Being a mom is hard. Working is hard. Being a working mom is HARD! I had someone recently tell me they felt like I always had it together and got everything done. Oh gosh not true AT ALL! I feel like most of the time I barely have it together and I never get everything done. But I do think I have a good grasp on productivity tips for working moms, so today I am sharing mine.

 

 

Productivity Tips For Working Moms

 Make lists: I swear I will mention this a million times because I think lists are insanely important. I truly don’t know how people know what to do each day or remember tasks without them. Especially moms. We are SO BUSY. Trying to make sure everyone’s stuff is taken care of requires lists.

Talk to your partner: I think communicating with your partner about daily/weekly expectations, things coming up, things you need help with etc is so important for productivity.

Schedule EVERYTHING: I mean EVERYTHING! I schedule everything we do, anything I need to do, workouts, etc. It’s just so helpful to see it in a calendar.

Time block: I do this specifically for work. For example when I need to work on scheduling social media I will block out 45 minutes to find articles and schedule tweets. Then 30 minutes to pin, then another hour to write a blog post. Etc. This is also helpful if you have a lot of household tasks that need to get done as well.

Give yourself a break at some point: At some point you will you need a break. You have to fill your cup too. So this may mean a workout class, a walk around the neighborhood, sitting with a coffee and reading for 30 minutes. Whatever it is take a little break for yourself.

Meal Prep/plan: I personally find that meal prepping and planning saves us SO MUCH time and arguments about what to have, what we need etc. We plan each Friday night for the next week. Then Saturdays we grocery shop so we have our staples, and anything we need for meals. This also saves us a ton of money because since we aren’t wasting food.

 Lay out clothes/prep lunches: Each night I lay out my clothes, and my kids' clothes, and I prep our lunch for the next day. This is SO CRUCIAL for my morning sanity. I don’t have a ton of time in the morning before my kids wakes up so the fact that  lunch is prepped make the afternoon easier for all of us. I also meal prep our breakfasts so I just need to put them together real quick. Doing all of this prep make the days so much easier and everyone is less stressed.

Delegate: This is something I am not great with. Usually I melt down and mu husband is like “why didn’t you ask for help?” So I am trying to be better about telling him what I need help with, hiring a babysitter when I need a few hours to get stuff done, etc. Delegating is crucial.

I would love to know what productivity tips for working moms you have! Share below!

 

How To Plan For A SUccessful Month

The start of a new month can mean many things for some of us.  For me, the feeling is like the start of a new year.  I like to evaluate what I´ve accomplished and what I need to work on.  Before writing out my daily to-do´s all over the place like a crazy woman, I like to do a session of pre-planning.  Which leads us to the question of what exactly is pre-planning and how can it help us create a successful month?

PRE-PLANNING: PLANNING TO PLAN

Pre-planning is obtaining the information you need to anticipate and prepare for the future, before solidifying the actual action or scheme of doing something.

It is setting up all your upcoming events and scheduling your tasks around them.  There is a short but sweet process I like to go about at the beginning of each month and I thought that perhaps it could be interesting or helpful to some of you.

It is true that sometimes things don´t go as planned but if you dedicate a few minutes to work around your ideas you can create a general outlook of everything to best accomplish your goals.

 

Why is it beneficial?
 
You will be focused exactly on what you have to do because you´ll have everything mapped out and ready to go.  Consequently you won´t waste un-necessary time trying to schedule appointments and remembering important dates.

Reaching your goals will become much easier once you have a clear  plan and the ways to fulfill it. Thanks to this process you´ll become aware of your strengths and weaknesses.

WRITE THINGS DOWN

Take a few minutes to sit down and brainstorm the upcoming month.  I like using a trigger list to brain dump all of my thoughts, sort of like creating a big master to-do list.  Don´t worry about it being pretty or organized.  You can even dedicate a separate notebook for this or a plain sheet of paper to write out everything and anything that comes up in your head (this can include tasks, notes, reminders, appointments, etc.). This is the moment when you shouldn't leave anything out, even the simplest thought like buying butter at the market or that your knee hurts should be written down.

This exercise comes in great to make your brain feel a lot less cluttered.  So go ahead and schedule a few of these sessions if you need them.  Personally I only do them once a month, but if I´m having one of those days where I feel like my head is going to explode from stress, working on a brain dump always makes me feel better.

 

DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE AND FOCUS OF THE MONTH

Once you have relieved your brain of all those pestering to-dos and struggles, you should now have a clear head to really consider and identify what success will look like.

I´m not talking about earning more money or getting a promotion at your job, I´m talking about thinking of that one thing that you really want to accomplish but have been putting off.  This can be ANYTHING, from organizing your office space, to walking 40.000 steps in 30 days, to painting wall art, to reading 10 books, ANYTHING.  What may seem like something silly to someone else can be a huge milestone for you.

So think about what you want to focus during the month and write it down in BIG BOLD LETTERS. If your goal requires several steps, make a separate to-do list, or even create a mind-map about your mission.

At this point grab your planner and open it to your monthly spread.

ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS INTO PLANS

Now you´re all set to start organizing and grouping all those thoughts, ideas and tasks you wrote out during your braindump.  Batch similar tasks together, think about how much time each task will take, re-write them in order of importance, see if there are things you can delegate to someone else.

Don´t forget about your month´s focus and how you´ll be accomplishing it.

