Time Management Tips for Working Mothers
What do women want? Well, ask a working mother and she would say – ‘More time, please!’ If you too are swinging between the humdrum of babies and bosses, it is time to stop and evaluate what you can do to save more hours in the day and feel less exhausted all the time.
Women at the workplace, especially those who are new to it, often find it hard to juggle between work and home. The mother’s guilt doesn’t help anything. Struggling to meet work deadlines, leaving behind puppy-faced kids, and swinging between the two could feel like an inevitable drill with no alternative. But that isn’t the case. With a little bit of pragmatism and effort, you too can have the clock work for you.
Find below, 7 valuable time management tips that can help you ace the workplace as a working mother:
Prioritise well: Working mothers live in a state of urgency. Answering that work email or call, feeding the baby, and just about everything could hover over your head at once, leaving you overwhelmed. This could hamper your productivity and is precisely why you need to master the art of prioritising.
Pick what is most urgent and important, focus on one task, and get it out of the way. Avoid thinking of all other things you need to do. With a conscious approach and some coaxed practicing, you can learn how to prioritise practically and get more things done!
Make a schedule: To feel more in control of what you are doing, chalk out a schedule. This will help with the overwhelming feeling and the anxiety. Use an excel spreadsheet or a diary to list down your daily schedule. You could use a time range instead of a fixed time to complete the tasks. Along with this, use reminders on your smartphone to get to urgent tasks without forgetting them. A schedule on paper will help you organise the mind mess and objectively go about your day.
Identify the time-wasters: Optimise the way you do repetitive tasks. For instance, you can handle mundane activities more efficiently with some planning like bill payments, cleaning chores, grocery shopping, etc.
Activate the auto-deduct facility for bill payments, get help to clean, and optimise your time by shopping online. An hour saved doing unproductive/repetitive work could mean quality time with your kids, or at your job or just with yourself.
Eliminate distractions: All task lists, hectic schedules go out the window when the social media rabbit hole rears its ugly head. We’re all guilty of spending too much time on our phones when we could be doing better things! Well, it's time to stop. While you certainly need some me-time, random distractions throughout the day are less than called for.
Also keep a watch on things such as too much noise in the background, an uncomfortable chair or desk, or poor lighting at your workplace. These too could hamper your productivity and get you slacking.
Delegate: You don’t need to do everything on your own. It doesn’t end well for working mothers. To prevent yourself from falling victim to a never-ending to-do list, learn how to pass on work, both at your job and at home. Ask your colleagues to lend you a helping hand when the files pile on. Similarly, get yourself a nanny or aaya to look after your kids. Train your delegates to do the task right and over a period of time, you will be sorted!
Say no: The one thing that working mothers simply cannot do is say no! However, the burden of being available all the time needs to be offloaded before there are some serious burnout repercussions. It is okay to refuse work when there you already have too much at hand. Similarly, it is not for you to cater to every little demand of your children. Train them to do things by themselves when possible and ask them to keep the tantrums at bay. The goal is to refrain from biting off more than you can chew and thereby maintain the balance between home and work.
Be realistic, not perfect: As a woman, you are constantly pressured to be the best - the best mothers, the best colleagues, the best bosses. You fear that one wrong move can get it all tumbling down for you. This is especially true in the case of new mothers. However, it is extremely unhealthy to chase perfection.
You are bound to make mistakes, as mothers, as well as at work and it is totally okay. Try not to be hard on yourself and allow room for improvements. The aim is to be real and not perfect.
With a few tweaks in their daily routines, women can capitalise on their time and achieve personal and professional targets with ease. Considering the multiple demands that mothers are required to cater to, organisations too should make way for remote working policies and other benefits for women at the workplace. This will improve their productivity and allow them to achieve a practical work-life balance.
(Edited by Neha Baid)
