Squeeze me-time in every day
During the course of every day, you may find yourself begging for just a few more hours to make your to-do list for the following day or read that article on parenting that you've been dying to finish.
SheKnows helps you organize your week so you can give yourself a bit of daily me-time .
Sunday check-in
Make Sunday a family organizational day. Have a casual family meeting every Sunday evening to check in with everyone on schedules, special school outings or projects, late/after work meetings, the carpool rotation and reminders about chores and homework. A weekly check-in to organize the coming days will save time for everyone in your family throughout the week — most importantly you.
Check out these tips on starting a family chore chart >>
Creative multi-tasking
We’re not talking about emailing clients while you’re coaching your son’s soccer practice. Find a way to multi-task that includes a little indulgence for yourself. For example, you may have little time for reading these days, but surely you can listen to an audio book while you drive the kids to school, right? Just keep your eyes on the road!
Check out our summertime audio book roundup for the whole family >>
And since you’re already in the kitchen while you are making dinner, use that time to prepare the kids’ lunches for the following day. This will give you a few minutes of extra time before bed or in the morning to chart out your to-do list, read a quick article or scroll through Facebook.
Give yourself 15 extra minutes
By waking up just 15 minutes early, you can save yourself the chaos of running around like a crazy woman to get your husband, your kids and yourself out the door for school and work. Use those 15 minutes wisely!
Find out how to separate me time from mom time >>
Sip a cup of coffee, take an extra indulgent shower or do whatever it is that will give you a little oomph throughout the day. It’s amazing how just a few minutes of time to yourself can make you a better, more relaxed and more focused parent.
Team work
Think of your family as a team — and you as their fearless leader. It’s your responsibility to help everyone work together and to lead them to victory . Running your family like a team — and giving each member of that team a specific duty — will allow you all to finish the task at hand in a quicker, more efficient manner so you can all move on to the things you’d rather be doing.
At dinnertime, delegate duties like setting the table, filling water cups and setting out plates and utensils as well as post-dinner cleanup. Reward your helpers with a few minutes of extra free time.
Organize your errands/chores
Organize your errands for the week so you don't waste time doubling back or going all over town to tackle all your weekly chores. Instead of going to three or four different stores, try to pare down the number of stops you make and the places you need to go. If possible, stock up on specialty items that you need to go out of your way to purchase.
More on me time
How to sneak in a little me time
How to get your kids more involved in dinner prep
How to organize your family in 2012