Time Management Means Managing One’s Own Routine: 7 Effective Strategies To Create a Daily Routine

Meet Lisa – a mother and a hardworking lawyer.

Lisa’s life is a whirlwind of court appearances, client meetings, school drop-offs, grocery runs and bedtime stories. She was juggling a demanding job with household responsibilities, with no help at hand. The balancing act was starting to take a toll on her, as she felt tired all the time, guilty for not spending enough time with her kids or partner, rescheduling night outs with school friends and more.

However, Lisa’s story takes a turn for the better, when she discovers the art of effective time management.

Lisa’s story echoes the struggles and triumphs of countless working moms striving to keep up with their professional responsibilities while nurturing their families. This relentless juggle can often leave you – a hardworking mom – feeling overwhelmed, stressed and less effective in both personal and professional lives.

The crux of Lisa’s transformation, and this article, lies in a fundamental truth – time management is less about managing time and more about managing one’s own routine.

By learning how to prioritize tasks, delegate effectively, establish boundaries, embrace flexibility and carve out some time for herself, Lisa revolutionized her routine and, by extension, her life.

In the following sections, we will explore in detail the challenges that working moms like Lisa face and the time management strategies they can employ to overcome them.

By taking control of your routine, you can not only enhance productivity but also strike a harmonious balance between work and family life.

Challenge here is being a working mom

Being a working mom entails a plethora of roles that demand simultaneous attention. From being a professional at work to being a nurturer at home, and often playing the role of a spouse, a cook, a chauffeur, a tutor and a nurse in between.

The list is endless and if you feel I am being dystopian, let me assure you I am just being truthful.

There are days when I feel like a ferry service, picking and dropping both my daughters from schools at different times for different activities. Since it’s usually on Saturdays, when the school is supposedly closed, my frustration is at its zenith!

But I realize, and so do all of you, that each role, each task, is important and demands a significant amount of time and effort. And that time must be allocated to them.

Besides having to accomplish these very hands-on tasks you may face additional challenges such as:

• Dealing with societal pressures and expectations about your roles both at work and home.
• Managing physical and mental fatigue from trying to ‘do it all.’
• Feeling guilty for not spending enough time with children.
• Feeling guilty for not being fully present at work.

The inability to manage all these emotions often leads to feelings of overwhelm, stress and inadequacy both at home and at work.

However, mastering the art of time management so that you can manage your own routine effectively can help navigate through these challenges more smoothly. Yeah, it’s never perfect and always a work in progress.

How effective time management strategies can help

When done correctly, effective time management can bring about several benefits for working moms:

1. Enhancing productivity and efficiency: When you plan your day and allocate time to your tasks, you are more likely to complete them in a timely and efficient manner. This reduces the chance of missing deadlines or rushing through tasks.
2. Balancing work and family life: Time management allows you to set boundaries between your work and personal life, giving you the ability to devote quality time to both areas without encroaching on the other.
3. Reducing stress and improving mental health: Knowing what needs to be done and having a plan to achieve it can significantly reduce feelings of stress and overwhelm. It gives you a sense of control over your life, which can improve your overall mental health.
4. Achieving career goals while fulfilling family responsibilities: With proper time management, you can continue to progress in your career without neglecting your family responsibilities. It allows you to fulfill your role as a mom and a professional effectively.

So now let’s dive into what strategies we need to implement for creating an effective daily routine.

The only time management strategies you need to implement

As a working mom you can utilize a variety of strategies to manage your time effectively.

Here I discuss the most critical ones, without which it would be challenging to create an effective daily routine.

#1. Prioritization

The first step to effective time management is understanding what tasks are important and focusing on them. This involves ranking your tasks based on their urgency and importance.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a great tool for this, dividing tasks into four categories: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important.

Focus your time and energy on the tasks that are both urgent and important, and plan to do the important but not urgent tasks.

#2. Scheduling and planning

Planning your day, week or even month in advance can help ensure that you have sufficient time for all your activities.

Use tools such as calendars, planners and apps to schedule your tasks. Establish a consistent routine to help automate certain decisions, saving you time and energy. For instance, if you always go for walks between 5 and 6 pm on weekends, it becomes a no-brainer that you will not do anything else during that time. Unless it’s really a matter of life and death!

I am a big fan of recurring tasks in my calendar as well to-do app.

