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Easy Ways to be More Productive

August 14, 2018 by Jaimi Erickson 4 Comments

Ready to have the ENERGY to be the best mom you can be? Get started! Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome back! Did you already get started here?

{Post by Heather Hice-McCray}

Your life is busy! I can relate. These 4 tips help me be more productive as a mom who works in the home and out of it.

I don’t think anyone goes into their day thinking of ways they can be less productive. It can happen despite our best efforts. Being as productive as possible can be such a struggle when there are multiple things pulling at our attention. To be more productive moms can seem daunting.

Let’s be real, the amount of things that are trying to get our attention quickly out-number the hours in a day.

Unless of course you’ve found some fantastic secret to adding more hours to your day. In that case, you should be sharing with us!

Do you struggle with getting things on your to-do list done?

As women we juggle a lot every single day. We juggle kids schedules, with household duties, and work both inside and/or outside the home, friends, family and basically everything under the sun.

Sometimes we could use a little help to stay organized and productive. I know I need help from time to time.

These are the 4 ways I’m staying more productive everyday. They can help you be more productive as a mom.

4 Ways to be More Productive Moms

POD

First you should know that I’m not tech savvy. Until very recently (as in the last couple of years) I didn’t even have a smartphone.

You should also know I love the old school paper and pen planners. For a long time I wouldn’t even enter anything into my smartphone calendar.

That all changed the minute I found the app POD.

It’s a super smart calendar that allows me to organize and color code all the different things in my life.

I have created different calendar colors for my work outside of the home part of the week, my kid’s schedules, and my online work. It shows different views, a to-do list underneath your calendar, and a view of all the tasks you’ve entered into your calendar.

It’s fabulous, and I no longer have to use my paper planner.

I’m not going to lie it was hard to give that one up, but this is able to keep me more organized which means it’s easier for me to be more productive and get more things accomplished.

TIME BLOCKING

I now block out specific time periods where I work on certain tasks, and I stick to this schedule.

I know that if I have one hour to clean the house then I have one hour. Once that hour is over it’s time to move on to something else. Not only does this keep me from taking my sweet time, it’s kind of fun to have a goal to shoot for in terms of beating the clock.

I organize my time blocking in the POD app, and I can see exactly what my tasks and time on those tasks is.

It motivates me to go faster and work harder because I know I only have to do each task for a certain amount of time.

The best part is that I always make some sort of headway into my tasks. I tend to get overwhelmed if I procrastinate. If I’m able to start on a task and get a lot of it done (if not completed) it helps me to not only feel more productive, but be more productive as I move on to my next task.

WORK HARD

I’m not sure if you feel the same way, but there are moments where I start to get distracted. TV, Pinterest or some other form of procrastination pulls me off track. It’s in these moments that I can be tempted to choose to not work hard. If I give in, this ends up drawing my tasks and to-do list out longer than they need to be.

I’ve found that if I use time blocking and work as hard as I can on the task at hand for the set amount of time, I am able to focus and get it done faster and without getting distracted.

I know if I work hard for just this hour or that twenty minutes I can then take a break. This is helpful because I was able to be completely focused on the task, didn’t procrastinate, and was able to still get my Pinterest fix in at the end.

MAKING A GIANT LIST

I used to organize my lists of things to do by the date in my planner which ultimately led to me flipping back and forth between dates searching for the notes I wrote.

What I found to be the most helpful is to have a running list of all the tasks I have to accomplish.

It’s not organized in any fashion, but it helps me to know that everything is out of my brain and on paper. Sometimes the most anxiety-inducing part of being more productive is trying to store it all in my head!

Getting it all down on paper allows me to have more space in my head for other things.

It also helps me so I don’t forget anything because my memory just isn’t what it used to be. I can keep adding to the list, and I mark completed tasks off by highlighting them.

This is important to me because I can still read them, but I know I’ve finished those tasks.

So there you have it! My 4 easy ways to be more productive moms everyday.

I know you’ve got a lot to accomplish every single day. Try one or all of these and let me know how they worked.

Homemaking tips Tuesdays where you find quick tips for keeping a clean and organized home.

What are some tips, tricks or hacks you use to be more productive moms? Share them in the comments below.

Your life is busy! I can relate. These 4 tips help me be more productive as a mom who works in the home and out of it.



Find resources for implementing routines and schedules in your home. Printables and suggested schedules make it so easy!

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Heather of Just Becoming Me contributor to Mom Motivation Mondays series at The Stay-at-Home Mom Survival GuideHeather lives in Florida with her husband, two girls and two pups. She is a lover of most things in life, too many to name here without scaring you, but a few include working out, learning new recipes, Pinterest, organizing (yes, it’s true!), home decor and learning to lead a more minimal and purposeful life.

She started Just Becoming Me as a venture to better understand herself and what will lead her towards a more fulfilling life. Her motto is: “We only have one life, and I want to learn to live mine in a way that gets me excited to jump out of bed.”


 

Successful Mom Daily Checklist to help you gain balance between housework and play time with the kids. Get more done, and feel more successful as a mom and homemaker.

Enjoy your time at home!

Your Name

Filed Under: homemaking, organization, quick tip Tagged With: home, HTT contributors, lists, organized, schedule

Comments

  1. Lyla Morris says

    September 11, 2018 at 6:14 am

    As a mom, It’s vitally important to be productive, because we have to look after different things at the same time. Thanks for sharing this amazing post! looking forward to reading more post from you.

