5 Time-Saving Tips For Busy Moms Who Want Their Life Back ~ Thisnthatparenting

One thing 99.9% of moms have in common is that they are busy. Every mom you talk to these days starts sentences with, “We are just so busy…” Moms feel there are not enough hours in the day, and they need all of the time-saving tips they can get.

New research shows that busyness has become a social status in the United States. At the same time, research proves that busy does not prove progress or productivity.

On the one hand, we have an insatiable need for things to do, FOMO. On the other hand, we know experts are right when they say being present is the best and healthiest way to live.

So a juggle begins. Is it possible to find harmony between the two? In order for that to happen, we need time-saving tips, so we can give more time to the things that mean the most to our family. How can moms save time?

With this said, there are ways moms can take back their time. In order to do that, moms have to be intentional about implementing time-saving tips and carving out time in their schedule for the things that are most important to them. Now more than ever before, this is a smart priority for you. After all, living in the information age, you are bombarded with an unfathomable amount of material on a daily basis.

Parents must be intentional about what their family does with their time. If we do not plan our life, our life will be a series of things that happen to us, not for us.

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5 Time-Saving Tips Taught At Busy Moms Rehab

#1. Morning Routine:

For years, I read how beneficial waking up before your kids could be. I tried several times, but it never lasted long. Now that my kids are mostly sleeping through the night, I have managed to start waking 2 hours before they do, and it is the best thing I have ever done. I can’t believe I waited as long as I did. Don’t be like me.

You may wonder how waking up earlier saves you time. Believe me, your day goes so much smoother. Your mindset is better. You have fewer distractions because you took care of this morning.

You have to be intentional about what time you go to bed, so you still get plenty of rest.
It is said that the best morning routines have spiritual, emotional, physical and mental involvement. These would include your mind, heart, body, and spirit.
You have the most self-control after you wake, and then it digresses throughout the day. Start off with the thing that means the most to you. Prayer/meditation, exercise, hugs for family members, a healthy eat, coffee, music, podcasts, sex…
A morning routine is a trial and error until you find your flow. Don’t give up. What works for Mary Beth may not work for you. Get ideas from others, but don’t try to copy it to a T. You will have to figure out what’s for you and what order works for you, but once you find it, Girl, this time will become sacred You Time!
Do not check text or emails. This leads to having a reactive morning instead of a proactive morning.

One Word for great morning routines: REV-O-LU-TION-ARY!!

Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning says, “Focused, productive successful mornings generate focused, productive, successful days – which inevitably create a successful life.” That’s what I’m looking for! You?

#2. Meal Planning:

Meal planning is not only a time-saving tip for moms, but it is also a money-saving tip. There are so many ideas about meal planning. You can give yourself some time, go on Pinterest and easily get your meals planned out for a month or more. Then you can copy that every month, making variations when needed, and you will also have the same grocery list each month. This saves you more time. If you don’t like that idea, too monotonous, get 2 months worth of meals planned, then repeat 6 times.

Use curbside or delivery if your grocery store offers it. My friends ask me, “How do they do on picking out your roast? How do they do on picking out your produce…?” There have been times that I have been disappointed with dented cans. I mentioned it in the survey and got my curbside charge refunded. You have to decide for yourself what your time is worth. Is picking out your own meat and produce worth however much time it takes you to shop?
Usually, the first 2 tries are free. I used 3 stores for free until I found my fit. Shop your options. Take advantage of trial periods! Same for delivery!
Keep your grocery list on Alexa. As soon as you realize you are about to run out or out of something. Tell Alexa to add it to your list.
Save time by keeping a snack area in the pantry and frig for your kids. Once a week mass-produce baggies and containers of snacks, so your kids aren’t expecting you to stop what your doing to constantly give them snacks. This teaches kids to self-regulate. When the snacks are out, they can wait until you restock.
You can save time by cooking large meals 3-4 times a week depending on the size of your family. Eat leftovers the other nights. This gives you at least 45 minutes for each leftover day.

#3. Be Smart About the Chores:

This is an area all moms wish they could perform magic on. The best time-saving tips I have for this area is getting the whole family involved and create a chore routine.

Give the kids chores to do. Figure out what your kids can handle and run with it. You’ll be amazed at how much they can do and how much pride they’ll take in their jobs. There are tons of lists on age-appropriate chores if you need a place to start.
Have the whole family deep clean once or twice a month. Everyone cleans until it’s all done.
Laundry seems to be a biggy for moms. I’ve tried every tip imaginable on laundry. You have to find what works best for your schedule, but the least stressful and most economical I have found is one load a day.
Google any area of cleaning that gives you trouble. You can find more than enough tips to get you on the right track.
The more organized your home, the less chaotic your life. It’s a fact you’ve got to take responsibility because our minds are influenced by our external environment. Like it or not, outside (environment) chaos usually means inside (mental) chaos. Both children and adults who live in an environment that is cleanly organized are higher functioning. This does not have to be so rigid it takes the “home” out of our “house”. But there needs to be intention.