Did I manage LinkedIn posting and engagement schedule on all these days as planned?

No.

But I managed on most of the days. May be sometimes delayed, but I did. And I take that to be a win. Because without that, I would be hugely inconsistent on LinkedIn, the only social media platform I am active on.

#3. Delegation

You don’t have to do everything yourself. Period.

Delegate tasks whenever possible, both at home and at work. At home, get family members involved in household chores. At work, see if certain tasks can be handled by team members.

If you don’t believe in delegating work, fearing sub-par output or simply because you feel it’s your responsibility, read this article I wrote on importance of delegation NOW. Trust me, it will change your life.

#4. Establishing Boundaries

This, according to me, is the most important step to take when you decide you have had enough and you need to take control of your own routine.

Creating clear boundaries between work and home life can prevent one from encroaching on the other.

This might mean setting specific work hours and not checking emails outside of those hours, or dedicating certain hours to family time without work interruptions.

Whatever works for you, but establish those boundaries for a saner you.

#5. Embracing flexibility

Even with the best planning, not everything goes as expected.

Be ready to adjust your schedule when unexpected tasks or issues arise.

That’s why it is crucial to keep some buffer time in your schedule for unexpected events. Never schedule your hours back to back. Leave some breathing space where new or overflow tasks can be accommodated.

Additionally, be open to tweaking what is not working out well for you. Aroutine you have made for yourself should not be set in stone.

Keep continuously assessing and tweaking the routine to make it work for you better.

#6. Setting expectations

Setting expectations involves defining clear, realistic goals for your work and personal life.

By setting clear expectations around what you can achieve within a given timeframe, you prevent overcommitting and reduce stress.

It also helps others understand your capacity and respect your time.

This strategy requires constant communication and transparency with your coworkers, family, and yourself. Remember, it’s about achieving a sustainable balance between positive productivity and well-being.

#7. Self-care routine

Amid all the hustle and bustle, don’t forget to take care of yourself.

Allocate time for activities that help you relax and recharge. This could be anything from a short nap or reading to exercising or simply enjoying a quiet cup of coffee.

A sample daily routine for Lisa

Remember Lisa? The hardworking lawyer mom? I have created a sample routine for her. Of course it’s not perfect, but you can create your own accordingly and keep tweaking it as per your needs.

In you would like to copy it for your use, here is the text version:

5:30 AM – Wake up, practice yoga or meditation
6:00 AM – Get ready for the day
6:30 AM – Prepare breakfast and pack lunches
7:00 AM – Wake up child, help them get ready
7:30 AM – Family breakfast time
8:00 AM – School drop-off
8:30 AM – Commute to work, review case files or prep for court
9:00 AM-12:00 PM – Work, focusing on prioritized tasks, court appearances, and client meetings
12:00 PM-12:30 PM- Lunch break
12:30 PM-1:00 PM – Check and reply to professional emails or phone calls
1:00 PM-5:00 PM – Resume work, handle less urgent tasks, prepare for next day’s court cases
5:00 PM – Wrap up work, review tasks for the next day
5:30 PM – Pick up child from school or extracurricular activities
6:00 PM-7:00 PM – Family time, help with child’s homework
7:00 PM – Prepare dinner
7:30 PM – Family dinner time
8:00 PM – Child’s bedtime routine
8:30 PM – Personal time (reading, TV, connecting with friends)
9:00 PM – Preparation for the next day’s court appearances or client meetings
9:30 PM – Prepare for the next day (organizing, planning)
10:00 PM – Bedtime, ensuring a good night’s sleep for a fresh start

What next?

Mastering the art of time management is a lifelong journey.

It’s not about filling every minute of the day with work, but about making the most of the time we have. It’s about balance.

Balance between your professional commitments and roles at home. Balance between taking care of others and taking care of ourselves.

For working moms, effective time management can pave the path towards a fulfilling career and a satisfying personal life. Prioritizing tasks, planning and scheduling, delegating, setting boundaries, embracing flexibility and taking out time for self-care are not just strategies, they’re stepping stones to a better quality of life.

Remember, time management is less about managing time and more about managing ourselves.

It’s about making conscious choices so we can spend more of our time doing things that are meaningful and valuable to us.

As you embark on this journey, may you find the elusive balance and peace you seek!!