Stay at Home Mom

Balancing home, family and work duties is even tougher for the stay at home mom. Somehow it's just expected that the house will be cleaned, the dinner cooked and home biz tended to all in the course of the day. If you don't get a handle on your precious time, it will get away from you before you know. You will feel like you've done nothing but spin your wheels.

The best way to manage the time during the day is to plan it out. If you don't have set times for certain things your time will disappear faster than the sands through the hourglass with nothing to show for it. Planning ahead helps you to put things into perspective, so you will know each day what you can accomplish.

Sit down and make out a list of all the things you feel you need to do during the days. Things like housecleaning, cooking, business management, taking care of small children. Face a few facts. If you work from home there's no way you can clean your entire house top to bottom daily. So think about what can go on a weekly list - and prune down the daily list. Save some things for older children and your spouse, delegate to them too.

Decide what you want to go on the weekly list. For example - changing the sheets, scrubbing the floors, etc should be a weekly duty. Decide which day to do these things and write it down on a planner.

Likewise with daily duties. When I make my daily list, I allow so many minutes during the day to do my cleaning/cooking, etc. I allow time I need to take care of my baby and for homeschooling my older children (my main reasons for being a stay at home mom), then I plan the rest of the time around my home business. I jot down hour by hour what I feel I can accomplish during the day, checking off each item as I accomplish them.

The planner/list has saved my time, and I actually get a lot more done now because I hold myself to it. I leave room at the end of the day and jot down 3 additional items that I can do if I finish everything else. Many days I'm able to do these little things - some days I can't.

This helps to keep my time and my duties in order. On days that I have to spend more time dealing with my children, or have appointments, etc, I simply plan more time for this. At the end of the day I feel like I've done my job - I've accomplished what I needed and it's a good feeling.

Don't overdo your list - be realistic. Especially if you have small children. I only plan 40 minutes out of each hour, because I know that - as a stay at home mom - things come up all through the day. If I get that 40 minutes done, then I have accomplished what I set out to do. Things get done, lists get checked off, business does well, house is clean (or as clean as can be) dinner gets cooked, family is happy and being a stay at home mom has enabled me to manage my time wisely during the day.

Go to top of Stay at Home Mom