As a working mom, the number one thing I never seem to have enough of is time.
In between the daycare pick-ups and drop-offs, the morning and evening routines, the household chores – oh, and of course, my job – it can feel like I never have enough hours in the day to get it all done.
Add in all the other things to keep track of – birthdays, holidays, school events, work deadlines, medical appointments – and it can feel pretty overwhelming.
I used to feel like I was always scrambling to get things ready at the last minute, forgetting important dates, and feeling like a failure for being unprepared.
Eventually, I started learning new ways of doing things that have helped me maximize my time and stay on top of everything as best I can.
Here are the 11 habits that have helped make make life a bit smoother as a busy working mom.
1. Planning my calendar way in advance
When we’re caught in the chaos of the daily grind, it’s easy for us to forget about important dates or deadlines that are coming up.
Planning ahead makes keeping track of everything a lot easier and a lot less stressful.
In December, I always take some time to plan my calendar in advance for the upcoming year – yes, the year.
That helps me stay on top of all the important dates like holidays, birthdays, appointments, travel, and work events.
It’s helpful when it comes to things like requesting time off from work, registering for school activities with limited slots, planning for special events, or preparing for family getaways and holidays.
Of course, there will always be things that get added on, but having a template to start with really helps.
Here are some of the most important dates that I always start with when planning a yearly calendar.
2. Creating a daily schedule and embracing the routine
In addition to having a yearly calendar, I write down and regularly update my normal daily schedule.
This is the stuff I do on a day-to-day basis – work, school or daycare drop offs and pickups, dinner, evening routine – as well as my typical weekend activities.
Having a consistent routine removes uncertainty and time wasted wondering what I’m supposed to do next, which can take much longer than it should when my mom brain is already overworked and tired.
It also gives me a bird’s eye view of what my whole week looks like, which helps me figure out where I have small pockets of free time or where I can multitask low-demand activities together.
3. Updating my calendar immediately when things come up
Life changes constantly, especially life with kids. There’s always something that comes up at the last minute.
When that happens, I put it on the calendar immediately and add frequent reminders leading up to the day.
If I can’t do it right away, I at least set a reminder to add it to my calendar later. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the daily grind that before I know it, I’ve forgotten all about that 6-month dentist appointment coming up this weekend after I’ve already made other plans.
4. Setting up frequent reminders before important dates
Setting up reminders before important dates is one of the most important habits to help me stay organized.
Whenever I note a date on the calendar, I also add several reminders – at the very least, one a couple days before and one 3-4 weeks in advance.
Why? Because I’m not constantly checking ahead to see what’s coming up next week or next month.
I need regular reminders with enough advance notice to give my busy working mom brain a few nudges here and there.
5. Prepping the day before
We all know how unpredictable things can be when it comes to kids.
Take dinner, for example: their favorite meal for the past month is now the worst thing they’ve ever tasted.
Now, instead of doing the dishes, we’re trying to convince them to eat and cleaning food off the floor while the dishes pile up and the chores remain undone.
We can’t make our kids less unpredictable, but we can make ourselves more prepared, which helps us be less reactive when they do switch up on us.
I routinely prep every single thing that can be prepped the day before, no matter how boring or insignificant it may seem.
If I can prep it, it gets prepped.
That includes setting out clothes for the day (or week), getting school lunches and snacks ready, setting up his bath, and packing everything I need for work the next day.
6. Setting boundaries and not trying to be an overachiever
If we keep adding things onto our plate, there’s going to a point at which it spills over and becomes a big mess.
If I’m struggling to manage my current responsibilities, I know that adding more to that won’t help; I’ll only end up feeling burned out and overwhelmed.
It’s so important for working moms to set healthy boundaries at work and in our personal lives for our own sanity and wellbeing.
For me, that means not over-scheduling myself on the weekends, saying no to invitations that fall on a weekday, and declining additional work projects I know I don’t have the time for.
Sometimes I just need to stick to the basic tasks and cut out the non-essential things to make the load more manageable.
7. Prioritizing sleep and self-care
If there’s one thing that makes it difficult to stay on top of all we have to do, it’s exhaustion – both the mental and physical kind.
Being tired makes even the simplest tasks seem so much harder. Something that usually takes me 20 minutes to do could take double the time if I’m fatigued.
Prioritizing my sleep and self-care helps me manage my energy levels and makes me much more productive, focused, and efficient throughout the day.
8. Outsourcing whatever I can
Outsourcing can be a great help if we have the means. It doesn’t necessarily mean having a housekeeper or a nanny, although outsourcing cleaning and childcare can definitely help with managing daily tasks.
Outsourcing means delegating a responsibility we would normally handle ourselves to someone else – usually for payment.
It could be hiring a nanny for childcare, having groceries delivered to minimize time-consuming grocery store trips, subscribing to a food delivery service to spend less time cooking, buying a robot vacuum to clean the floors, or using a cleaning service to manage the mess at home.
Whenever I have the opportunity to outsource, I do – the lesser the load, the easier it is to carry, and the more space I have to manage other things.
9. Learning to prioritize daily tasks
Effective prioritization has to be one of my biggest challenges as a working mom who is also somewhat of a perfectionist.
If I make a to-do list, no matter how unrealistic it may be, I feel compelled to finish everything on it.
That leads me to overlook the value of prioritizing, because in my mind, I’m going to finish it all anyway – until it’s 11pm and I’ve only gotten through half of my list.
It’s been an adjustment, but I’ve learned that prioritizing my to-do list is a critical step when it comes to managing the daily workload.
It also helps me see what tasks are easier and less urgent that can be delegated or outsourced if needed.
10. Regular decluttering
Having kids means having clutter. It’s unavoidable.
The problem is that too much of it can make us feel stressed out, which makes it difficult to focus on our other tasks.
Making an attempt to minimize the clutter can help us feel less mentally burdened, freeing up some space in our minds for other things.
I try to minimize clutter in our home by regularly throwing out things that I don’t need or haven’t used in a year or more.
The goal is not to have a perfect clutter-free home (impossible), but to reduce it as much as we can to help make things feel less overwhelming.
11. Waking up early
The time in morning before everyone wakes up is a sacred time for moms, both working and stay-at-home alike.
It’s the time when there’s just uninterrupted peace and quiet for us to do what we need to do.
This is the most productive time of day for me – I check my to-do lists, update my calendars, sip my coffee, and put myself in a good headspace for the day.
If I wake up early enough, I can even get a head start on prepping for the next day.
I definitely notice that my day is a lot less smooth when I don’t wake up early and miss out on that quiet time.
Staying on top of everything as a working mom can be tough, but there are ways to help make it easier and less overwhelming.
Planning strategies, attention to personal wellbeing, decluttering, setting good boundaries, and getting help from others have all helped me manage the endless responsibilities that come with being a working mom.
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