Inside: Life gets crazy sometimes, especially when you’re also working full-time. The work/life balance struggle is real, but these 8 life hacks for busy moms will help you get started down the right path. Become the super-mom in your home!

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Today we have a very special guest, Marie from www.OrganizedMarie.com. She not only works in Corporate America but also runs her blog full time. So, she knows a thing or two about getting organized.

As a full-time working mother myself, I thought it would be great if Marie would share with us how she manages to “get it ALL done.”

I’m going to let Marie take it from here, so you too can learn how to achieve that work/life balance we all dream of.

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More and more women are working full-time. After having children, women return to the workforce for two reasons. One, they have to. Two, they have a career to manage.

Regardless of either reason, a mom’s plate is really full when working full-time.

Does this list look familiar?

• making sure kids are fed, bathed, ready for school
• doing laundry
• picking up toys
• getting to work on time
• prepping for a meeting
• shopping for groceries
• the list goes on and on and on…

Time is precious for working moms because the day is not spent with their children, so maximizing time is key as well as staying organized. Time spent being unorganized is wasted time.

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Here are some life hacks for busy moms to help you stay organized:

#1 | Delegate

Offload tasks that can be handled with help. Whether it’s hiring a cleaning lady or getting lawn care. It’s worth the investment. Those tasks can easily be taken off your to-do list.

If you live near family, use their help or find a college student looking to make some extra money. You’ll be happy you did.

As someone who is a control freak, this really has been a tough one for me to tackle. I mean there’s a certain way things should be done and no one else can do it but me :).

“I’ve really had to learn to let go and trust others and their capabilities.”

Truth be told, it’s also lowered my stress level and anxiety because there isn’t as much on my plate anymore.

If you are struggling with letting go of tasks, start with just one and chose the one that is your least favorite.

For me, it was cleaning and that’s when we decided to get a cleaning lady. Best investment we’ve ever made.

Weekends are no longer spent cleaning and instead, we’re able to do family things we want to do.

#2 | Meal Plan

Grocery shopping and meal planning is a process.

Going into a week without a plan, everyone fails.

Mom’s not happy there’s not much food in the house or she’s not happy because there’s not healthy food.

Pick a day of the week that works best for you and stick to it, allow 30 minutes. This will give you enough time to pick out meals as well as figure out what ingredients you already have.

Keep your meal plan posted where you can see it. It can be on a door, cabinet, the refrigerator, etc.

Our daughter was our first born, but we really didn’t meal plan. We were only doing meals for the two of us, and she usually ate something different than we did.

Meal Planning was something we really started after our son was born.

I used to be anti-cooking. It was something that I didn’t enjoy mainly because I wasn’t that good at it and would find these complicated recipes.

I realized I wanted our kids to have ‘favorite mom recipes’ as they got older. I knew something had to change.

That’s when I started with ‘easy’ recipe searches on Pinterest. I was able to master a few recipes, and my confidence really started growing after that.

We typically cook three meals a week and mix in leftovers from those for the rest of the week. I try one new recipe a week to change it up a bit and not overwhelm myself with three new recipes.

RELATED POST: 3-Step Meal Planning System

#3 | Batch Process

Instead of doing little things each day, pick one day and get it done.

For example, laundry. No one likes to do laundry (if you’ve found someone who does, send them my way please)! Doing a little bit every day is dreadful. Pick a day and bust it all out.

Batch processing is powerful. It can be applied to almost any area of your life.

If you have a blog, knocking out a few blog posts in one sitting is easier than doing one a day because you’re in ‘go mode’ and the creative juices are flowing.

If you’re at work, schedule time to work through your emails at once instead of checking each one as they come in.

If you write out a to-do list, categorize it based on the tasks and work through each category.

Here’s an example of what I’m describing:

To Do List

• Laundry {Category – Home}
• Clean Bathroom {Category – Home}
• Pick up prescription {Category – Errands}
• Grocery Store {Category – Errands)
• Turn in school forms {Category – Kids}
• Schedule doctor’s appointment {Category – Personal}
• Mail birthday card and gift {Category – Errands}

Work through each category until that list is complete before moving onto the next one.

