Not Enough Hours in a Day? Here’s My Favorite Time Management Tip!

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Do you ever feel like there’s not enough hours in the day? Maybe it feels like you are always behind and can never get ahead.

As a mom there is a lot to balance – motherhood, a clean house, getting dinner made, marriage, self care, and more!

So if you are feeling overwhelmed with all there is to do, today, I’ve got the best tip for you- Prioritize your tasks!

Now, let’s talk about how to do that. These simple tips will help you finally get ahead on the things that matter most. So let’s jump right in!

Not Enough Hours in the Day

1. Write out EVERYTHING.

When you are feeling overwhelmed with all there is to do, your thoughts are swarming around in your head and it’s hard to keep them all straight. So the first step is to simply write everything down that you have to balance as a mom.

I suggest writing it all out with a pen and paper. And sip on a nice drink of choice while you are making your list. Mine would be an iced coffee. 🙂

Then just dump it all out. Everything that you feel you have to balance: meals, dusting, time with your husband, laundry, grocery shopping, exercise, organizing the linen closet, spending time with kids, dishes, Bible reading, time with friends, hobbies, meal planning, cleaning the bathrooms, soccer practice……

You get the point, right? Write it ALL down. Once your list is done, it’s time to move on to the next step.

2. Define must-do, should-do, and could-do.

Now that you have your list, you need to categorize everything by priority. Not everything on your list is as important as the others. You probably feel like everything needs your attention right now which makes it hard to figure out what exactly should get your attention. Because you really can’t do 2 things at once. At least, not very well.

So get out another sheet of paper and make 3 columns. Title each column with MUST-DO, SHOULD-DO, and COULD-DO.

Next, start putting the things from your list under the approriate category. Let’s start with the must-do column. These are things that must get done in order for you and your family to survive.

These are the things that are top priority. In our family, the must do list is laundry, meal plan, wash dishes, Bible reading and prayer, getting myself ready, time with husband, time with kids. When life gets really busy, or someone is sick, I focus on the must-do things only.

That means every day, I know I need to:

• get up before my kids so I can have quiet time and also get ready for the day
• do a load of laundry
• have a plan for dinner
• make intentional connections with my kids and husband

Should-do things are still important, but are not needed to survive. For example, cleaning the bathrooms. Yes, my family needs a clean bathroom, and it is a priority. However, if I have to choose between getting dinner on the table and having a clean bathroom by the end of the day, I’m going to pick dinner.

The bathroom can wait until I have enough time in my schedule. So let’s talk about how to actually have time in your schedule to get to the “should-do’s” and “could-do’s”.

3. Put your must-do’s into routines.

The best way to ensure that all your must-do items actually get done is to incorporate them into your daily routines. If you don’t already have an established morning or evening routine, start with those. A routine is not a rigid schedule, but rather a plan of what needs to get done each morning and each evening.

For example, every morning I start a load of laundry and quickly make sure I have everything for that evening’s dinner. That way, those importnat tasks are done early each day and I don’t have to worry about them the rest of the day. I know my family will have clean clothes to wear and food to eat!

Then I have the rest of the day to accomplish any of my “should-do” and “could-do” tasks.

Find out how to manage your time with a morning routine.

Set yourself up for success with an evening routine.

Have you ever thought about managing your time and household tasks this way? Knowing what is an absolute priority versus what is not makes all the difference!

By the way, I want to share one more thing that God taught me as a young mom. One day I was feeling extremely overwhelmed and literally said out loud, “There’s not enough hours in the day!” But then I was reminded that God created day and night and He’s perfect!

So actually there is enough hours in the day to accomplish what God has called me to do. Otherwise, I may just be trying to do too much. Learn how to say “no”.

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