Tips to help you be a productive stay at home Mom boss

Hey blog fam. Welcome back. Glad to have you here. So today, I will be sharing how I get productive as a mom schooling and working from home.

I am currently studying for my Masters degree in Berlin, Germany. I have a 1 year old son who is super active and always on the move. He is yet to start creche and so he is mostly home all day.

My husband on the other hand, works from home due to the pandemic and is mostly in meetings. So due to this, I am left with myself to run around with my son.

Having a child is a totally different phase as one has to also combine it with life’s goals and ambition. I decided to find a way around this as the days are turning into weeks and weeks into months. Coming up with a productive schedule was the only way to make sure I got things done.

Another reason why I had to come up with a productive schedule is because, before now, my son will take 3 naps during the day and so I had time to go back to lectures I missed and also do other things. However, as he grew older and moving towards his 12 months mark, he dropped his last nap and was sleeping for the day 2 times. Recently, he dropped another nap and now sleeps once during the day and so I am mostly busy entertaining him (which i love to do) or going out for walks with him.

Productive moments for me are times when I can focus fully on a particular project at a time without distractions. Yes, there are times I could do stuff like listen to my favorite productive mom podcast while I sort laundry or even while I do my early morning workout. However, having a few minutes of the day to really focus is so important to me.

Due to this, the only time I have to focus on other things is when my baby is asleep which has now shortened as he grows older.

Being a productive mom is really important to me as it makes me focus on certain goals within a particular period of time. It also helps me see the progress I have made and how much work needs to be done. Having a schedule also helps me not lose myself as it gives me something to look forward to. 

Also, children thrive and really love routines, for example, sleep schedule, meals and snack routine and time to go for walks in the evening.

Coming up with a productive schedule was not hard at all. Infact, it was pretty easy as it was what we were used to doing but now with timelines.

This was how I came up with my productive mom schedule (you can always adapt it, change it here and there to look like what can work for you).

Firstly, I wrote down the activities we are involved in, right from getting up from the bed in the morning to having a shower and on to having breakfast as a family. I also wrote down the days I intend catching up on lectures, days dedicated to working on my blog and days dedicated to working on another project.

Then I went on to put the time of the day that these events were going to be taking place. I called my Macro schedule. It contains events, day by day, that we intend to engage in. And so, with this, I do not need to think about what I need to be doing as I already have it written down.

With this Macro schedule, everyday, at the end of the day, I review what has been done, what was left undone and note it down. 

As the day winds up, I look at my schedule for the next day and then come up with a to-do list for the next day which includes unfinished tasks and also new ones. This has worked for me so well that it's just on auto cruise, lol. 

Being a stay at home mom is definitely not easy and it can be quite stressful. These are tips that can help you stay productive while caring for your little one. 

Prioritize sleep

Yeah, this sounds funny but having a good night's sleep is really important for a productive day. I aim to sleep for at least 6 to 7 hours, from 12 midnight to 6 or 7am. If for any reason, I have less than that, I am definitely going to take a cap nap during the day. The reason is because I go to bed really late and right before my bedtime is my most productive part of the day and so, it is really important for me to stay awake till then.

Do exercise in the morning, no matter how little

Taking at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week to workout has really helped me a lot. It means that before the day kicks off fully, I am taking time to choose myself by exercising my body. It also helps to wake me up fully, especially on days I had very little sleep.

Take a shower, get ready for the day.

Best believe that the day I choose not to take a shower first thing in the morning, which is usually on weekends, ends up to be really laid back for me which is not bad in itself. On days that I intend to hit the ground running, which is on most days, I make sure I take a shower at least and get ready for the day. Working from home has made things really flexible but I believe that the mindset to work has to be set so as to achieve much more.

Do not add too much to your schedule or to-do list

As much as having a schedule helps to be a productive mom, try not to add too many tasks to each day. Remember, we have to factor in flexibility due to the fact that little members of the family are involved.

Do not be ashamed to ask for help

I am that lady who likes to form Miss Independent. My husband knows it. However, since having my baby, I have learnt to ask for help even though I still need to work on asking for help sooner than I do now but yeah, you get the point. I have learnt that I do not have to do everything myself and so even for my Son’s first birthday, the food for the birthday was not prepared by me and was even brought in the next day. Asking for help does not mean you are weak, heck, it means you are strong as you are self aware and know that you need help before you break down.

I will like to end this by saying, there are lots of Moms out there, all over the world, multitasking and being a badass mom just like you and so, you are not alone.

Talk to you soon.

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