#4 | One Calendar

Use one calendar for everything. Multiple calendars are tough to manage and things get lost in the shuffle.

Most working moms have a work calendar and personal calendar but don’t combine the two because they don’t want their personal on their work computer.

Most companies use Outlook for calendar invites as does mine. Whether you use an electronic calendar or paper calendar, have one master calendar and stick to it.

I changed how I manage my calendar this year and moved it completely digital. I take the appointments from my work calendar and forward them to my personal calendar. It has made managing the schedule much easier as the appointments change frequently, and it was making my Planner a mess.

I use the schedule section in my Planner now for notes. This system has been working well and has made me more productive.

Managing a calendar can be a tedious task but when done properly it is extremely effective.

Chances are you are going to need to try out a few systems before you find one that works for you.

Don’t get discouraged in the process, take the time to figure out what you like and what will be best for you.

#5 | Kids Help

Babies and young toddlers really can’t help out much when it comes to putting toys away.

As they get older they’ll be able to put away some toys. This will save you time from picking up toys and also teach them the importance of putting them away on their own.

Our kids are at an age now where the threat of losing their toys is powerful if they don’t pick them up. I’ve let them know that it makes no difference to me if these toys are in the house or not because I’m not going to be playing with them.

Our daughter is at an age where she wants to help with everything. Without turning her into a full-on cleaning lady, I’ve been able to give her some tasks such as wiping down the table after dinner.

Having her help with even the littlest tasks makes things easier.

 

#6 | Turn It Off

When you leave the office, leave it there. Turn off notifications at night if needed. Constantly checking your email at night or on the weekend is a distraction.

“Be intentional about your time spent on the weekends so when Monday rolls back around, you are rested and fully ready for the week ahead.”

I turned off my phone notifications over a year ago including notifications for social media apps, and it has been a game changer.

I’ve found myself on my phone less (which I prefer), my productivity increased because I wasn’t being interrupted and constantly checking my phone, and the battery life on my phone increased.

Hopefully, I’m not the only one who gets anxiety when they see there’s less than 20% battery on their phone 😉 Turning off the notifications has made my phone last longer throughout the day.

#7 | Write It Down

Using printables is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to become organized.

You can use customized printables or just a piece of paper and a pen. Either way, putting it on paper makes it easier and you’ll feel relieved you don’t have to remember everything.

RELATED POST: How You Can Be Among the 9% Who Reach Their Goals

There is power in writing things down. Study after study has shown the importance of writing things down.

You’re more likely to accomplish your goals and remember things.

Here are some articles that show the value of pen to paper:

• 6 Psychological Benefits Of Writing Things Down
• The Power of Writing Down Your Dreams and Goals
• Commit To Writing Things Down, It Will Boost Your Productivity

#8 | Create A Household Binder

Use a household binder for printables or frequently used documents to help keep you organized.

Creating a binder will serve as a powerful resource and your go-to guide. It will become your Home Bible keeping you organized and allowing you to become more productive.

You’ll no longer waste time searching for documents or wondering what the password is to an account.

We created our first household binder about eight years ago and haven’t looked back. It has changed throughout the years as life changes. We typically update it twice a year, at the beginning of the New Year and the start of a new school year.

Being a mom is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs you’ll ever have. It’s something you really don’t understand until you have your own.

We as moms lead busy lives and try to do it all by being super-mom.

These life hacks for busy moms will help make your life a little easier.

Try some of them today. I promise you’ll find yourself more productive and organized by starting sooner rather than later.

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About Marie

A working mom to two with a third on the way. I’ve worked in Corporate America for ten plus years.

Organizing has always been my passion and I realized how important and hard it was to be organized after returning to work from our firstborn.

Being organized and having a plan keeps me sane. After trying many Planners, there wasn’t anything that fit my needs as a working mom. The Organized Planner was created to help manage and organize personal and work life.

Organized Marie is a place for working moms to create simple, everyday organizing solutions for their home. Every working mom can have an organized, stress-free home.

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