You have to admit, in today’s modern world, we’re all really busy Mums. Gone are the days (if they ever existed at all), where you could drop your little one at school, leisurely clean up, have a long lunch, or going to work, and then be finished in time to pick them up again and start preparing tea. As much as we’d love our days to look like that, they rarely ever do.
Instead, we’re often running from place to place, forgetting to do chores, losing things, throwing things, or even not doing anything at all – out of frustration and taking a stand! But, it is possible to find a happy middle ground. Because we are busy, whether that involves a job or not, we need to be able to get everything quickly and quietly, so that we can enjoy the downtime we have. The way to do that, is to work on becoming more efficient across all areas of life.
With Chores
It’s always a good idea to start with chores because they’re often the one area of responsibility we have in life that we dislike the most. When you think about it, if you could speed up (or remove completely) one area of your life, it would be doing chores, wouldn’t it? But, you can learn to cut your chores in half by being more efficient. If you like the idea of having less laundry to do, then make your clothes last longer. You should also pick your grocery shopping time wisely so that you can get it done in half the time. And you can also work on getting back your weekends by banning chores, meaning you have to get them done on time in the week.
At Work
When you work, you can often feel like you have a lot to do in a short space of time – especially when you’re a busy mom with a lot of other things on your mind. So, it can help you to work in 90-minute bursts, focusing on one task at a time. It’s particularly helpful if you work from home or if you’re self-employed. That way, you’ll keep your focus for longer, and get a lot more done.
When You Shop
Thankfully for us all, ecommerce has made shopping all the more easier. Being able to buy what you need without leaving the house is a game changer, but you can still make it more efficient. When you shop, do you shop smart? A lot of the time, you can make your money last longer by keeping an eye out for coupons and discounts. Sites like www.dontpayfull.com often list coupons for your favourite stores, which means you can save money and make your purchases more efficient.
In Your Free Time
It might sound a little strange to want to make your free time more efficient, but it can mean that you enjoy it more. Think about it – how often do you find yourself with a spare couple of hours, only to spend them aimlessly on the internet, or scrolling through social media? You could actually benefit more from your spare time by switching off, banning your devices and actually allowing your body to relax with a book or by having a bubble bath.
With Your Finances
Depending on what you’re like with money, it may or may not come easily to you to be efficient with your finances. When it comes to managing money, it can sometimes be a lot more efficient for you to set yourself a budget. That way, you’ll know exactly where your money goes each month. Then, you can work on making your finances more efficient by spending in the right places, cutting unnecessary costs, and trying to save more.
When You Run Errands
Running errands is up there with doing chores. They’re not always that fun to do, and they can often take up a lot of time. So, if you want to work on making your errands more efficient or getting rid of them altogether, you’re going to have to work on your timings. A lot of the time, you could find yourself running errands on a daily basis – so, you’re going to have to restrict yourself. Start doing them on set days and you’ll not only speed them up but make the rest of your time more efficient.
With School Work
As a parent, you’ll often find that you have a lot of homework to help out with or at least guide. But sometimes, you might want to do your bit in helping out in other ways too. If you want your children to do well in school, you could always leave it to the teachers, or see what you can do to boost their knowledge. Whether you work on hosting fun, educational quizzes, or get them some extra tutoring, you can do your bit to make sure your children’s school work is as efficient as it can be.
Teaching Safety
Most of the time, you have to put safety first. That can include a number of different things, like safety around the home, with other children, or even road safety. Although it’s a tough job to teach children, you can make the process more efficient, and more effective, by teaching them in a practical way or even making it a game. That way, your children will be more interested in what you have to teach them, and you’ll find it takes you less time to get them to understand.
At Having Fun
And, just like you’re going to want to ensure that any free time you have is efficient as possible, you might also want to do the same with the time you have to play with your little ones. One way to do that is to plan ahead. Sometimes, it can be hard to think of fun activities for you all to enjoy. But, if you put out ideas and stick them in jar, or keep a book with notes in, you can pull idea out at moments notice and save enough time for fun.