Time Management for Moms
Do you ever arrive at work, intending to get right down to action – only to blank on what you should work on?
You probably have about 10 million things that need your attention:
Prepping for your 10 am meeting
That overdue report
A call to the dentist
53 unread emails
That jam stain on your shirt from breakfast
You know there’s lots to do. But somehow, your brain just freezes. Like it’s engulfed in a thick fog that won’t let you pick one thing and focus on it.
You know that if you could just get your brain to focus, you could probably make a good dent in the work. Yet, all you want to do is wander to the fridge for a snack.
What causes overwhelm and brain fog
This is SO normal.
When you are balancing a family, a job, a home, friends, family, and maybe (but maybe not) a pinch of self-care… there is often more work than time.
But do you know where your feelings of overwhelm actually come from?
They do not come from your to-do list. They come from the thoughts you have about your to-do list.
“There’s too much to do.”
“I have to do this.”
“I’ll never get it all done.”
“I’m not productive enough.”
Those thoughts are likely so automatic and unconscious that you don’t even really notice them. But when your brain spins in thoughts like that, it creates the feeling of overwhelm. And that overwhelm shows up in your body. It clouds your thinking. It makes you jittery and unfocused. It leads you to jump from one task to the next.
How to set priorities and stay focused
Helping moms break this cycle is probably one of the most critical things I do. Because time management is life creation. The way you spend your minutes and hours will ultimately determine what your life looks like.
Shaking the overwhelm, setting priorities and staying focused are easier than you might think. There are just 2 steps.
Step 1: Change your thoughts
Your brain is well-intentioned. It wants you to know there might be a HUGE problem here. You may not be able to complete all of the things!! (*imagine my eyes popping dramatically!**)
You need to know two things:
You do NOT have to do all the things. You are allowed to choose the things that matter most to you, then let the rest go.
For every ‘yes’ there is an implicit ‘no.’ If you feel guilty saying ‘no’, remember that even when you say 'yes', there is still an implicit ’no' somewhere else. Saying ‘yes’ to an extra story means saying ‘no’ to folding laundry. Saying ‘yes’ to working this weekend means saying ‘no’ to your son’s hockey game. Make sure you’re happy with the implicit ‘nos’ you are saying.
If you can buy into these two things, then I would highly suggest you adopt a mantra like:
I will do what matters most and let the rest go.”
When you truly believe that, your brain fog will lift and you’ll start planning and prioritizing.
Step 2: Create a weekly and daily plan
Time management is actually quite simple. You can double your focus and clarity by simply:
Setting clear goals for your week.
Starting each day with a plan, which aligns with your weekly goals.
Really. That’s it.
The weekly goals act as a North Star to guide you. They will continually remind you of what’s most important this week – and what isn’t.
And starting your mornings with a daily plan is a bit like a mental anchor. It will give you something to come back to if your mind starts to wander. A daily plan also gives you a chance to recalibrate after scheduling shocks. For example, if you had to be home with a sick kiddo yesterday, then today’s daily plan gives you a chance to re-shuffle your work to accommodate yesterday’s lost productivity.
Why time management fails
There are two traps that destroy time management quicker than anything:
‘Shoulding’ on yourself: When you tell yourself you ‘should’ do something or you ‘have to’ do something, it will immediately feel heavy. You will not feel like doing it, making it more likely that you will procrastinate and avoid it.
Overcommitting: If you try to schedule more activity than you have time for, you will never escape the feelings of overwhelm. You might wish you could do all those things, but your brain will know that you can’t.
Tips for time management success
So, my best tips for you?
BE AUTHENTIC!! I can’t say this loud enough. Do the things you value most. A great way to assess how authentically you’re spending your time now is to jot down your list of ideal time priorities – in a perfect world, how would you spend your time? Then, look at your day yesterday. How did your time reflect your values? How did it not?
Be realistic: If you finish your weekly or daily plan and you still feel overwhelmed, check the math. Do a conservative estimate of how long each goal will take you. Does it align with the time you have? Prune your list of goals until you know it’s doable and the overwhelm subsides.
You’ll never be 100% organized.
You’ll never be productive 100% of the time.
You’ll never be completely free of overwhelm.
That’s OK, Mama. That’s not the goal. Even making marginal improvements in this areas will make a huge positive difference in your life.
Book a free coffee chat
Could you use a little support to get through this rut, Mama? Let’s have coffee.
During a free, virtual coffee chat, we’ll talk about your unique situation and figure out:
What’s not working
What you want instead
The pathway to get there
From there, we can explore whether Creating Me offers the right tools to help you reach your goal. And if we don’t, I’ll connect you with other resources that might fit better.