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I am a Mum of two, a full-time content creator, a small business owner and a landlord, so people often asked me how I fit everything into my day. I’m a super busy person, who is always on the go – often it’s tricky to keep on top of everything but over the years I’ve found ways to make my life easier, which has given me back SO much more time. After all, it’s just as important to fit chilling out time into your day as well! So, in today’s post, I wanted to share with you some of my very best time-saving hacks for busy Mums, that I hope will help you out too!
Schedule your day
The most important and crucial thing is to schedule your day with military precision! There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t have at least an outline of what I need to do, the time scale and a to-do list written. Most days I will work out what needs to be done the night before and write up lists, plus I make a mental note of what I’ll be doing hour-by-hour during the day. Obviously this goes slightly out of the window on the days the girls are home and I have to be flexible, but on nursery days and in the evenings I’ll be quite rigid with my time.
I also recommend when you are doing a task to allocate time to it and STICK TO IT! It’s so easy to scroll social media, quickly pop the washing out, watch the telly etc. Turn off all distractions and do each task fully before moving onto the next.
Meal Plan
Every night we would always ask ‘Whats for dinner?’ – without a plan we’d never have the right ingredients in, meaning time-consuming trips to the shops and extra expense too. Now every week we have a meal plan so we know what is for dinner every night. It’s also handy to cook big meals and freeze portions for those busy days too!
Order your prescriptions online
It wasn’t until we went into lockdown I discovered Oxford Online Pharmacy. A fully registered online pharmacy which can save so much time as you can order both prescription and non-prescription medical treatments for a huge variety of conditions without having to leave your home. If you need to order prescription medications, your request will be verified by a GP digitally, so you know you are in safe hands. With the girls off nursery and in the middle of a lockdown, this service has been a lifesaver for us.
Set time challenges
You know by now I love to schedule my time, so this is a fun way to get a lot done in a short amount of time! I often will set a timer for 10 minutes and see how much tidying up I can do, the extra added pressure of the clock ticking gets me moving really fast! I also do this in smaller pockets of time, like ‘can I tidy the kitchen by the time the kettle has boiled’ and so on. Give yourself a time challenge and see how much you can get done!
Shop Online
It’s not just prescriptions I’ve been ordering online, I shop for absolutely EVERYTHING online. I’m on first name terms with my delivery people! Every week I do the food shopping, making sure to book the slot for the following week too. I also order all our clothes, homeware and stuff for the garden online. It saves so much time and is a lot easier too. You can support local businesses by ordering directly or using sites like Etsy or Not on the High Street if you’d like to still shop small.
Lay out clothes and bags the night before
As well as writing my to-do lists, I always lay out the girls clothes and bags the night before if they are off to nursery in the morning. It avoids a chaotic morning, where there is always something you can’t find! Being prepared makes a good start to the day and halves the stress!
Avoid social media during the day
We all know the social media is the ULTIMATE in procrastination and time-wasting, right?! I’m not saying don’t scroll social media as I absolutely love a good scroll, but I just save it until the evening when everything is all done. Then I know I’m chilled out and ready for the next day. I worked out that if I let myself just scroll in the day I was losing so much time just here and there, honestly – it all adds up!
Make tidying up fun
If you’ve got little ones at home, turn tidying up into a game! I put ‘Time to Tidy up’ on the Alexa and the girls love to put all their toys away to the sound of the music. I can’t promise they’ll put them away in the right places or neatly though – we are working on that, but at least it gets toddlers/small children into the habit of putting their toys away and helping at the end of the day.
Learn to say no!
One of the things I find the hardest is just saying NO. Mums already have so much on their plates. You don’t have to make it to EVERY single commitment, or be there for everyone at all times. You are doing your very best, saying no is totally okay too.
What is your favourite time-saving hack?
