When you’re a mom, it can feel like you have a never-ending to-do list. You already have so much on your plate. How can you juggle your own schedule, let alone someone else’s? Take a deep breath and a moment for yourself. Pour yourself a hot cup of tea and put on some cozy women’s clothing that’ll get you to wind down for a bit. Here’s a mom’s guide to juggling busy schedules.
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Table of Contents
Wear Practical and Comfortable Clothing
— You already have enough to do on your list. Why stress yourself out by wearing clothing that might be stylish but isn’t practical? Give yourself the best of both worlds. Get several outfits of cute women’s clothing that will last you the week. You can prepare your outfits in advance. Get an over-the-door clothing rack for your bathroom so that when you brush your teeth first thing in the morning, all you need to do next is pick one of the outfits you prepared in advance. You don’t have to waste time trying to figure out what to wear in the morning. You’ll actually enjoy wearing your outfit all day long because you’ll love the look and feel of your stylishly comfortable clothing.
Batch Chores Together
— It feels like it’s a never-ending revolving door for appointments. Doctors. Dentists. Parent-Teacher conferences. If you need to sit down and book times of appointments for you and your kids, batch your appointment-setting chore together instead of calling here and there in stolen time. Schedule a specific time for yourself to do specific chores. If you’re doing laundry for yourself, do laundry for the kids, too. Need to go shopping for new clothes for the kids? Go shopping at the same time for new trendy dresses for yourself, too!
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Book Appointments in the Morning
— Speaking of appointments, here’s a life hack for all of your important appointments. Everyone is just getting ready for the day first thing in the morning. If you want to have shorter wait times at the doctor’s office, try booking your appointments first thing in the morning. If you have to get into the office by around 9 or 10 a.m., ask your doctor if they have any early morning office hours. The same goes when you have to bring your kids to the doctor on weekends. Instead of that late morning or early afternoon appointments when all the families are going to the pediatrician, ask for one of the first morning appointments instead.
Take Digital Backups
— Here’s a friendly reminder. If you don’t have digital backups of all of your and your kids’ important information, make sure you do. That includes all your important documents, including social security cards, passports, birth certificates, etc. If you ever need to send copies of these to doctors or schools, you’ll have copies of them handy without having to scan them each and every time.
Figure Out Your Week in Advance
— There are those days when you wake up and try to remember what you have to do that day. Sometimes chores, appointments, and other obligations fall through the cracks. As much as possible, try to figure out your week in advance. If your kids have any important appointments, sporting events, or after-school activities, add those to the calendar so you know where they are at all times.
If you have to drop them off or pick them up from school, be sure to add them to your calendar. You can have a digital calendar on your phone or desktop but also a hard copy for everyone in the family to see. It’s helpful to have a dry-erase calendar in a common area like the kitchen or living room to update the calendar as things change.
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Know When It’s Time to Recharge
You’re not always going to want to grab drinks with your girlfriends on a Friday night. Your kids aren’t always going to want to go to soccer practice. It’s important to know when to recharge and then to take the time to recharge.
Whatever way you choose to recharge is up to you. For some people, it’s lying down on the couch and bingeing on the latest Netflix show. For others, it’s going for a much-needed shopping spree for the latest fall clothes for women. That goes for both you and the kids. Don’t be too hard on the kids or yourself if you need a break. Just like we need to go to sleep every night, we need a break every now and then from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.
Make Time for You
— Feeling exhausted? You’re definitely not alone. According to Pew Research, mothers are spending not only more time at work but also more time on child care. Most importantly, you have to make time for yourself. Just like you schedule time for the doctor or kid’s soccer practice, you need to build a time in your schedule just for you. Maybe it’s a morning workout before the kids go to school. Maybe it’s a Sunday afternoon spa day. Whatever you do, make the time.
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