I’ve always been the type to utilize productivity tools to make my life more efficient and easy, but it wasn’t until I became a mother that I truly understood just how necessary these tools would be for me. Motherhood has been a juggling act like I’ve never imagined. Don’t get me wrong, motherhood has been so beautiful and has taught me so much about myself, but trying to manage family time, work, social life, household responsibilities and creative endeavors on top of now caring for and raising a baby, is a lot.
When I was brainstorming some fresh topic ideas for blog posts, I knew I was going to have a lot to say about productivity and organization, especially the productivity and organization hacks for working moms {Hello, it’s me!} Some of these tools I’ve been utilizing pre-baby but now they’re even more helpful than ever before. So, without further ado let’s dive in shall we?
Organization Tools
These are the primary tools I use to keep me organized {and sane!}
iCal Sharing – This one isn’t a groundbreaking tool or hack per se but it’s been a game-changer when it comes to keeping track of our schedules and appointments throughout our family. I set up sharing with my husband and we’re both alerted when things are added to the calendar. Now if only I could get him to remember to update it on the regular and we’d be golden.
Reminders + Notes app – This is another productivity and organization hack that I have been using well before I became a mom but it’s even more helpful now! I use the reminders and notes apps that are built into my iPhone but there are a lot of other good ones out there. So let’s get specific for a second, I have more lists than I probably need but I like to categorize everything! Here’s a few of the lists I have in my Reminders
- Grocery Store List – This Reminder list is shared with Drew so he can add to it as well
- Today – Things I need to be reminded to do for that specific day – errands, calls to make, etc..
- Brain Dump – Every.Mom.Needs.This.List! I use this just as it sounds, a dump. If I have a thought, idea, or something I need to quickly capture, I’m dumping it here and then organizing it to a more appropriate category later.
- Ruskin Reminders – I really should call this one “Honey Do List” because it’s all the things I need to remind my husband to take care of. LOL!
- Gisele – This one houses all my to-dos and reminders that center around our daughter. If she needs more diapers or a reminder to schedule an appointment with her doctor, it’s going in this list.
I have so many more lists {like 30 more! I’m psycho, I know} but these are just a few of the main ones I use. Seriously, I create lists for everything, and helps me feel like I have more sanity and control of all the things swirling around in my head.
{Pictured: some of my favorite success and healthy mindset books that I love to read when I’m feeling in a slump. From left to right: I Know How She Does It // 100 Ways to Change Your Life // How to Make it Happen // Dream Year}
As far as my Notes app, this is where I categorize notes and details for various things in my life. For instance, one note I currently have is labeled Blog. Anytime I have an inspiration or see an image that inspires me, I paste it all there. It’s more like a journal or a notepad. It’s not always a list but maybe just a series of thoughts, some screenshots, or even a voice recording. I also use the Notes section to brainstorm outfit details for vacation and add images. It’s like a notepad meets scrapbook.
Google Photos. This is another one that’s not really groundbreaking but it’s helped to free up space on my phone and keep my photos organized. I go in once a month and organize my new photos and clean out any that are duplicates. I highly recommend being intentional about taking time to do this because it keeps it manageable.
Utilizing my alarms. Let’s be real, we have all ignored calendar alerts and reminders but you can’t ignore the blaring sound of an alarm. When I have a very important call that I need to make or I need to need to remember to do something right at a specific time, I set my alarm and label it specifically. For example, if I need to remember to call my mom at 1 p.m., my alarm is going off at 12:50 and it says “Call Mom”. It’s that simple and it works.
Smart Watch. I normally wouldn’t suggest yet another thing that has you feeling connected but in this case, it’s such an efficient tool in my productivity arsenal. So remember those lists and reminders I was telling you about? Well I use my watch to add things to them in the moment, when my phone is not nearby. For instance, I open the refrigerator and see that we are low on milk, I press the button on my watch and tell Siri to “add milk to Grocery store list” Additionally, I use my smart watch to send texts in the moment when I’m thinking about something and know I’ll forget. There have been many afternoons where I was playing in the playpen with my daughter and realized I needed to text my husband and I’m able to do it without picking up my phone and compromising my time with her. It’s a game changer.
Productivity Hacks
These are the primary. hacks and systems I have in place that help me to execute and keep everything balanced and moving.
Timing myself. I hate doing household chores, so much so, that I’ll put off the tedious tasks for days and days. But I learned a trick from a fellow content creator recently that she would time herself unloading the dishwasher or folding laundry to see just how long it took her. When she realized the dishwasher only took 3 minutes at most, she started pushing through. I thought that was the most clever way to talk yourself into doing the tedious stuff. It works, let me tell you. Everytime I find myself trying to find a way to get around doing something, I think, “it’s only 2 minutes. Marie. Stop being ridiculous”. You guys, this works!
Making it a competition. So remember how I said I hate doing household chores? It sucks even worse when I want to be doing something creative but unfortunately for me, I also don’t work well in a cluttered, messy home so my need to tidy is necessary. I’ve learned that the days of me cleaning my house on the weekend for 3-4 hours are behind me. I decided I could be more efficient by doing cleaning sprints throughout the week. This is how it looks, I set a timer for 30 minutes, take a look at the list of things I want to tidy, and see how many I can check off in that amount of time. If I don’t check all of them, no fret, because it carries over to the next day. This helps to keep things tidy all week so that by the time the weekend comes around, the need for deep cleaning is minimal.
