Time Management Tips for Working Moms

Are you wasting time?

So many women today are among the work force.  Women are working because they have to due to financial security and more and more because they want to!  Many women today are working and climbing the corporate ladder, working in high position jobs and starting their own businesses.  Why?  Because they are multi talented, have natural gifts and enjoy bringing their unique gifts out into the world.  Recent statistics  say there are over 350,000 women are  working full time jobs in Bucks County PA alone.

But… many working moms still want to hold on to their “Supermom” capes!  Review these tips and see if you can create better time management skills, and give yourself a much needed break!  Or a massage of course.

Here’s a list of working mom time wasters you don’t want to miss! 

Grocery shopping more than once a week:

I have said this at least a hundred times before!  You need to meal plan every week…  Even if you are buying precooked meals, without a plan you won’t know who’s home and at what time each night of the week.   Once your meal plan is completed, put together an inclusive list that will last the whole week.  Shop only once a week, and if at all possible, avoid evening hours between 5-7 and if you must go on a weekend, get in early.

Lack of planning:

Staying 2 steps ahead of the game is a necessity.  I’ll give you two quick examples.  When you wait to book a flight, are you buying a higher rate or a cheaper rate?  The birthday party your child was invited to.  You never bought a gift and end up picking up something along the way.  You’re likely paying more for it, not to mention the stressful morning on the way to the party.  That stress costs you more than money.

Daily distractions:

Ok. I’m gonna say it! Facebook! Not to mention the world of the internet. You log in to look or review one thing and the next thing you know, it’s 2 hours later and you went from looking at movie times to reviewing migration patterns for some bird you’ve never heard of.  That’s the power of the internet baby!  The great technological abyss.  Save yourself the pain and suffering and set a timer for yourself.  Promise yourself  “I’ll only spend 15 minutes on this.” 

Email:

The best way to help this situation is to actually schedule “email reading time”.  I schedule myself two 15 minute segments every day.  I know this doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but trust me, you can make it work.  While you’re reading the emails it’s important to also “process” them as you go along.  I know people who have thousands of emails in there inboxes on a daily basis. That would drive me insane not to mention the hours and hours of lost time if you don’t action them right away.  Another tip: When working at your desk, be sure to turn off the email alert.  That sound might just push you off the edge.

Lack of delegation:

Many working moms make the mistake of trying to do everything themselves.  This unnecessary pressure is something that can be fixed easily.  As you are doing tasks, especially those that you down right hate to do, list them.  Once that list has been created, hand it off to someone else.  You should always be asking yourself “Does this thing I am doing right now require my expertise?”  If not, find a way to delegate it.

Remind yourself that you should be working on things that only you can do.  Trust me; you still deserve your Supermom cape even if you are sending someone else to pick up the cupcake ingredients.

Lost time is never found again –

                  Benjamin Franklin