Creating a Stay at Home Mom Schedule

Being a stay at home mom can sometimes feel like you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off. You know you have a million things to get done but you just can’t figure out where to start or when. Then there are days where you have too much time on your hands so you decide to relax and watch t.v. or talk on the phone and before you know it, it’s bedtime and you got nothing accomplished. It can be hard to stay on track, motivated and organized as a stay at home mom. But, the best way to do it is with a good stay at home mom schedule. It gives you something to commit to and gives you focus and purpose.

Every night, sit down and make a list of all of the things you need to accomplish the next day. Also, it helps to estimate how long the activity will probably take you so that you know how much you can realistically get done in a day.

If the things you need to do are large projects, don’t write down the main project. Write down each individual task so that it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. Be sure to organize and group together anything you will need to complete a task so it is all ready to go once you decide to work on it.

My typical stay at home mom schedule checklist looks something like this:

• Clean – 60 min.
• Workout – 45 min.
• Work on Blog – 120 min.
• Study – 60 min.
• Make phone calls – 30 min.
• Total – 5 hours, 15 min.

These are just my general categories. To keep myself even more on track, I break these into sections. For example, cleaning would be broke into the specific areas of the house or projects I plan to do that day.

*Keep in mind, these are just things that I need to do for ME. This doesn’t include normal mommy stuff like reading, baths, cooking, etc.

When you make your schedule, it’s never going to come close to working if you don’t choose the times of day for each activity wisely. There is not one set schedule that will work with every stay at home mom or even every child. If you had a certain schedule with your previous child and now have a new baby, you will need a new schedule.

Think about the times of day that your child takes their naps, is the most cranky or happiest. And don’t forget to note the same things about yourself. You will want to think about when you are typically hungry, when you are at your most energetic and when you are typically the most lethargic. These things will impact how productive you are. Plan to do the tasks you don’t enjoy as much during the times where you are more energetic and can focus more. Save the more fun tasks for the times when you don’t really want to do anything.

I have found myself to be most productive when I split things up into short sessions. It keeps me moving and I don’t burn out on one activity. For example, I clean for about and hour per day. Also, since I work from home as a writer, I also spend somewhere around 2 hours per day doing things relating to that. So, when my daughter sleeps, I clean and work. I set a timer and clean for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, I reset it for 30 minutes and start working on my writing. I then keep rotating through until my daughter wakes up from her nap or until I have completed what I needed to do. This helps with my mommy ADHD too.

I feel this is the best way to avoid finishing only one activity if she wakes up early or something comes up. This way, I get a little of everything done and feel accomplished every time my timer goes off. In my schedule I’m going to list this rotation as “clean/write”. You can use this technique with everything that needs to get done (other than errands of course). Sometimes, if my house is clean, I replace cleaning with working out. I’ll do lunges, or push ups, sit ups, etc. There is always a way to fit in everything you would like to get done. You would be shocked at what you can accomplish in 10 or 15 minutes.

• Go to bed at a set time.
• Set your alarm and wake up at a set time (do not press snooze).
• Tackle the things you hate doing first and get them out of the way.
• Decide when you will work (I try to act as if it is a normal job- I plan most of my schedule during the 9 to 5 hours.)
• Do not procrastinate, your husband/kids are very strict bosses.