16 TIPS for Working Moms to Manage House (Family) & Job | Time Management Tips!

Hi guys, this is Diya and welcome back to my channel. In today's video, I will share tips for working moms to efficiently manage house and job. Fulfilling the role of mom while also holding down a job can be teasing, but with little planning and family cooperation, moms can make routine tasks easier, get family members involved and helping instead of asking for things, and reduce everyone's stress level. Being a full-time working mother can lead to feelings of guilt and stress because of divided attention between work and family. The key here is to focus on the plan, get organized and find the right balance between family and the profession. Here are 10 ways to help make sure both your career and your family flourish. But before we start, I'd like to mention that this video is in collaboration with Dreamy Vacuum. I will share more details about the vacuum later in the video. Also, I've mentioned the link and the discount code for the Dreamy Vacuum in the description box below in case you want to check it out. So let's jump straight to the video, shall we? Tip number one, stop feeling guilty. Stay-at-home moms feel guilty of not spending enough quality time with kids even though they are home with them all the time. But always busy doing household chores, as believe it or not, every household is filled with unending house chores. And being at home all the time, you just cannot ignore dirty floors, undone laundry, dusty furniture and so on. Working moms, on the other hand, feel guilty of not being there with their kids, missing their childhood years, their precious milestones, etc. Moms, no one's life is perfect. Whether you're a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, you're surely going to have your share of guilt and regrets. So embrace your life as it is, accept it as it is and be happy about it. Everyone has issues. It's just how you deal with it that matters. Now so that we have set aside the guilt factor, let's look into the ways to make work-life balance more manageable. One sure way to set your daily goals is to start getting into the habit of making daily to-do lists. I like to use my phone's notes or you can also download a sticky note app on your phone and have it displayed on your phone screen all the time. This will act as a constant reminder to you. List down everything you want to achieve in a day and stick to it. Believe me, there's nothing more satisfying than taking down a task off your to-do list. However, a to-do list is useless if it's too ambitious. What's the point in writing down unachievable tasks? So make sure to have realistic and achievable goals in your to-do list. We are not superheroes and shouldn't try to be one. Remember, you can always do more if you have time. I also like to have a motivating quote on my sticky note, which really pumps me up to get up and get something done. So try it guys. Tip number three, don't work hard, instead work smart. One of the life lessons I have learned and that has sticked to me over years is don't work hard, work smart. This holds true as a tip for working moms too. You can utilize all your energy and work whole day to accomplish your task or you can be good at delegation and delegate few of your tasks and save up some time. Few ways you can save up your time is to use smart cleaning gadgets like a robot vacuum. Robot vacuums save you so much time as they work independently to keep your floors clean. Whether it's sweeping or mopping the floor, they will take care of it all. All you have to do is to make sure you do not have any hurdles on the floor like toys, shoes, socks, cushions, etc. lying on the floor. Keep your floor decluttered all the time and you can set the robot to sweep and mop the floors when you're not home and you can come home to clean floors. You can set the timer so that the vacuum starts at your desired time, whether it's when you're not home or whether it's at midnight because these robot vacuums are very silent and they can work without any human interruption. These smart machines, if used properly, can certainly save you a lot of time and energy. As I mentioned before that this video is in collaboration with Dreamy Vacuums. If you're interested to check out their vacuums, whether it's stick vacuum or a robot vacuum, I will leave the link in the description box below along with the discount code. So make sure to check them out. We were just broken, shattered, singing along to nothing matters. Stray around like night time rumors. We were in too deep. In your worn out sweaters, thinking we'll be young forever. Tip number four, plan ahead and be organized. Organization is key to stress free time and chore management. Tip to be organized is to always think one step ahead. This will help you plan better and be organized and avoid rush. For instance, if you make weekly menu and meal prep on the weekends, then weeknight dinner will become an easy job versus you enter your kitchen and start thinking what to cook for dinner tonight. I have few videos on meal planning already up on my channel. I will