Productivity Tips For Stay-at-Home Moms
When you’re at home all day, nearly every day, it’s easy to fall into a rut of laziness. When you have all day to tackle things like chores and housework, you might put it off. (I speak from experience!) These productivity tips for stay-at-home moms will help you get back on track, and get stuff done.
In case you didn’t know, we recently experienced a pandemic and quarantine in our world. For the most part, my life didn’t change much. But the monotony of the days wore on me. I struggled to focus and get things done.
I had to refine some of my old productivity techniques, and learn some new tricks. Over the months I spent in quarantine, I started figuring out some new things. I learned some new productivity tricks for busy moms–and had plenty of time to put them into practice!
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
When you spend most of your time at home, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Sometimes you just need to look at life with a fresh perspective and try something new.
Whether you’re just testing out this stay-at-home mom thing for the first time, or you’ve been at it for a while, these tips can help.
It might take some time, but eventually, you’ll get there. Give yourself grace. These productivity tips for stay-at-home moms have room for interpretation, and everyone can do them in their own way.
Productivity Tips for Stay-at-Home Moms #1: Lists Are Your Friend
I’ll admit that for the first few days of the quarantine I lost all track of myself. I couldn’t seem to focus or motivate. I gave up on my daily to-do list, and just started flying by the seat of my pants.
But that can only last so long! A mental to-do list, is great, but it can only go so far. Eventually, stuff will start to slip through the cracks.
I have been a faithful planner user for several years now. In a perfect world I live by routines and to-do lists. I start each week with a weekly list and break it down my days. Nothing makes me happier than seeing little checkmarks appear!
But with so much uncertainty floating around, I was struggling to even get it all down on paper.
Then, I realized I was missing out on a great opportunity. In a few weeks (or months!) our lives will go back to normal. I wouldn’t have these times to just be home with no constraints on my time.
But I made a list of things I’d like to accomplish before the quarantine ends. I did not complete the whole list, but I made a big dent in it. It helped me to have a starting place.
I’m not saying everyone should jump into full list-making mode. But start with a simple list. (Check out these motivation tips for stressed out stay-at-home moms to learn how.)
Maybe you aren’t a natural list-maker. But if you’re feeling a bit lost right now, try making one or two.
It could be a list of books you’d like to read this year. It could be three things you want to do tomorrow. Or make a list of things to include in your morning routine.
You don’t have to be obsessive about your list. (Categories and color coding is not required!) But if you don’t know where you want to go, you’ll never get anywhere.
Productivity Tips for Stay-at-Home Moms #2: Routines Are Key
When you go days without leaving your house it’s easy to lose track of time. Days flow endlessly together. We wake up whenever and go to bed whenever.
The key to productivity is making routines and sticking to them. I’m certainly not telling you that every day needs to be completely scheduled. Now, if that’s your thing, go for it.
But you don’t have to have to have a big, color-coded calendar to be productive. All you need are a few simple routines that you do every day. Actually, you probably already have some without realizing it.
Think about what you do when you first wake up. For me, I make Billy’s sandwich, see him off to work, make some coffee and settle in for my Bible study and prayer. That’s a small part of my morning routine.
When I skip that, start it later, or miss any part of it, my day feels a little bit off-kilter. As long as I stick to that simple routine my day gets off to a smoother start.
I am not a morning person. But I’ve found that having that extra hour or so before my boys get up can make all the difference to my day.
If you want to learn more about setting up routines, I highly recommend Crystal Paine’s courses. Make Over Your Mornings is her most popular, but Make Over Your Evenings is a great one, too. I suggest picking one area, and work on it.
You can also create daily routines for your kids. Get them in the habit of completing certain tasks every day. Depending on their age, you can set their tasks.
Younger kids might get a list like brush teeth and get dressed. An older kid or teen might need daily reminders for chores.
Another time that works great for routines is lunchtime. Once I get in the zone, I have a hard time stopping. A couple months ago I set out to make lunchtime a break in the middle of my day.
At noon my Amazon Echo reminds me that it’s time for lunch. It tells me something nice about myself, plays the news and gives my daily Bible verse.
I try to take about an hour to make lunch for the boys, eat something, read a little and do a chore. It’s a mid-day routine that helps me be more productive, and not get locked into one big project.
Just start with one routine tomorrow. You don’t need to plan every minute of every day. Start small and build from there.
Productivity Tips for Stay-at-Home Moms #3: Fun Is Necessary
Making lists and having routines is great, but the old saying is true. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Sometimes when you’re struggling to focus, you just need a break.
I fully believe in the power of artistic pursuits for moms. On days when my mind is really wandering, I like to take a break to work on a quilt or my latest cross stitch project.
Some other ideas include:
- Hand lettering
- Crochet
- Embroidery
- Adult coloring
- Cooking or baking
- Painting
- Gardening
If you don’t currently have an artistic pursuit that you enjoy, look into taking an online course. There are a lot of options to help you learn just about anything without ever leaving your home.
You may also enjoy taking time to exercise or do a family project. Whatever you enjoy that makes you feel relaxed qualifies here. Try to squeeze some of that into every day.
The important thing about using fun activities to break up your day is to make sure it doesn’t take over your day. Sewing quilts is my happy place, and I could spend all day sitting in my sewing room.
Giving myself unlimited time to pursue my hobby is dangerous, too! I can easily ignore my household chores and sew all day.
Taking a break for a hobby is fun and can really boost productivity when you get back to your task. Just be careful not to lose track of time and not get back to work at all!
Productivity Looks Different for Everyone
We all have different daily goals and tasks. None of us live in the same house with the same people. A woman with a newborn has different goals than a mom of teenagers.
If you work at home, you’ll have different jobs to do than someone who doesn’t. If you have a craft business, you won’t do the same tasks as someone who does medical billing.
Kids who are older naturally help out with chores. But toddlers aren’t really good at things like cleaning toilets.
It’s important to look at your own life and goals and decide what productivity looks like to you. Social media is a great way for moms to connect with each other.
It’s also so easy to look at what someone else is doing and think, “I should be doing that!” But you don’t have to do what someone else is doing. Do what you need to do and be happy with that.
For a long time I read books and blog posts about planning, being productive, doing things easier, faster, etc. I wanted all the productivity tips for stay-at-home moms. I thought that one day I would hit on the one thing that would suddenly get my to-do list done every day.
But the truth is, what works for one person, might not work for someone else. There is no one magic formula. Although I will continue to read and learn about being productive, I’m finding my own way.
You can find you way too. It might look like mine, and it might not. But keep going and trying new things until you figure out your way.
What is one trick you use to be more productive at home? Let me know in the comments!
