tip 3 – spread the load
Being a working mum is not about trying to be Super Woman – she didn’t have children, remember?
So, asking for help and delegating chores and responsibilities to your spouse or partner, and your children will help take the edge off.
Give older children responsibility for getting the online shopping ready, so that you can just check the items before you pay and book delivery. Write a list for them beforehand and get them to use an app like Ocado’s iPhone app to find the items. All the major supermarkets now also have an app, and they give discounts and special deals, too, so you can save time and money shopping this way.
Also, invest in professional services if it helps – cleaning, ironing, laundrette service washes…whatever makes your life a little easier the better.
For more tips on the apps to use to make your life easier, Three’s Apps for Mums guide gives some great tips on apps to use, and you can see what other mums are using on their On the Go Mums Facebook page, too.
