Go get those goals and crush them!

As a mother I find myself multi tasking to a new level than before.  In some ways it is completely unavoidable especially if you have more than one child but in reading a book The ONE thing I am realizing how multi tasking makes me less productive.  It seems as though doing more than one task at once would be more productive but depending on what it is it can be harmful and create my brain to bog down and actually leave a bunch of uncompleted tasks left for me to stress about and leaves me feeling defeated at the end of the night.  I am starting to use my calendar in a whole new way and put on my calendar hour by hour by the most important things and my kids are put into that time as well.  I found that when I was trying to do things while caring for them it caused much frustration on my end and theirs.  Unless it is something that can be done quickly of course we can and have to do more than one thing as moms.  My kids are good at being able to join me with things and entertain themselves (the older ones) at times too when needed but I was finding it was becoming all the time that I was distracted and they were starting to get frustrated.  Here are some tips that I find helpful...

1.  Have a workspace separate from the main house.  When we had Ally we got rid of our office and had that be a room for her and I and then it became our wellness room.  At first I thought it worked to just have my computer and work area on the dining room table but I am finding that having all my papers out of site during the day is much easier for me to not feel the need to multi task and work while I am with the kids and rather  helps me feel I can do it when I have the allotted time and I am MUCH more productive with what I am working on.  My brain feels so much better being able to start AND finish a task rather than having to stop 500 times before finishing or being pulled away all together.  I put my office space in our bedroom and I love it!  I made it peaceful and calm in there and it is a great place for me to do my work and be able to shut the door and be by myself.  I love getting up in the morning and being able to get work done and doing some before bed .  The other day while Ally slept and the other 2 were at school I turned on the fireplace and sat in my comfy chair, sipped coffee and worked.  It was soooo nice.  And if Dustin were to stop home from work it would not distract me either.  It gives a boundry and allows him to know that if I am in there then unless it is really important to let me finish.

2.  Use your calendar and reminders on your phone!  I time block my entire day.  For instance today I time blocked out the time I spent with my kids.  For work I needed to get done and for all the things I need to do even if they seem small.  Put them in the calendar like an appointment and set an alert.  Otherwise they wont get done.  If I think of something while I am with the kids instead of feeling like I have to work on that at that time I grab my phone and set a reminder when I will have time and want to be reminded to do it.  At the end of the night I move anything over to the next day that did not get done.

3.  Add your TO DO list to your calendar like an appt.  I add it to my day at 7am.  In the notes section I add my to do list of the top 5 most important things that need done that I can tackle first thing that day.   As the day goes on I check the things off and add to it.  If need be I will move to the next day.  But be sure to be getting THE MOST IMPORTANT ones done first.

4.  Get plenty of rest!  I know as a mom this is so hard but I am trying to make sure to go to bed early more often than before so I can get up earlier to get my list done before the kids get up.  Sometimes I feel really productive at night and I will stay up but I try not to do too many late night since that is a bad habit of mine.  I am a night owl by nature but my kiddo's are up bright and early ready to go so after too many nights it takes its toll.

5.  Keep my phone away from me during times I want to focus and be productive.  Even time with my kids.  I love to take pictures so I am trying to be careful about getting distracted by my phone too often.   I am getting better at when seeing things come through managing them better and setting reminders and blocks of time to come back to those things that are not urgent.

6.  Make time for YOU in your calendar.  What do you do each day that makes you feel less stress and kicks you back in gear?  For me it is reading, quiet time and exercise.   I try to find a balance between those things to make sure that I am getting enough of each of them each day.  I try to make sure I  do not let myself go more than 3 days without exercise.  For me it is a release and makes me more productive.  I know that it can feel like with all we have to do we just do not have time but we don't have time not to if these are the things that make us feel alive, refreshed and creative.  This will allow you to be more productive.  It is too easy to allow day after day to go by and not take time for you.  Even if it is 30 min.  DO IT!

So with some simple changes this momma is starting to feel like my to do list is shrinking and that I can take a big sigh of relief.  I can not end this without giving many thanks to my hubby.  It is very helpful to have a husband who supports and aska how he can help me and I do the same for him.  This is a nice change from our ROLES we used to have for each other.  That is for another post... for now I will close by saying you got this!  Go get those goals and crush em!