Why is it so hard to get things done every day? Oh right, because as soon as you start a task, the kids need you for something. Most parents struggle with daily tasks and errands. In fact, it may seem like you are constantly putting things off until tomorrow, next week or next month. We’ve been there and we have eight great tips to help you overcome procrastination and make everyday a productive one.
Wake up fifteen minutes earlier
If you are like me, your day starts when the kid’s day starts. So why not start your day fifteen minutes earlier and use this time to get something done without the kids hanging off your back? You may be surprised at how much you can get done during fifteen minutes of uninterrupted time (a load of washing in, dishwasher unloaded, breakfast prepared, and coffee made). These tasks can take several minutes or more when you are constantly being distracted by the kids.
Don’t take on too much. I have started only tackling one load of laundry and one ‘household chore’ each day rather than trying to do it all once or twice a week. This means you are only spending a small portion of time doing the work and it still gets done.
Find your productive time during the day
Everyone has a time during the day when their creative juices are flowing and when they are the most productive and energized. For me, this is early morning. Find your productive time and work with it.
Keep the phone hidden
How many hours in a day do you spend texting, checking Facebook, playing games or talking to people on the phone? If I did a total tally I think the number would shock me! So avoid distractions by keeping the phone out of sight until you have completed the tasks. Sure, you may miss a couple of text messages or a status update but they will still be there in a couple of hours when you are done.
Plan for distractions
You have your day all planned out. However, your plan to be out the door at 8am goes astray when your littlest throws his entire breakfast on the kitchen floor. Now you have to spend fifteen minutes cleaning up the mess and are once again late, rushed and stressed. So plan ahead. Expect this to happen and if it doesn’t, then use this extra fifteen minutes to do something fun with the kids.
Embrace mess
Many mums waste a lot of time everyday cleaning up their children’s mess. In fact, if you are like me, you would clean up toys at least five or six times every day. Try letting the house stay messy for the entire day and only picking up the toys and putting items away once. Or, better still, train your children to pick up one mess before making another one.
Find your passion
One of the hardest things about completing chores, especially tedious ones, is that there is no passion at the end. So look at these chores in different lights and try to find a reason to complete them. Bringing the passion back to folding laundry can be a little tricky but try re-organizing your closet. Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to keep it looking as clean as it is after you have done this task. Can you do it?
Jenna Galley
Response to “7 Easy Ways to Be More Productive in Life”
I am setting the alarm that 15mins earlier next week – thanks Jenna!