Motherhood is not easy. It is beautiful, however very exhausting some times. And when you add on top of that going back to university, life can and will become chaotic. Oh, and if it happens to be a single mom, like me, then it sounds almost like a mission impossible. Almost. I manage somehow to make it through and keep myself sane, so that is why I want to share with you, few tips on how to schedule and plan your week. The tips apply also for mothers that are in relationships, but here it comes some advices from someone who is not in a relationship with the father of the kids.
Tip 1: Make a list with the things you need to do for the week ahead.
Every Sunday evening, after the kids go to bed (or very early on Monday morning – at 5 AM), I sit down on the couch and make a list with the things that I need to remember the week ahead. I have a notebook where I keep track of all my weeks. As I write this message now, this is the week 36 of this year. So, I use one page where I write everything I will be doing week 36. Now, I specifically mentioned one page. I try to keep the things I need to do to no more than 1 page. I am one person, I cannot literarily be doing everything. So, if there are too many things that I need to do, I look at them and try to see which ones are really important and need to be done as soon as possible. The rest I postpone for the next week, or sometime in the future.
When I started making this list, I would have super long lists with around 20-30 tasks. It was really overwhelming. I did write them down. Writing them down helps me to get them out of my head for a while. They are on the paper now. I can always come back and read them. What I did next was to look at all 30 tasks and ask myself “What will happen if I don’t do this task this week?” And if the answer was not pertinent and not painful enough, I would postpone it. Another questions I would ask was “Is this something that someone else could help me with?” If I would be able to delegate someone to do some of the tasks, that would also help a lot. But, as a single mom, that is not easy, and most of the time the answer to this questions is “nope, you’ll have to do it at some point”. I try to keep my list with the tasks for the week to 10-15 tasks per week. My goal would be to have it somewhere to 5-7, but I am not there yet. That is why I am called a busy mom.
Tip 2: Add some things you enjoy doing on your list. Make them a priority.
This one is extremely important. Nope, it is vital. In order to manage to function well, you need to dedicate some time for yourself. It is called “me time”. What is that you like to do? What is that relaxes you? What is that it makes you feel good about yourself? Write it down on the list of the tasks you have to do for the week. Next to doing the laundry, add also reading, going to dancing course, run, watch a movie, or whatever relaxes you. And make it a priority for you. This is something that you cannot postpone for the next week. Pick at least one activity. I like to read, write here, and train. I have a goal of training 5 times per week (20 minutes each time), read 5 times per week (even if it is 5 minutes per day), and write here at least 2 times per week. I am training home, as it is mandatory for me to do so, because of two reasons:
- Make me more energetic for the day. I start the day with 20 minutes exercise.
- Makes me feel attractive. After being pregnant with 2 kids, I went down 22 kilograms in 2 years. It was not an easy journey, but I did it, and I feel like I am 15 years old again. The way I feel now, makes me never wanting to go back at weighting that much.
So, make a separate list with the things that relaxes you, and add them on your weekly tasks.
Tip 3: Make a Schedule
I cannot see myself functioning without a schedule. There are too many things to keep in mind, things about kids, about school, about your finances, work, family, friends, your doctor’s appointments, kindergarten messages, or school. And now, due to the corona situation, a lot of new information about new restrictions come in every day.
Once you have the list of the tasks you are supposed to accomplish the week ahead, assign different days to them. Then, make a schedule for each of the days. Now, here, what I do, I like to make a schedule for each day, at the beginning of the day. I don’t make the schedule ahead for the next 5 days. That is because I am a mother, and sometimes I need to pick up the kids from school or kindergarten earlier than planned. I like to have some room to play with the tasks that I am supposed to do. Otherwise I would become frustrated if I couldn’t be able to keep my schedule.
Let me give you an example. In my weekly tasks list, I have written down that I need to do laundry on Wednesday. Now, if I were to make my schedule for the entire week on Monday (with specific hours and so), by the time I reach Wednesday, maybe 3 pm will not bit a good fit for me doing my laundry. My daughter got sick, so I had to pick her up from kindergarten on Tuesday. So, I was not able to study or work. That means I could do laundry on Tuesday instead, and move something to Wednesday instead.
Tip 4: Start the week with the things that you like the least.
The things I like the least, I plan them in the beginning of the week. I like to look forward for the weekends, so Fridays need to be as light as possible in terms of number of tasks. So, for me, laundry, and cleaning the house, are always scheduled in the beginning of the week. I know some friends who do cleaning during the weekend, but personally, I like to keep the weekend for fun activities. Now, if you could pay someone to come and help with the cleaning once a week, that is awesome. I am not there yet, but I can feel and see the need for it.
Leave a Reply