Whether you own your own business or work for someone else, most working mums struggle to find a good work life balance. They constantly wish they were somewhere else, doing something else, and it never feels like there is enough time in the day.
And while it can be difficult to find a perfect work life balance, there are lots of little things you can do to make day-to-day life easier.
Here are eight tips for working mums.
1. Survival Guide For Working Mums: Outsource
If there is a little extra room in the household budget, you could consider outsourcing some of the work. You could hire a cleaner or a nanny to help with the home and the children, or you could hire a virtual assistant to help with your workload. This is a great way to create a little extra time every day!
2. Make A Family Planner And Put It Somewhere Obvious
You can use various websites to create a free, customisable family planner with a column for each member of the family. Put the planner up in an obvious location (such as the kitchen or the hall), and then add events and household chores for each member on each day. This means you don’t have to keep all of the household chores inside your head, and everyone is also less likely to forget important events!
3. Make Meals Easier
You can make meals easier a few ways; you can throw things into a slow cooker in the morning so you don’t have to cook when you get back, you can meal plan in advance so you never have to worry about what to cook, and you can make double portions every time you cook so you only have to cook half as often. Whatever works best for you and your family’s schedule!
4. Protect Your Clothes In The Morning
Do you have to get the kids ready before you go to work? Pop a dressing gown over your smart clothes so that you can avoid any spills or sticky hands.
5. Wash Clothes Before Bed
Put a clothes wash on before you go to bed at night, and hang the clothes out to dry while your children are eating breakfast. Do this every day (or every other day, depending on the size of your family), and everyone will always have clean clothes to wear.
6. Put An Emergency Box In The Care
You can also make an emergency family box to keep in the car. Include a first aid kit, a few bottles of water, lots of baby wipes and a phone charger. This means you will never get caught short when you are out and about (whether you are with the kids or alone).
7. Automate Social Media
Do you use social media as part of you work? If so, make life easier by automating posts in advance. You can do this at the beginning of the week, and then all of your posts will go out automatically at the best possible time. There are lots of free websites that allow you to do this, such as Hootsuite, and it means you will have one less thing to worry about for the rest of the week.
8. Shop Online (And Don’t Forget To Double Up)
Lots of mums suggest doing the weekly family shop online, as this means you can relax on the sofa with a cup of tea while you do it (and you can also avoid busy crowds). If you decide to do this, we suggest doubling up on long-lasting items (such as toothpaste, shampoo and batteries), so that you don’t unexpectedly run out and have to pop to the shop during the week.
