Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Your use of these links is greatly appreciated!
Last updated on March 28th, 2023 at 02:04 am
Do you want to have more time? Of course, you do —you’re a mom! For myself, between working at home full-time while being a mom, a homemaker, and an entrepreneur, I could definitely use more time.
Since there’s no physical way to get more time, how about spending less time doing lower-priority tasks?
This past month it dawned on me that moms can really benefit from the tactics I’m implementing in my business. I don’t do the things that aren’t all that important or I find ways to create a template for tasks I do all the time.
As a mom and a professional organizer, I had a light bulb go off.
I’ve heard it said, and seen it on Pinterest, that you should run your home like a business. But they’re mostly talking about budgeting and record keeping. Instead of those things, or perhaps in addition to those things, you should do the productivity-saving tactics business owners are using these days.
Let’s talk about the 5 tactics moms can steal from entrepreneurs to get their time back.
Tactic 1: Delegate
As their businesses grow, entrepreneurs need to hire team members so they can focus on the big picture of their business. Team members will take on day-to-day operations or work on smaller, but important tasks. As a mom, you can do the same thing.
You have a team living right in your house. Delegate small tasks to young children, such as putting away their toys, putting laundry in the hamper, or even putting away their folded clothes.
As they get older you can assign more tasks to them such as folding the laundry, taking out the trash, or dusting the furniture. If they have a particular talent for something find a task that would allow them to use those talents (like I was always asked to organize the pantry …go figure.)
Now stuff is getting done around the house so you can focus on bigger tasks. Plus, your kids will have the skills they need when they leave your home.
Tactic 2: Outsource
Similar to delegating, outsourcing is a way to send tasks out of the house to someone who specializes in that area. Entrepreneurs might send projects to a graphic designer or a copywriter for a professional finish. Projects get done more quickly and the entrepreneur doesn’t need to spend time acquiring a new skill.
Time is money.
Mama, you can outsource too. Use a grocery delivery service to shop for your groceries when you don’t have time to drive to the store. Use a meal service when you don’t have time to plan dinner. Get a professional house cleaner to come in once a month for deep cleaning. Find a professional organizer who does monthly maintenance on areas such as pantries.
For me, I’m really close to sending my husband’s shirts to the dry cleaner. I am so over ironing shirts! I put it off until there are no more for him to wear. Not good.
It comes down to time versus money, and my time is worth the money.
Entrepreneurs understand that they have to invest in your business so that you can move forward.
As moms, we struggle with spending money on tasks we feel we should be able to do ourselves. We believe the lie that if we can’t do it ourselves, we are failing.
It’s not true.
I was listening to Gretchen Rubin’s Happier podcast discussing the 7 myths of happiness. Studies show that people are happier when they don’t have to clean and hire someone to do it for them instead.
Mama, your time and happiness are worth the money. You are worth it.
Tactic 3: Automate/Create Workflows
Automation is huge for entrepreneurs. Using automation features for email and social media makes time for other things.
Moms can also use automation. Automate bill payments. Get a robot vacuum to do your chores for you.
Entrepreneurs create workflows for day-to-day tasks. When you do something all the time, it just makes sense to have things already done or have a whole process worked out so you don’t have to start over again. Handing over a workflow to a new team member is also easy when a workflow already exists. A new team member doesn’t have to start from scratch to figure out what to do.
A home workflow would be daily routines and schedules. For example, my daily and weekly cleaning routine is an example of a workflow. My laundry routine is a workflow. I also have a process for meal planning, which could be considered a workflow.
Creating a workflow makes day-to-day tasks second nature to you, but also makes it easy if another family member needs to pick up where you left off when there’s an emergency. If you had to go to the hospital or you had to go out of town unexpectedly, could another family member figure out what to do for your kids?
There’s a free Babysitter Kit available on the resources page. Use it to write down important phone numbers and doctor information as well as daily schedules and rules for your kids so anyone can give your kids a bit of what’s normal. Hopefully, you won’t ever have to use it, but at least you will have it to give you peace of mind.
Tactic 4: Planning and Time Management
Entrepreneurs will plan out content, product launches, or collaborations months in advance. It allows them to have a strategy and, more importantly, prioritize their tasks and manage their time.
Guess what, mama? This applies to you too! If tomorrow is another school day, have everybody choose their outfits the night before. Make lunch the night before. Cook a giant breakfast casserole that the entire family can eat for breakfast that will last a couple of days.
You can apply this to significant events as well.
Upcoming wedding? Put the date in your planner or digital calendar. Set up reminders and alerts to send a gift and find something for everyone to wear.
Birthdays? Maybe you make a point of getting birthday cards done at the beginning of the year so you can get them out on time.
(Or just send them a video message of the kids when your phone alerts you that day. No sweat.)
Using a planner has made a massive difference in how I get things done. (Try to use one planner, so that you don’t have to search everywhere for different events and commitments.)
Tactic 5: Collaboration
Businesses collaborate, especially when they are working toward a common goal with a joint mission. They collaborate by creating products or services together or by promoting or referring to one another.
You and your mom friends are working toward a common goal: raising good kids and not going insane.
Don’t you think we should work together?
Coordinate swapping school drop off and pick up throughout the week. If you work from home, see if you can trade babysitting with another work-from-home mom. Plan a mom’s night out. Do a meal swap. Host a clothing or toy swap.
My girlfriends and I try to get together each month, whether it’s for a baby shower, Galentine’s Day celebrations, or clothing swaps. We know it’s important to get a little time to ourselves, without our kids if possible, so we can have that girl time and time to pray together.
We shouldn’t do this alone. Moms need to support other moms because we get it.
One note on collaboration: know when to say no. Understand what your priorities are so you can make the right decisions on commitments. Maybe school pick-up just doesn’t work for you or you don’t have time to go to a weekly meal swap. It’s completely okay to say no. Whoever asked you will either understand or have to get over it.
…
Mom life is the best life, but it’s also a crazy life. Incorporating these 5 business tactics —delegate, outsource, automate, planning, and collaboration —into your regular life can get you more time. Finding more time to do things is like when your kid finds a piece of chocolate on the floor —it’s amazing and we hope no one finds out we’ve got it!
Leave a Reply