Using a physical planner. I know this one seems counterintuitive since you’d be essentially doubling your work by putting stuff in your phone and planner, but for me, and most other people I’ve talked to, writing it down helps. I look at my phone as a backup to my planner. It has the essentials (WHO, WHAT, WHERE, etc..) but the planner has more notes other stuff to go along with it. Plus, I can speak for virtually every other women when I say, I just feel like I have my life together when I have a great planner.
Time blocking my day. I’ll admit, I’m still working on mastering this one because I can get very distracted BUT the effort is there and most of the time, I’m very successful at this. Pretty much, you block off a small section of time on your calendar or just in your mind, where you’re going to focus on one task and one task ONLY. I believe this is a skill that you have to build up so don’t feel bad if it’s hard to do at first, I’m still struggling as well some days. Here’s a few things I time block:
- Checking emails and cleaning out my inboxes
- Cleaning the house
- Writing and doing deep creative work
- Reading – this one is my work-in-progress category.
- Family time – this one is so important!
Utilizing Focus + Do Not Disturb Mode. Years ago I used to think it was rude to screen a call and let it go to voicemail. I was so worried if I ignored someone, they would know and hate me {I know it’s cringe.} As I’ve gotten older and wiser, I realize its necessary for all parties. If you answer a call when you’re spending time with family, you’re taking away from that moment. Additionally, when you do answer the call you’re likely not going to be giving your full attention to the caller either. I find that if I need to ignore a call, especially from family, I do my best to text them soon after letting them know I’ll get back to them later. It’s a simple gesture that gives me peace of mind but allows me to stay present in the moment.
Habit Stacking. If you’ve ever read a productivity book {by the way, I totally recommend this one, and this one} then you’ve heard this term before. Habit stacking is one of my most favorite productivity and organization hacks for working moms because you are literally doing multiple good habits at once. And no, I don’t mean multitasking! This looks like, listening to your favorite podcasts or audio books while taking your baby for an evening walk. Or it looks like filling your tumbler with water and setting it by your workstation so you’re constantly getting your water intake in and you don’t have to miss a beat with your work. It’s finding ways to do multiple habits at one time.
Schedule a monthly planning day. I usually plan mine for around the end of the month. I sit down and look at the month ahead. I schedule all mandatories and then build out my calendar from there. It can be as detailed as you want but it helps me to see what’s ahead. For instance, if I see my best friend’s birthday is next month, do I need to buy a gift? This productivity and organization hack really makes me feel like I got my life together! I find that using fun, colorful pens makes it even more fun. I love these ones because they don’t bleed onto the next page of my planner. {My planner girlies know this is key!}
Meal planning. Again, not groundbreaking but I need to include it because it works. On Friday I look at my husband’s schedule for the next week and determine the meals that we’ll make for lunches and dinners the following week. I alternate between more elaborate dinners, {because he insists on needing meat with virtually every meal} and easy, simple meals {to keep my sanity.} On Saturday I make my grocery list and place a grocery pickup order for that day or on Sunday. Grocery shopping is one of the household chores that I loathe so by the time I get home from my pickup and have to put it all away, the prepping is minimal. I’ll usually make up Gisele’s lunches for the sitter and breakfasts for a few days and then throughout the rest of the week, I do mini prepping. Those people who prep for an entire Sunday afternoon are just built different, and I’m not one of them. LOL!
Practice the Ivy Lee Method. I learned about this from one of my favorite bloggers and content creators. She practices it daily and I was intrigued by her success she’s had while doing it. I had to try and here’s what it’s all about. TLDR version: write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. No more. Prioritize them in order of true importance. The next day, start on the first task and don’t start the second one until you finish the first one. Whatever tasks are left over from the day, you carry over to the next day.
Utilizing grayscale on my phone. This one works great at night but also during the day too! Remember I said, I can get easily distracted? Well by easily distracted, I meant, by my phone and scrolling social media {I know, bad habit.} Switching my phone to grayscale instantly decreases the appeal. Everything is gray. No color, just…gray. I switch my phone to grayscale at night when I’m about to go to bed {and I want to avoid scrolling} or when I’m doing some deep focused work and don’t want to be tempted to pick up my phone. It’s made such a difference in my mindless scrolling and I’m so happy I discovered it. Here’s how you can do it on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut > Colors. Once, that’s configured, the side button on the right turns it off and on with three clicks. It’s really that simple!
In an effort to simplify, I’m going to stop here. I think too many tips can actually become counterproductive in this space. I believe that if you can find your core productivity and organization hacks that work for you, that’s all that matters. Everyone’s lives and schedules are so different therefore this is not a one-size-fits-all approach. I do hope you can take away at least one of these tips to implement in your life. I promise you’ll be happy you did.
Cheers to a more efficient, organized life!
If you loved this post, please visit my Amazon storefront where I’ve linked some of my favorite productivity and organization tools that you will find so useful. As always, your support means the world to me.
♥ Speaking of tips, if you work from home, you may benefit from a few of these as well.
♥♥ If you’re the organizing type, these tips for packing for a vacation will make your heart sing.
