Time Management Tips for Mom's that Work

"Time Management Tips for WAHM's"

One of the biggest challenges of being a WAHM is time management. Sometimes it feels like 24 hours is not enough in a day. There are children to care for, laundry to do, floors to be vacuumed, mess to pick up, groceries to buy, meals to cook, dishes to wash, etc…. Oh, and then there’s that business to work!It may not be easy, but it isn’t impossible, either. By using some simple time management tricks, a WAHM can find time to “get it all done!”

SCHEDULE YOUR TIME

One thing every WAHM should have is a planner. Schedule your family time first! Then schedule in the time you are going to work your business. Once you have your “work time” scheduled, make it a priority to stay focused on your business during those hours. It is very easy to procrastinate when you are a WAHM.

If your work requires you to do lots of different tasks, try to group similar tasks together. For instance, if you are in a direct sales business and you have a team under you, designate one day to be your “training day”. Instead of helping various team members throughout the week, schedule all of your mentoring sessions for one day. Set aside an hour in the morning and an hour in the late afternoon to respond to email and/or return phone calls. By scheduling that time in, you will find that you are able to get more work done and feel less scattered.

OUTSOURCE

You might also consider outsourcing some of your activities. If you find that you are spending too much time on responding to email, returning phone calls, or updating your website, hire a virtual assistant to do those tasks for you. This will free your time up to work on your business, and by spending more time on the parts of your business that actually bring in money, you will be able to increase your profits.

PLAN YOUR MEALS

You can also save time by setting aside a block of time each week to do your “regular” errands, such as grocery shopping. If you plan your meals for the week and go to the grocery store once, you will save lots of time during the week by not taking those daily “quick trips to the market”. And while you are planning your meals, try to schedule a few “cook once, eat twice” days. For instance, you can plan on having spaghetti on Monday and tacos on Tuesday. So, on Monday, brown the hamburger you will need for both days. On Tuesday, half of your work will already be done. And if you are making a meatloaf or lasagna, make two and freeze one for later.
Here are 2 good resources that will ease some of your headache:

• Meal Planning Made Simple
  Stop getting frazzled every time lunch and dinner comes around. This will help get you planning your meals for each day of the week. Meal preparations become a breeze because you have a plan and are organized.
• Crock pot Cooking Made SimpleFree up some time by letting the crock pot do the cooking for you. With almost 500 recipes, say hello to hassle free cooking.

DELEGATE

Most importantly, do not feel as if you have to do it all by yourself. You are not a super hero. If you have a spouse or significant other, ask them to chip in on household chores. Children love to help out, and depending on their ages, there are multiple things they can do.

TAKE A BREAK

And when it is all said and done, don’t forget to take out some time for yourself. Everyone needs a break– WAHMs included!

Source: http://blog.valuebookshop.com/2011/time-management-tips-for-wahms/