I find it easier to organize my to-do´s around what´s happening each month.  For example, I have a future log at the beginning of my planner where I write out the holidays and events that are taking place (national festivities, birthdays, movie/book premieres, etc.).  I schedule all those things first in my monthly calendar to get a general overview of the time I´ll have free and then distribute everything else around those events.

The key is to PRIORITIZE what matters most.

You don´t have to schedule every single to-do from your brain dump.  I´m sure there are a ton of ideas that can be put on hold for next month´s pre-planning session, so don´t feel obligated to find a spot for everything.  Though if you do that´s awesome and totally okay too.

 

SOLIDIFY THE ACTION

Woohoo! Now your month is ready to tackle and take action on all you've pre-planned. Get ready? Set? DO! DO! DO!

As you can see the process is very very simple, and only requires you to create to-do lists and sort them out by order of importance, scheduling them on to your planner with a sticky note or pencil, in case you need to move it around later on. Having the basics in your planner is key so you know what´s happening.  I can assure you that just the act of writing it all down will already work wonders for some of you (I know it does for me!), your head will clear just a little bit and give you space for other things.  I´d love to hear how you all like to prepare your planners for a successful month, so please let me know your process in the comments below or if you found this post helpful and it inspired some new ideas to incorporate to your system.  Let me know!  

Talk to you soon!

 

Currently {6/21/225}

 

 

Time and place: 2:32am and I am in the dining room, typing up this post. Can't sleep so I decided to write this post.

  
Eating: Nothing at the moment.

Drinking: A big glass of water (always).

Watching:  Still watching Manifest on Netflix. I'm also re-watching Gilmore Girls, Stranger Things, and Cobra Kai.

 

 

 

Reading: I'm reading The Last Party by A.R. Toree

I'm trying to find a new book to read either by Lisa Jackson or Fredia McFadden

Loving: Being able to sit down after a long day of housework and taking care of my family and read my book for a little while.

Working: I'm still working on my meal planner. I cannot wait to see how it turns out! I'm so excited for this new project. I am also working on a weekly planner insert that I am excited about and a note pad that I have been wanting to design for a while now. I am also working on a monthly/weekly planner (that's almost done and should be ready in the next few weeks). I can't wait to see how these turn out. We will be launching our 2025 Weekly Planner on Amazon the first week of December. 

I'm also working on stocking my TPT store with new resources for Back to School season and also for the Fall.

 

Listening to: Nothing. Everyone is alseep and it's really quiet.

Buying: Groceries for this month and stocking up on certain items that are needed. I'm also looking at clothes and other household items that are needed.

Planning: I have most of my posts planned for July, I just have to write and schedule them. I am working on setting up some deadlines for my meal planner and other planners that I am working on. I am also working on some planner inserts. I'm also creating resources for my TPT store. This should keep me busy for a while!

 

I'm working on stocking my TPT store and my Payhip store with educational printables

 

I'm trying to plan out a work schedule for this month. Hopefully I will figure one out soon.

Wondering: can I pull it off? How will I pull it off?

Feeling: tired, but happy, always.

 

June 2025 Goals

I cannot believe that it's already June! While March and April crept by (homeschool  continued), it seems that May just flew by (end of  our homeschool year and practicing marital arts with my oldest (Mom is the punching bag!)

We are just now into our summer routine and we are in the process of fine tuning it, so in today's post I would like to share my June 2025 goals with you (over two weeks late, but late than never, right?)!

June 2025 Goals:

1. Read 1 book this month.

2. Drink 100oz of water daily.

3. Start using my habit tracker in my bullet journal every day.

4. Eat more fruits and veggies (I have been lagging on this and I really need to fix it).

5. Walk 6 days a week and strength train 3x per week.

6. Have at least two at home date nights with the Husband. 

7. Organize the girls' bedrooms (purge old toys and outgrown clothes).

 

8. Add 20 new resources/printables to my TPT store.

 

9. Launch The Daily Planner on Amazon (end of October).

 

10. Launch Meal Planner on Amazon (end of October).

What are some of your June 2025 goals?

 

Things I Do To Protect My Mental Health

I have been on a pretty good mental health journey for a while now. As I get older I am more aware of the things that I need to do to protect my mental health and make sure I am the best version of myself. I know if I am not then I am not helpful to anyone around me. I wanted to share a few of those things in case you are looking to improve your mental health too.

 

Things I Do To Protect My Mental Health

Exercise: This is a HUGE thing for my mental health. I have discovered that the best workouts for me are long walks and barre classes. It’s what makes me feel my best.

Take time by myself: I recharge best alone. So I make sure that I take a little time each day when I can to be alone even if its for 30 minutes.

Ask for help/a break when I need it: Which leads me to asking for help or a break when I need to. Sometimes I just need a break from everything and need to run an errand alone or take a long shower etc. Or even have an entire day to myself.

Get outside when I can: I prefer to walk outside. I will do walks on the walking pad when its too cold or raining but I feel better getting in a good outdoor walk. I also just love sitting outside and working when I can or playing with the kids!

Give myself grace: This is something I feel like I am constantly working on. I am not great at going easy on myself.

Say no more: In the last year I have really prioritized the things that bring me joy or things that benefit myself, my kids, my work etc. So if it doesn’t do those things I try to say no when I can.

What do you do to protect your mental health?