25 Time Management Tips for Stay At Home Moms: Getting More Done With Less Stress

There is a devastating misconception among some people that stay-at-home moms don’t do any real work. This is both insulting and wildly inaccurate. In reality, stay-at-home moms contribute a vast amount of effort and work to their families, and we should all celebrate their contributions. Many moms are looking for time management techniques to help them manage their time more effectively to get more done. 

What Does it Mean for a Stay-At-Home Mom to Manage time?

Stay-at-home moms are interested in time management for the same reasons everyone else does because there are not enough hours in the day. Listen to this stunning statistic presented by Forbes to get an idea as to why moms never seem to have enough time: 

According to the survey, the typical stay-at-home mom works almost 97 hours a week, spending 13.2 hours as a day-care teacher; 3.9 hours as a household CEO; 7.6 hours as a psychologist; 14.1 hours as a chef; 15.4 as a housekeeper; 6.6 hours doing laundry; 9.5 hours as a PC-or-Mac operator; 10.7 hours as a facilities manager; 7.8 hours as a janitor and 7.8 hours driving the family Chevy.

All of that is unpaid labor! It is no wonder stay-at-home moms are looking for ways to save time. 

Why is Time Management Important for Stay At Home Moms? 

Stacy is a stay-at-home mom who says that she easily relates to the figures listed above. She says she seeks out stay-at-home mom time management because she has two kids that she looks after and the occasional babysitting job here or there for neighborhood children. Thus, she constantly scrambles to fulfill their needs and ensure she can get it all done in a reasonable amount of time. 

stay at home mom talking to children

In her life, Stacy can hardly find a spare moment to herself. Forget about catching up on the latest streaming television show that everyone is raving about; Stacy is doing all she can to keep her family fed and her head above water. It has certainly not been easy for her, and that is why she is interested in ways to save time. 

Time Management Tips for Stay-At-Home Moms

We will soon cover a lengthy list of stay-at-home moms’ tips. The optimally organized stay-at-home mom will use many of these tips in her day to keep everything on schedule and to save as much time as humanly possible. We hope that by providing some of this information, we can help her get the helping hand she needs. The tips include

    Let’s get a little deeper into every single one of these tips!

    25 Time Management Tips for Stay-At-Home Moms

    1. Audit Your Day

    When people ask, “how many hours does a stay-at-home mom work?” part of the answer to that question comes down to how they spend their day. Those who have correctly audited their hours can give a full account of what they have done and make sure they use time wisely at every step. It is a grueling process, in the beginning, to write everything down and figure out where all the time goes, but it is well worth it when it is all said and done. Having a better idea of where the time has gone can help make someone more accountable, which is huge. I would recommend creating this as a end of day routine as well!

    journal with today written on it

    2. Set Daily Intentions

    Everyone starts their day with the best intentions, but we all know how quickly time can get away from us. This is particularly true when we allow it to slip from our fingertips. That is why it is wise to set up a list of daily intentions to stick to. They should help you stay on task when you want to let your mind wander. Simply writing out your intentions is a great way to help make them stick a little more solidly in your brain, and that impact can be felt throughout the day.

    3. Create a Family Time Schedule

    It is always nice to spend time with your family to engage with them and remind yourself what it is all about. You can set aside some time in your schedule to relax and enjoy yourself with your family. This is perhaps the best place to start when creating a new schedule because it will give you something to aim for as you are slogging through the various other tasks you need to handle during your day.

    4. Delegate Work

    If your children are old enough, there is nothing wrong with delegating some to-do items to your children. They enjoy the house just as much as everyone else who lives there, and there is no reason why they can’t also contribute to its success. They may learn valuable lessons when given a responsibility like this. They might pick up some of the work ethic they desperately need to learn while still at this age. It will ultimately serve them quite well as they get older.

    5. Create a Cleaning List

    One of the easiest places to start delegating chores and creating a list is with cleaning items. Cleaning the house is particularly challenging, and it is best to have a strict cleaning list that all household members can adhere to so that the home remains as clean as possible for as long as possible. Families that go through these steps are much more likely to spend more quality time together when it is all done. 

    “A clean house is a heavenly house, and my children can contribute to that heaven” – Aubrey, stay at home mom

    6. Decluttering

    No matter who you are, you probably have some clutter in your home. You accumulate items throughout your home every time you go to the store, but many of them may not be serving you all that well any longer. You could decide to part with at least a few of them. We recommend using the Seinfeld strategy to do so. Put a calendar up and mark a red “X” square on the calendar for every day you get rid of an item that is cluttering up your space. See how many X’s you can get in a row. 

    7. Get Hired Help 

    Not everyone can afford to hire someone to help them with their daily chores, but if you are in a privileged position to do so, and are worried what working from home can do to your brain, then you should take a chance to hire someone who can pitch in and help you out. They can double your output in no time.

