Top 5 Time Management Tips for Busy Families

We are often asked “How can we find more time with our kids?” Here are More Time Moms top five time saving tips to help you with your busy family.

1.  Plan your week:  Just as we do at work, we need a plan to be effective at home. Otherwise the stress of running from one thing to another leaves us exhausted at the end of the day, scratching off our To Do list, only to keep adding things to the bottom.  The best way to plan for your family is to sit down at the beginning of each week with an extra large calendar. Spend a few minutes thinking about how you would like your week to be and schedule those things that will make it so. If you can see it, you can do it. The original extra large Family Organizer  is the best tool for this job. Schedule family time first and create an Important Things list at the beginning of each month to prioritize your time and keep your life in balance.

2.  Schedule one Activity per week and don’t forget Mom and Dad.  It is important to start filling the calendar with important things first. Start by scheduling one activity per week per person that is important to them and then continue adding important items.  The calendar will fill up quickly so make sure to schedule family time and personal time for Mom and Dad. Choose your activities with intention and limit your selections to the important or you will soon be running in several directions with no time to spare.

3.  Grocery Shop Once a Week: Planning a weekly menu and shopping once a week will save you lots of time and money. It will also help you eat more healthfully and reduce mealtime stress.  Start by choosing a time each week to sit down and plan your week of healthy family menus. Let the family choose some of the meals, find healthy recipes for their choices, build your grocery list, go to the grocery store and shop for the week.  Bonus! Delegate as much of the actual meal preparation and grocery shopping as you can to find even more time.

You can find meal organizers, menu planning pads and family cookbooks  to help you every step of the way. You can also find plenty of free recipes for healthy, economical family meals on the internet and at www.moretimemoms.com. Make meal time family time, ask for help, involve everyone in the process and eat together for family dinners as often as you can.

4.  A Little Bit Every Day for Everyone: Maintaining the family home can be very time consuming and overwhelming.  Do these few simple things daily to keep the housework from becoming overwhelming and clutter taking over your space; Put on a load of laundry, clean the kitchen sink and pick up at the end of every day.  Make everyone accountable for their own self by picking up after themselves and delegate age-appropriate chores.  Soon it will become a habit and this will make the weekly chores more manageable.

5. Take One Day Off A Week. Encourage everyone to unplug once a week and to spend time with each other. Technology has taken over many households and screen time can eat up valuable family time.  Use the day to do fun family things where no one is asking (nagging) to get things done. Spend the day doing things as a family or in small groupings: father/son, mother/daughter etc. Include family outings and playtime. Some one-on-one time with each child should become a priority and will go a long way to building a good family and great family memories.

For more time saving tips and tools for parents, visit www.moretimemoms.com

Patricia Lalonde is the mother of three boys and a Director for Mom Time Moms Publishing Inc, the creators of the original and #1 best-selling Family Organizer. More Time Moms creates tools to help busy families organize their lives so they can spend more time together.