link them in cards above and in description box in case you would like to get some ideas. You can also buy bulk groceries that will last you for weeks, including fruits and veggies and store them the right way to make them last long. I will share ways to store your fresh produce so that they last as long as possible in my next week's video. So stay tuned to MomandMe and don't forget to subscribe and turn notification bell. One very blunt advice is to stop being lazy. Get up and clean your kitchen before going to bed. Look at tomorrow's menu so that you start thinking of it. Work is half done if you map the steps in your head as you know what exactly needs to be done. Tidy up your house at least 15 minutes a day to prevent it from getting out of control. I would recommend train your kids and husband to help you in 15 minutes speed clean every day. Life is so much easier if you have help. When entire family chip in to help with chores, everything becomes so much easy and manageable. Tip number 5. Create a family calendar. A calendar can include dates when bills are due, a chore chart for kids, a list of school and family events, extracurricular activities, birthdays and more. Setting aside 15 minutes once a month to review and prepare for the next month's schedule. This helps eliminate surprises followed on by rush or guilt. Tip number 6. Plan your mornings. Mornings for working mums are like a daily obstacle. It will go more smoothly if you do some things the night before. Pack lunches or at least prep for the lunch. Lay out clothes, ensure homework is done, pack backpacks and check the calendar for after school plans. If your kids are big enough, then teach them to get themselves ready in the morning by putting up a wall chart that lists brush your teeth, make bed, get dressed, eat breakfast and whatever else they need to do. Avoid starting the day on a frazzled note by getting organized the night before. 7. Breaking down each task into steps. This tip I have learned and excelled in past 4 years of my YouTube career. Each video I make takes around 20-30 hours of work and I obviously cannot do everything in one go. So I started to break down every video into small tasks. Each video starts with an idea, then scripting, filming, editing, thumbnails and the list goes on. But the point here is to break down your big task into small manageable tasks. And at a point in time, you only have to worry about only a part of big job which never feels overwhelming rather easily attainable. Some tasks seem overwhelming when you first confront them, for example a cluttered house or a wardrobe and you may not know how to proceed. However, by learning to look at overwhelming projects and breaking them into pieces, you will find that they aren't so daunting after all. When you look at individual steps, the larger task no longer seems quite as intimidating. Tip No. 8 Meal plan and prep I cannot stress more on how important it is to meal plan and prep if you are a working mom, as it will take off stress from your shoulder and you will feel in control of your kitchen. Prepare the weekly menu and decide what prep work you need to do over the weekend. Few things that you can do is to cut and store veggies, blend spinach, make tomato paste, make green chutney, boil potatoes, soak or boil lentils etc. As I mentioned, I have few ideas on weekly meal plan and prep. I will link it in the description box for your reference. Tip No. 9 Clean the kitchen before going to bed How would you like to wake up, walk into your kitchen and feel happy to be standing in a clean kitchen with breakfast that's only minutes away from being in your mouth, as you have already prepped for it the night before? Or feel overwhelmed staring at your dirty kitchen and wondering how to put together your first meal of the day in this messy kitchen? So yes, clean the kitchen every night. This includes all standard duties like putting away food, washing the dishes and wiping down the countertops and stove top. It also means loading and starting your dishwasher if you have one. But if you really want to treat yourself to a morning high, dry and put away all the dishes you have just washed, even the ones in the dishwasher if you can manage to stay awake through the washing cycle. I am telling you guys, you will love not seeing a mountain of dishes, even the clean ones when you walk into the kitchen the next morning. And an empty dishwasher is the key way to cut down on the dish clutter in your kitchen. Tip number 10 Saturday chores Key to a smooth week is the planning and prepping you do over the weekend. Here are a few things that I would recommend. Groceries Have a running list of groceries in your pantry or fridge. This way you don't have to spend special time to make a list to buy for your weekly supplies. Also delegate grocery shopping tasks to your husband. Bathroom cleaning Leave bathroom cleaning for once a week and break down bathroom cleaning in three parts. Clean sink after you brush in the morning. Clean toilet seat and floor before you take shower. Clean shower area while you are taking shower. Next, floor cleaning. I have