School will be back in full swing, and so will our calendars! Cue the parent nights, the concerts and Read-A-Thons, fall sports, and the many, many Halloween events. With that said, our time is precious, so I have come up with some time management tips to help you use your time more effectively!
Here are 10 time management tips for busy school-year moms:
- Add the entire school year calendar to your personal calendar AT ONE TIME. This will take more time initially, but it will pay off overall. Especially when you’re not constantly googling or searching an email folder for the school calendar.
- Use extracurricular activity time efficiently. If your child is in a drop-off activity, use that chunk of time productively. Run errands, exercise, order groceries, or work remotely.
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- If I have errands, I make sure they are all drive-ups and self-pickups. There is not enough time to leisurely stroll through Target during a 45-minute class. But there IS enough time to pick up your online order, run into Kohl’s self-pick up station, get gas, and get back to the dance studio.
- One year, I had a gym membership down the road from the studio. I did a quick 30-minute workout during her class (shout out to 9Round!). On warm days, I would walk outside in a nearby neighborhood.
- When my daughter was in gymnastics, they had a parent waiting room with plenty of tables and chairs. Many parents had laptops and worked during class time.
- Organize carpooling. See who is in the class and if carpooling is an option. If your neighbor is going to the same place, alternate weeks, or have one family do drop-off and the other do pick-up. I have an extra car seat in my 3rd row for this very reason. This year, I will be talking to my mom friends ahead of time about when/what we are signing our kids up for, in hopes that carpooling can become a reality.
- Buy multiple birthday gifts at one time. With school in session, the birthday party invites will be flowing! At most, we have attended 4 parties in one month. Instead of running out for a gift weekly or constantly hopping on Amazon at the last minute, I buy several gifts at once. I typically stick to one “go to” gift per year and buy a bunch when they go on sale. I have a drawer designated to birthday gifts, and it’s super easy to pull out a present, toss it in a reused gift bag, and have my daughter make the card.
- Automate payments whenever possible. Set it and forget it! If an activity does not offer this feature, set a recurring reminder on your phone so you can avoid late fees.
- Consolidate doctor appointments for siblings when possible. We always have double dentist appointments, and it works out great!
- Maximize meal prep. While making dinner, prep meals and snacks for the following day. Use that idle time while the water is boiling, or you’re waiting for the timer to go off, to get prepared. The kitchen is already a mess, so you might as well pull out everything you need and get ready for the next day.
- Order your coffee on the app ahead of time! The extra 30 seconds in your driveway could save you 20 minutes of wasted time at Starbucks. The anxiety of waiting in the drive-thru while watching the clock and knowing you are about to be late for something is a thing of the past!
- Order groceries and home essentials online. There are delivery options through Whole Foods, Target Circle 360, Amazon Prime, PeaPod, and Walmart+. Save your favorite items and use past orders to expedite grocery ordering. Subscribe and Save on Amazon for your most-used non-perishables.
- Last but certainly not least, delegate! If you have a partner, lean on them. There is no “running in quick” to a store when you have small kids in car seats. If we randomly need a single item or two from CVS or another store that I know is on my husband’s commute, I will ask him to pick it up. He can do this in just a few minutes vs. the 10-15 minutes it would take me (and he won’t get in a battle over the TY stuffies by the register).
This is a busy season of life we are all in. Hopefully, these tips will help you to streamline your processes, so you have more time to dedicate to your well-being!
