Juggling It All: Tools, Tips and Life Hacks - Part I

Balancing work and family life is a relentless challenge and probably the biggest hurdle for working moms – it certainly is my biggest hurdle.

Yet, I still (optimistically) think that it's achievable with the right strategies and tools in place. I scoured the internet, polled mom friends, and dug into my repertoire of tools to come up with the following as the essentials to help juggle all the things life requires of us. 

I ended up with a list of the top 10 and have broken it up into two parts to make it easier to digest. (Part II can be found here: link) Some of these are lifestyle shifts that may take time and some are quick tools to implement right now. Ultimately, everyone’s life and needs are different, so I encourage you to take what works for you and ignore the rest…

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Part I

Prioritize What is Important

First and foremost, identify your top priorities for work and home and focus on what truly matters and allocate time accordingly. What matters to me is spending my non-work time doing things with my family and friends. So a while ago I hired a house cleaner. Life hack it’s been one of the best things I’ve spent my money on in a very long time. Now, rather than cleaning on weekends and weeknights, I spend that time doing what’s more important. Bonus, I get to support a local, small business. I’ve also hired a local high school student to tend my yard in the summer. All these routine things are not things I absolutely need to do myself, so by hiring someone I’m able to reprioritize that time to what is most important.

Embrace Routine

Second, establish a daily routine for yourself and your family. Consistency breeds efficiency and reduces chaos. Routine is especially good for younger kids because it lets them understand where the day is and anticipate what is to come. Use a family calendar, set timers, write it on a piece of paper, put it on your phone. Whatever you need to do to create the routine. If I know what is coming next, I don’t waste time trying to remember the basics because they’re ingrained as part of our routine.

Efficient Planning

Use calendars, planners, or apps to organize tasks, appointments, and deadlines - whatever works for you. Utilize a family calendar, like the Skylight, so everyone has the schedule information (and isn’t asking you all the time!!) I also spend time on Sunday prepping food (washing fruit and veggies), planning out the weekly schedules (who needs to be where and when) and creating my own workout routine. The Savvy Sparrow blog has a great article about creating a Sunday Routine.

Leverage Technology Tools

There are a whole collection of apps and websites available to help manage life. I use the Out of Milk app for my grocery shopping and share the list with my family so they can add things to the list themselves. I use Amazon Subscribe & Save for household goods that I need regularly and I don’t even have to think about them. Plus there’s usually a discount per item for buying with Subscribe & Save. 

Set Boundaries

Establish boundaries between work and personal life. Set “off” hours to disconnect and recharge. I once had a mentor tell me, she does work after hours, but not until the kids go to bed. She didn’t sacrifice her time with her family for her job. I’d take it a step further and add “and only when necessary.”

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Read Part II of Juggling It All: Tools, Tips and Life Hacks here.

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