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When you are a Mum, your time is… well… non-existent! So if I asked you to take an hour every week to plan your time in order to SAVE you even more time, you’d perhaps think I was too much of an idealist.

And I get that.

But I’m urging you to try this! See for yourself. I promise you will make back more than that hour spent planning!

So let’s dive in so I can tell you more and you can get cracking on giving it a go (honestly, just try it, you won’t be disappointed!).

1. Create a weekly agenda

First things first; create a weekly agenda.

This is a schedule or calendar that outlines all your appointments, to-dos, and commitments for the week ahead for your entire family. Whether you prefer a digital calendar or a physical planner is up to you, just make sure it’s easily accessible and visible to everyone who needs it (which might include your kids if they are teenagers).

Start by listing all your daily and weekly tasks, such as school drop-offs and pick-ups, clubs & after school activities, and work schedules.

Next, add to-dos to each day’s time slots based on priorities. Make sure to include tasks such as gym days, grocery shopping, cleaning, and of course… TIME FOR YOURSELF! (this one is extra important!)

Get a clear understanding of everything you need to accomplish to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

This is the skeleton of your day, week and month, and it’s super important to get right and be clear on.

2. Meal prep

Meal prepping not only saves time and helps you plan healthier meals, it takes away another decision during your day.

Ever heard of decision fatigue? As Mums, we hit this wall HARD! Steve Jobs of Apple allegedly wears the same outfit every single day so that he can put his brain power towards creating better iPhones for us instead of wasting his genius on an outfit.

You may not be totally on board with meal planning (I never was) but there are many ways to meal prep, including preparing meals in advance and freezing them, and preparing ingredients like veggies, cooked meat, and grains for the week ahead. Or if you prefer something slightly more manageable, simply deciding for the week ahead what you will have for dinner will still significantly reduce your mental load.

No more “what on earth shall I do for dinner tonight?!”

3. Schedule in self care

Don’t laugh! I can almost hear what you’re thinking…!

But the only way you can even hope to get some time to yourself is if you actually PLAN for it.

It’s easy to get caught in the trap of putting everyone else first, but it’s essential to prioritise your self-care if you want to be productive and avoid burnout. We all know this, but for some reason we find it so hard to actually implement.

Having kids doesn’t have to mean you give up your self care, but you may just have to dedicate specific time to your hobbies, interests, or simply relaxing instead.

Ultimately, setting aside time for yourself will help clear your mind, reduce stress and promote better mental and emotional health.

When we do this, we show up better for our kids.

Don’t feel guilty about it; you deserve it!

4. Find YOUR way to complete necessary tasks

Some people get up before their kids to spend time on their self care or get things done, and if that works for you then brilliant.

But what if your kids are up and at ’em at 5am?! Should you get up at 4am?! (If that’s a choice you make then you’re more motivated than I am!).

Just because everyone tells you to get up before your kids, that doesn’t mean it will work for you.

Find your own routine & best working time. You might have to take a detailed look at your family life & timeframes to work this out, and it will look different for everybody, but once you find the sweet spot you will be able to make your week run more smoothly.

5. Set up a command centre

This is one of the best ways to get organised as a busy family and solve the never ending stress and hassle that family life can sometimes bring us.

I have a post all about this HERE, so I’ll leave you to read that instead of going into too much detail here.

It’s well worth a read though, as it was probably the easiest change that had the best impact upon our family life and how easily our week ran.

6. Stay tidy with toy & book rotations

When you have kids, toys left across every surface is pretty much to be expected.

This is always hard to deal with as a parent. You want your kids to enjoy themselves and expand their minds with all the brilliant toys they own, but you also don’t want to feel like you live in a nursery.

Kids will only focus on a certain number of toys at a time, so having fewer toys out as an option can help them focus and play more intensely with their toys.

I have a post about book rotations HERE, and another post on toy rotations HERE, that will help you to find out more about how this might benefit you and how to implement them in your home.

Again, this is well worth considering and makes tidying up super simple (so simple, even your toddler can achieve it alone).

7. Liaise with your partner or other caregivers

For life to run smoothly, this one is super important.

If your partner doesn’t understand your family systems or have an overview of the schedule then you are going to be swimming against the current!

If you have a hook by the front door to keep all the keys, then don’t expect them to follow this unless you tell them it’s what you’d like your family to do, and get them on board with it.

Importantly, don’t forget that your partner is supposed to be your equal, so you should not only check that the systems you want to put in work for them too, but also find out if they have any sticking points of their own that you could address together, and find out if they have any creative solutions to things!

Go over your weekly schedule ahead of time with them too so you both know what you’re expecting and who will be doing that school pick up. Spending just 10 minutes once a week to look at the schedule for the week ahead can pick up those “I thought you were taking the cat to the vet?!” moments!

8. Split the organising responsibilities

Just because you are the Mum, that doesn’t mean that you have to run the house.

Is your partner more organised than you? Then maybe they can take the lead on the household stuff.

At the very least, make sure you aren’t doing ALL OF THE THINGS.

You can’t do everything perfectly all the time, and if you think you can and try to, you’ll either fail or burn out. Neither of those options are brilliant.

So make sure that your partner is doing their fair share. And remember that ‘fair’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘equal’. Discover where the balance is for you both as a couple and as individuals with your own strengths and weaknesses.

9. Create a cleaning rota

Ugh I love a cleaning rota.

I implemented this at home after we had to follow one at work. I just realised that it took the “thinking” out of cleaning.

Now, instead of thinking “when did I last clean the bathroom?” I know that I always clean the bathroom on a Saturday.

And instead of spending half a day cleaning the house, I now spend 10-20 minutes each day cleaning something different.

Splitting up the cleaning like this means that I don’t have as much to do, so it’s easier for me to motivate myself to do it (nobody wants to get motivated for 5 hours of cleaning on a Sunday afternoon, right?!).

10. Digital, synchronised calendars

There are so many of these, but in our household we use the Google calendar.

It’s an app, you both download it and sign into it, and any updates you make are shown instantly to other members.

You can even make multiple calendars, so there can be things that you share with your partner/kids/parents etc, and also things that you choose only you to view.

Synchronised calendars are perfect for parents who both work, and only see each other when they hand over childcare responsibilities for the other to go to work (like us ).

Final thoughts

Planning for the week ahead as a busy mum may sound daunting, but it’s essential if you want to avoid being completely overwhelmed and stressed out. Finding a solution for that overwhelm can help you to show up as a more patient Mum with her sh*t together!

With these tips, I hope that you too can efficiently plan for the week ahead.

Most importantly, remember to prioritize self-care in your schedule, so you don’t burn out; it’s so easy to forget yourself Mama, but please don’t!

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