Between raising a child, growing a career, and dealing with everything life throws at them, mamas continue to struggle with the ultimate balancing act of doing all these tasks effectively. With a seemingly endless list of things to do, it can sometimes feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day to get all tasks done.
Whether you’re a working mama or a stay-at-home one, you have at one point thought about how else you could manage your time efficiently and looked for ways to work smarter. Get started with these habits of highly effective mamas:
1. Knowing what to prioritize
Take it from Stephen Covey, motivational speaker and author of the best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He proposed the Covey time management matrix, which consists of four quadrants that look like these:
Source: actiTIME
Sort tasks according to their importance and urgency. Do those that are in the first quadrant as they are both important and urgent, and schedule or delegate the to-dos in the second and third quadrants. Remove your focus on those that are on the fourth quadrant because they aren’t important and urgent.
2. Keeping your environment clean and organized
We totally get you when you declare that it’s next to impossible to keep the house sparkly clean, especially with active kids running around. But your surroundings affect your productivity as it will be more difficult to focus when there’s clutter all around you. So take measures to tidy up the house using some of these useful cleaning hacks.
3. Planning ahead
Benjamin Franklin said it best: '”If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” Mamas prove to be the best planners because we are experts in anticipating the needs of everyone. Planning helps us feel more in control and make better decisions.
4. Being disciplined
There will be lazy days when you just want to lounge in bed or binge-watch K-dramas. During these days, prepare something that will keep you going. Don’t feel like getting up early in the morning to workout? Set your alarm someplace you can’t easily reach so you’re forced to stand up. Discipline is important when you’re a mama because there is a little one looking up to you as their role model.
5. Working on extra-productive hours
You can do something well when you are focused on working on it. Mamas who are highly effective know that to do this, you gotta choose hours when you can work without constant interruptions (“Mommy, can you get me this and that…”) Usually this can be the hours before the kids wake up in the morning or when they’re already asleep at night. Just don’t do both as you don’t want to end up super tired, mama.
6. Doing the practice of saying “No”
With a myriad of things to tick off your list, you have to carefully choose where to use your energy and time. Show yourself some love and respect by saying “No” when needed. Learn to harness the power of saying “No” as it can help you focus on and prioritize the more important things in life.
7. Asking for help when needed
In case no one has told you yet, you do not need to do everything by yourself, mama. It’s not always easy, but you need to reach out to your circle and allow them to help unburden you from the mental load of motherhood.
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