Working Outside The Home
When I started to get my act together, I was working outside of the home. Believe me it was hard to maintain my home and family responsibilities while I was ‘working for the man’. But I found balance – IT CAN BE DONE!
There are 5 things that every mom, whether working outside of the home or not, need to do. I think of them as my tools for home and family management. They are:
- Develop daily routines – if you work outside the home, develop a before work, an after work, and a bedtime routine. (recommended reading: How To Succeed at Becoming Organized)
- Keep a calendar – list everything on that calendar. Appointments, games, etc. Even include any work activities that will impact your home life. Having this info all in one place will help you better plan your week. Especially helpful for the next tool.
- Check today what is going on tomorrow – know before what is up for the following day before going to bed. Start your day out right. Make lunch, get dinner out of the freezer, etc.
- Develop a weekly routine. Assign a specific task for you to accomplish each day instead of trying to do it all. For example, dust and vacuum Monday; pay bills and handle paperwork Tuesday; etc. etc.
- Meal Plan – one of our primary responsibilities as a wife and mother is to nourish our loved ones. Food is a very important part of our lives – heck, that’s why the Food Network exists. Planning the week’s meals ahead of time will accomplish 2 things: A) Only going to the grocery store once and always having what is needed in the fridge, freezer and pantry. B)You can plan quick and easy meals for the days that will be extra busy. (recommended resources: Meal Planning for Busy Moms ebook or Dine Without Whine – s family friendly weekly menu service)
Once these routines are in place, and you have begun to effectively use these tools, you will find extra time on your hands. These pockets of time can be used to tackle organization projects. Use this time to organize your closet; sort and purge your kid’s clothing; maybe straighten out your holiday decorations.
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Written on May 27th, 2008 at 3:36 am by Cara
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