    8. Create a Morning Routine

    Remaining consistent in your actions is a great way to make big strides toward your ultimate goals. Those with a routine are often in the best position to continue growing as people and find a lot of solace in how their day will go. If you are in charge of caring for a newborn, it is particularly important to get your morning routine set up correctly. You don’t want them to be off schedule, or you may cause even more work for yourself trying to get them to sleep at night. 

    “My morning routine brings me peace, it is always consistent” -Joyce, stay at home mom

    9. Create an Evening Routine

    Just like staying on top of things in the morning, it is also important to work on evening routines. You need the whole family to understand what they are doing at all times so there is no confusion or concern about who is responsible for what and when. You should be able to make it everyone’s responsibility to get involved with this project.

    10. Don’t Forget Your Sleep.

    You might ask yourself how you could be focused on sleep when you have so much to do, but it is something you need to try to prioritize in your life if possible. Getting proper sleep means feeling rested and ready for the day ahead. The CDC recommends that adults between 18 and 60 get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.

    family sleeping with newborn

    11. Eliminate Distractions

    It is difficult enough to get everything in your day done as it is. It would be best if you didn’t squander any of the time you have on things that don’t add value to your day. This means you must try to eliminate distractions such as constantly checking your phone or stopping in for some television time.

    12. Learning to say “no.”

    You will likely receive many offers for additional activities as a stay-at-home mom. People sometimes think that moms don’t have enough going on! Learn to decline offers politely so that you don’t overbook yourself.

    13. Use Time Blocking

    Blocking off certain times of your day when you will only focus on a specific task is the best way to make forward progress on those goals. People who do this generally report that they are happier when everything is wrapped up at the end of the day.

    14. Eat Healthily

    three prepared meals

    While it is easier to grab fast food and continue your busy day, this is ultimately not the way you want to go. The danger is that you end up with unhealthy eating habits, making you more sluggish and less productive overall. 

    “Changing my diet changed my life” – Kimberly, stay at home mom

    15. Stay Hydrated

    Eating healthily is important, and staying hydrated is as well. People sometimes forget how much of the human body is made up of water. If we don’t take care to maintain the flow of water in our bodies properly, we might end up depleting our resources in ways that are dangerous to our health.

    16. Exercise

    Getting proper levels of exercise is essential to maintaining full-body health. The best thing to do is try to eat, drink, and exercise properly to allow their body to remain in peak shape so one can handle their various tasks. Believe it or not, the time you spend on these things pays you back with dividends when trying to get things done.

    17. Meal Plan

    What’s for dinner? When you meal plan, you will know what you are preparing for dinner every night of the week. This saves you from making that last-minute call out for some pizza when nothing else is ready to go.

    18. Prioritize Certain Tasks

    Not all tasks are created equal, and it doesn’t make sense to keep them all on the same ground when some are so clearly more important than others. With this in mind, try to create a schedule that emphasizes the tasks you know matter the most.

    19. Batch Your Errands

    Why run all over town getting all of your errands done when you can create batches of them that allow you to knock out each errand in chunks? That is how you can get more done in less time. Please make sure you stack them to keep your commute minimum (particularly with the way gas prices are now!).

    20. Order Groceries Online

    Many modern inventions help to make our lives easier, and there is no doubt that online grocery ordering is one of them. You can click a few buttons to select all the items you need for your family for the week and then place your order. Best of all, the app will save your order for future reorders going forward. 

    “Online grocery ordering saves me a trip to the grocery store every week!” – Rebecca, stay-at-home mom.

    21. Create a Chart with Your Goals

    work from home metrics

    Charts can show how you are reaching your goals. When you put together a chart that shows the layout of your goals over time, you can see how your actions are helping you get from Point A to Point B. Make sure you keep the chart where it can be easily seen so you can reference it often. If you do this, you will set yourself up for success!

    22. Find an Accountability Partner

    We all need that person we can turn to when things get hard. They are there for us to vent and help us stay on the right path when it is challenging to do so. If you do not currently have an accountability partner, you need one. Make sure they hold your feet to the fire when you need them.

    23. Cook in Batches

    When your online groceries arrive, take the time to start cooking for your meal prep. As you do so, cook like foods in batches. If you do this, you won’t have to keep getting out of the various cooking appliances and ingredients. You will already have everything pulled off the shelves and ready to go.

    24. Use a Planner

    man standing next to a done list

    You should attach yourself to a planner early in the process. Make the planner something you always use, and ensure it is filled with useful information you can check off your list. 

    25. Speak with Other Work-From-Home Moms Online

    Try to find support groups and like-minded people who understand what you are going through. Work-from-home moms need to stick together; a great place to find them is online. If you struggle with some aspect of being a work-from-home mom, don’t be afraid to reach out and tell them about it. 

    Conclusion

    It is challenging to work to be a stay-at-home mom. The misconception that doing so is the dream of all women is far from true. If you look at all that they go through, it is no wonder many stay-at-home moms are overbooked and looking for answers. Hopefully, some of the tips above may prove useful. 

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