already covered this topic earlier in the video to use smart cleaning gadgets and not use your elbow grease to get the job done. Work smart and not hard. So consider investing in a robot vacuum. I personally like to use stick vacuum as my kids have toys all over the floor and a stick vacuum though it takes up my time but it's a great investment to keep floor always clean. Tip number 11 And I think it's one of the most important tips which is to rest and revive over the weekend. Working moms tend to put themselves last on the list but regenerating your own inner strength and peace will go long way towards giving you the energy you need to be a mom. Stressed out people are not all that productive. You need relaxation to avoid burnout at home and at work. Life is busy, life is hectic but keep Sundays for yourself. Do nothing at least for few hours. Laze around and do what you love to do. Sleep, watch movies, sit and chat with family over tea etc. The choice is yours but spend some time for yourself. Give yourself time to rest and revive otherwise all that hard work you did will hit back in form of mommy burnout. Instead of feeling a sense of achievement you will feel heavy and trapped. So take care of yourself. If you do nothing else at least prioritize your sleep needs so you can thrive. You will drag all day and ultimately waste time if you are under rested. Schedule sleep like any other activity and go to bed at bedtime so you can function the next day and enforce your kids bedtime too. It's good for them and for you. Embrace the power of no. This is something moms find extremely hard to say. The no word. You don't have to say yes to every expectation your friends or family has from you. Saying no can be tough but it is a skill that frees up time you wouldn't otherwise have access to. Further watching you enforce limits teaches your kids the value of setting boundaries. So say no whenever it's required. Tip No. 13 Don't even try to multitask. People perform better when they give focused attention to the task at hand. When you're at work stop worrying about kids homework or dinner. When you're helping your kids with their homework don't text your husband a grocery list. Focus on what you're doing and be in the moment. Tip No. 14 Let go of perfection. Perfection. It doesn't exist. Therefore you can't achieve it. Instead of obsessively cleaning an already clean enough house or toiling toward intangible idols like being the perfect mom or having the perfect figure. Having a perfect work life balance. Find a more practical use for your time. Also you don't have to do a particular task at a set time as per the society norms. Let me give you an example here. I look at all the tasks from the viewpoint of urgency and their importance. For me cooking is urgent and important task which takes priority over all. And laundry though it's important but not urgent. So I keep it for evenings after I'm done with my YouTube job. So I keep laundry drying or folding for evenings. I also ask kids to put laundry back into their drawer. They don't fold properly but they definitely end them into the right drawer. A job done is better than perfect and asking for help always relieves stress of your shoulders. Tip No. 15 Give your kids chores and pay them for it. Have the kids handle a chore and pay them if required. Even if they don't do it perfectly they are learning how to do it and participating in the family business. As fellow planner Daphne Winston says, She paid her twins for doing extra chores and her mother paid her when she was a child. I am myself trying to implement this with my kids. But instead of money I pay them with a piece of chocolate or lolly or a trip to the park. Now my kids have certain chores they must do like keeping their rooms tidy and helping in the kitchen or laundry. Paying your kids for chores can help them learn the value of money and how earning income relates to work. And coming to the last tip which is ask for help. Four hands are better than two and six are better than four. Don't have everything on your plate mommies. Delegate, delegate, delegate as much as you can. Teach your kids to dry laundry on the rack, take clothes off, fold them and put back into their wardrobes. Train them to empty dishwasher and you can arrange in cabinets. Teach your kids to eat by themselves so you can free up your time to do night time kitchen cleaning and so on and so forth. Assign the grocery task to your husband or do online shopping and get it delivered at your doorstep. Write down each and every task you do and delegate as much as you can. We need to understand that delegating is not admitting defeat. Rather it's about maximizing the potential of your entire network. Believe me you can get it all done in the time you've got and have sweet moments of freedom left over. All you need to do is implement a few smart rules upon your daily routine. And when you do find that, you've created some leftover room for something new. So be sure to do something wonderful and be kind to yourself because you deserve it mama. I'll sign off now and I shall see you in my next video. Bye for now. Oh