Related Article: Declutter Your Home in 21 Days

#4. Plan and Schedule Ahead. Have a Daily Routine:

This is another ultimate of the time-saving tips. The key is finding your flow and your calendar/schedule system. This is where the rubber meets the road. Shop planners or make your own. Learn about time blocking. You have got to be intentional, and you have got to keep at it until you find your groove and system for your family.

Once you do, it is life-changing in time-saving, productivity, and money savings because you’re no longer living reactively. Oh, we’re out of milk. Let’s run to the grocery store. I need stamps. Let’s go to the post office today. We’re invited to a birthday party. Let’s go get a gift tonight. I didn’t have anything to cook for supper. Where can we stop? You’re just taking care of the low hanging fruit instead of the things that are going to move the needle forward.

By the end of the week, that’s a lot of time that could have been spent on the things you really care about. Family togetherness!

When you are creating your schedule, schedule in family time. During this time, you make sure you are fully present. Your family having an hour with you being fully present trumps 3 hours of time with you “sidetracked” by life.
You can shift your thinking on this by building your life around your family rather than fitting your family into your life. Too often our family gets bits and pieces of our leftover time, and then in that time, we’re worn out from all the other things. Take control of your schedule. Design your life around faith and family. Pencil in faith and family, then the other stuff.
If you don’t create a daily plan already, I encourage you to start making a list the night before or morning of each day. Even if you just start with 3 sections: Nonnegotiables/Must-Dos, Should Dos and Would Like To-Dos.
Every Sunday, take the time to plan your upcoming week. Game Changer!
Children thrive off of routine. You don’t have to do things at the same time every day, but it helps kids if you do them in the same order. The more kids know what to expect, the less chaos you will have in your home.
If you have kids, everything is going to take longer than planned. Create flex time in your schedule.
Take the time to write out, What Does My Perfect Day Look Like? Visualize it. Now, you have a goal to work towards. Ask your family what their perfect day looks like? Live purposefully.

#5. Limit Your Screen Time, Especially Social Media

Do not look at or check your phone for AT LEAST the first 30 minutes of your day and the last 30 minutes of your day. This is one of those great time-saving tips I am glad I learned within the last year!

Truthbomb: If you start the day with your phone, you start reacting and responding to texts, emails, and social media and the rest of the world gets to decide how your day goes. But if you start your day by focusing, praying, gratitude, movement/stretching, look at your schedule, reading scripture, whatever you decide your healthy morning routine to be, you will start living your best life because you are in control of your day to the best of your ability.

Only allow yourself so much screen time per day. These apps will help you keep track of your screen time.
Freedom will block certain apps, websites, and even internet for periods of time, so you can get your work done without any distractions!
When a child is trying to communicate with us and we are looking down at our phone, it sends the message, “What is on this phone is more important or more interesting than you.” When this happens a couple of times, our relationship will begin to suffer. Give your child extended periods of time of not checking your texts, emails, or social media.
Put your phone away: If you work, leave it in the car or at the door for the first hour you get home. If you are a stay-at-home parent, schedule hours in the day when you put your phone and other screens away completely.
Delete all the unnecessary notifications that are causing your phone to be the biggest source of ADD-D (Attention Deficit Device- Disorder) a person could experience. Yes, I made up the term. Good one though, right? The only known cure: SELF CONTROL!

Screens are controlling lives. It’s easy to hop on quickly … and then an hour, sometimes two, go by. A few minutes turns into lost hours with almost mindlessness, clicking, liking, adding a few comments and just plain old curiosity—what else is “someone” doing or saying. Your time and your family have to be a priority and we have no choice but to be intentional.

Does anyone really want to get to the end of their life, look back, and think, I spent more than an hour a day on a screen that wasn’t work-related?

Call to Action

At the end of the day, pray, reflect on your day, think about your schedule and what you want to accomplish the next day. Be gentle with yourself. Don’t guilt and shame yourself. Learn from today’s mistakes and celebrate all wins- big and small. You do not want the last thing you experience before sleep to be a screen. Besides, they have negative effects on our sleep.

I guarantee if you focus on these 5 time-saving tips or just pick a couple of them, you will feel more in control of your life, more productive, more connected to those you love, your people will feel more important and valued and as a result, they will treat you this way as well. Most of all, you will be in control of your time and your life. Not only are these time-saving tips, but the effects will be money-saving, sanity-saving, stress-saving and relationship-saving to name a few!

3 Day Challenge:

If you need support, I highly recommend this FREE 3-Day Challenge. You have all the answers inside of yourself. You just have to take action. This challenge will help you do just that!

Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours! Remember to have fun, laugh and give God the glory! I love you! SS

5 Time-Saving Tips For Busy Moms Who Want Their Life Back