    Reply
    • Jaimi Erickson says

      September 23, 2018 at 4:53 pm

      That is great to know! I am so glad it was helpful for you.

      Reply
  2. Natasha @ MrsChettyLife says

    September 7, 2018 at 2:11 am

    How do I get hold of Pod?

    Reply
    • Jaimi Erickson says

      September 23, 2018 at 4:55 pm

      A Google search should get you to their info.

      Reply

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“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” - Audrey Hepburn

I spotted her just looking at our little seedlings. The peace of doing with our hands what we have learned with our mind is so satisfying. 

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What are your plans for the weekend? #friyay We What are your plans for the weekend? #friyay 

We are having a few neighbors over tonight. (Obviously not locked down here. 👌) 

I am thankful for like minded people. 

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What are you thankful for today? 

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Today’s schooling looked a bit like this. 💕 L Today’s schooling looked a bit like this. 💕 Library, reading, painting the toy that came in the kids meal, reading time, and calm. 

When I think about my homeschool style (aka structure) it has definitely evolved over the years. I never really researched a style until today actually. 😂 What I found was, we started as Traditional - workbook-based learning. Then I added Unit Studies to our Traditional structure. Now we naturally have shifted to a more Charlotte Mason + Unit Study approach for some subjects and Traditional approach for a few subjects (math most specifically). 

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You know what’s funny? I took this pic not even You know what’s funny? I took this pic not even noticing what random things were out of place. 😅 Perfect for this post today. 👇

Motherhood is a juggling act. We try to seek balance and be joyful, but kids, husband, house, our needs and wants all pull us in different directions.

We worry that if we drop one ball they all will come crashing down! We are busy, yet not feeling productive many days. The line between needs and wants become blurred.

Attempting to keep it all organized is overwhelming. 

We tend to define balance with images in magazines, snapshots of other moms who are
having a together day when we are not, or elaborate spring cleaning tasks that sound great and get pinned but ultimately leave us feeling even deeper in frustration when we do not complete them.

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Balance is not a place where you go and never ever again feel a bump in the road.

Balance is an on-going, always changing, never finished job. 

*****

If you feel out of balance today, you are just in the process of working your way back to it. 

If today was a great day, prepare yourself now because the scale may tilt and things may feel out of your control tomorrow. #reallife

It is not easy to cut things from our calendars or limit our focus each day. I feel that struggle so much. My whole family needs and deserves my time and attention. I am constantly in a state of re-balance, and making attempts to re-organize, as I attempt to balance four children and a husband.

That requires a lot of humility, prayers for God’s peace in my life, and relieving myself of any guilt for not doing it all every day.

Do you see the items out of place in this pic or are you focused on the beauty within it? 😉💕

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#AD Today was hard! School took longer than expect #AD Today was hard! School took longer than expected, grocery shopping got pushed back, and I am soaking up my time to get quiet and pray it all away. 

I have discovered simple, quick ways to feel refreshed staying at home. With four kids, homeschooling and military life I can not just get a break when I feel I need it. 

These ideas have helped me feel rejuvenated in small moments even when I can not get out of the house to have a break.

One of the simplest ways to recharge is with a good old hot shower. I think it pretty much cures mom overwhelm and stress. I always planned my showers around the kids’ quiet times. That way I could take my time.

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#AD Yesterday we had some talks. Things got a litt #AD Yesterday we had some talks. Things got a little tense. There were tears because she was embarrassed about what she did and said. 

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How have you been taking time to recharge while st How have you been taking time to recharge while staying at home? Making my list of favorite ways to refresh ‘cause moms with full schedules from morning to night need some simple ideas to get in quiet time. 👏 Do you need recharge time?

I like keeping it simple. 👌 Luxurious shampoo and body butter to maximize the spa feel after a hot shower, Bible study in the morning with my coffee, walking the dog solo are just a few of my break ideas. (I think hot showers are a cure all for a lot of stress! Time to think, feeling the strain wash away...all good things.) What do you think?

Since I have been a #stayathomemom for 13 years now, my kids have always been around and my time has been devoted to home and family. But I NEED time to have quiet and just be alone too. 

That means I have to squeeze in my recharge time in creative, simple ways. 

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When you really focus on fear, isn’t it pretty s When you really focus on fear, isn’t it pretty silly how much we let it run our lives? 

Anyone who knows my 7 year old daughter knows she has a “no fear” spirit. She can be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. She is always moving, seeking out fun and not intimidated by the unknown.

As a parent I both admire and cringe. 😅 

I find that I have to suppress my fear when it comes to her adventurous spirit so I do not diminish her true nature. I also have to be on the ball from a parenting perspective to talk through being smart while having fun. 

It is not as if we can ever see the results from the actions before we act though. 

Remembering myself how I truly only know what I see and what faith teaches me allows me to focus on eliminating fear from ruling.

For many years I was the opposite of my wild child. I was always thinking too far ahead to see what potential pain may come. That suppressed my nature. I see my kids so social, so eager to try new things and it energizes me to set that example too. 

Fear is not a worthwhile debate partner. 

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” ~Proverbs 31:25, NIV

Do you wrestle with fear in parenting and life in general or are you more of the no fear type?

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