Time Management Tips For Working Moms

When you arrive at work and you see a stack of papers laying on your desk, you know it’s going to be a long day at the office. You’re multitasking between conference calls and texting the nanny about after school activities.

And when you go home, you can’t find those important papers you need to sign for your kids to take back to school. Or you’re running to the store at the last minute for supplies your kid needs for a school project.

At night, you’re up until the wee hours trying to catch up on emails. You might be fighting with your kids about going to bed. At the same time, you’re packing lunches for school and work the next day.

Does this sound familiar?

If it does, that means your time management is off and so are your organization skills.

Moms already have a big responsibility. At home, we’re called on to find lost shoes, homework and make store runs. While at work, sometimes we’re given other projects with a short turnaround. And when we neglect to manage our time efficiently, life can turn to total chaos.

Time Management Tips For Working Moms

Let’s face it: it is never easy to stay organized with a busy work schedule and a family to attend to. Not to mention the other things on our plate.

Here are my personal time management and organization tips in hopes it will help you stay on top of all your responsibilities at work and home. After all, we’re all in this together!

Tips For The Office

When people see the pile of paperwork on your desk, they might think you’re unorganized. Or worse, not getting any work done. You, you know where everything is. But imagine your boss asking for a report and it takes you minutes to sift through all those documents…

Out of sight, out of mind.

Get in the habit of putting documents in its proper place as soon as you’re done with them. And once a month, recycle documents you no longer need to keep files organized with current information.

Keep a calendar of meetings and conference calls. Use the reminder notification to get to a stopping point with whatever you’re working on to prepare for your meeting.

Create a list of your tasks, starting with the most important first. Then work your way through the list one bullet at a time. I found this to be a great solution for managing time. When you complete the tougher tasks first, the rests fall into place with ease.

For email, check your inbox first thing in the morning. Then set aside some time to check it again in the afternoon and once again before leaving the office.

Clean off your desk at the end of the day and file documents in their proper place. That way, you’ll walk in to your office the next day with a clean desk. And you’ll have a positive attitude in the morning. Plus with the extra time, you can have coffee with your co-workers or catch up with your subordinates.

Tips For Home

If you’re winging it at the grocery store, chances are you might forget something and end up making several trips to the grocery store throughout the week. Pick a day of the week to get your grocery shopping done and make a list of all the things you’ll need for the week to make one stop.

There are also “same day delivery” services from stores like Target to take advantage of.

Create a nightly prep routine to get organized for the next day. Things like choosing your outfit, outfits for the kids and putting backpacks together will save time from trying to gather everything as you’re running out the door. Been there, done that!

Keep hairstyles simple, easy but appropriate for work. For ideas, check out my Pinterest board Hairstyles For Working Moms.

One Final But Important Time Management Tip

Count on your tribe. As moms, we want to do it all. Heck, we do do it all! But we know how that goes. Something gets left undone and we’re a tired mess at the end of the day.

So rely on friends, spouse, teens and anyone else who can lend a hand and take those extra moments just for Y.O.U.