Superb Considerations On Finding Extra Time As A Working Mum
There are only 24 hours in an available day and you might have thought that this would represent enough time for us to get everything done. Whenever the sun rises, we should have a fresh outlook on the world all around us, feeling ready to go and able to tackle whatever life has in store for us. However, for one reason or another it seems that we are always playing catch-up, despite what we might feel are our best intentions. In this way, when the sun sets and the evening approaches, we end up feeling frustrated, wondering why we have not been able to do everything that we had set out to do. This seems especially apparent as a busy working mum and we often ask ourselves how we can become more efficient, or find an extra hour or two to help us out. Is this possible?
1. Maybe you need to “screen” all your phone calls, before they reach you? With technology, some great programs are available to help you do this, including Google Voice, allowing you to prioritise the calls that you must take from those that can simply wait. You can even block unwanted or troublesome calls through the system. It’s almost like having a personal secretary and will certainly help you to avoid those wasteful minutes, which can add up.
2. Learn about outsourcing. It might be difficult to consider child minding, as it is so difficult to find somebody reliable and you might want to take this task on yourself whenever you are operating out of your home, but there are certainly other chores that you can outsource, including all that cleaning work that you have to get done.
3. Get a good time management software program, learn how to use it and stick with it. At first glance it can feel a bit strange, but if you are prepared to stick with it, it will certainly help you to focus and this by itself will save a great deal of time, each day.
4. Plan as much as you want, but make sure you follow through. If you have a long list of items that are swimming around in your head, that you know you need to complete, you will tend to bounce back and forth between them, which is very inefficient. Allocate time to plan ahead, whether this takes place during the prior evening, or when you first wake up.
5. Allocate an hour for communication. This includes all those call-backs that you might have to make, the checking of e-mail, updating of Facebook or other social networks. You would be amazed how much time can be lost if you’re constantly checking e-mails or taking phone calls without a structured plan.
6. When you’re planning your time, include a “buffer” at appropriate intervals. This means that you should not plan one task after another within an unrealistic time frame. By inserting your “buffer,” if you get delayed, sidetracked or fall behind your schedule in any way, you will be okay.
7. Combine your exercise time with “catching up” time. If you allocate, as you should, a minimum of 30 minutes to 45 minutes a day for physical activity, combine this with your time to catch up on the news and current affairs. This could mean the installation of a television in your workout area, or this may now become the time to listen to a particular media channel or even to read updates through your electronic book reader.
Nowadays, online coaching experts are well aware of the value of time management and will help you to focus on planning to free up those extra, valuable minutes of time. Not surprisingly, professional coaching is not just for corporate executives, it’s now widely available and recommended for people in all walks of life. Why not try professional coaching for women in your situation?
Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!
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