We’ve all been there—running around from one task to the next, feeling like there’s not enough time in the day to get it all done. But what if you’re not as busy as you think? What if you could carve out more time for yourself and your family by making just a few small changes to your day?
In this post, I’m going to share 5 simple, yet powerful tips that will help you reclaim time and manage your day with more ease. And, as a bonus, you can download my free time audit template to help you pinpoint where your time is really going. Spoiler alert: you might be surprised by what you find!
1. Track Your Time with a Time Audit
The first step to finding more time in your day is figuring out how you’re currently spending it. Most of us feel busy, but we don’t always realize how much time we lose to distractions or less important tasks. A time audit will help you see exactly where those minutes and hours are slipping away.
How to Get Started:
- For the next 3-5 days, log everything you do in 30-minute increments.
- Include both work and personal activities, like checking social media, answering emails, or even driving the kids to school.
- At the end of the week, look at your log. Are there any activities you could cut back on? Are you spending more time on low-priority tasks than you realized?
A time audit can be a game-changer. Grab my free Time Audit Template to make this process easy and organized. It’s a quick download that will help you see your time more clearly!
2. Prioritize Your Daily Tasks
Once you’ve completed your time audit, the next step is learning to prioritize. We tend to fill our days with too many tasks, but not all of them are equally important. One way to simplify your day is by identifying your top 3 tasks every morning—the ones that will move the needle the most, whether it’s for work, your household, or personal goals.
How to Do It:
- Start your day by listing your top 3 tasks.
- Focus on getting these done first before you move on to smaller, less important activities.
- If you get through your list, consider your day a success! Everything else is just a bonus.
This approach helps you stay focused on what really matters and can make you feel a lot more productive—even if your to-do list is long.
3. Batch Similar Tasks Together
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to switch from one type of task to another? For example, going from doing laundry to writing an email, then back to picking up the kids. It’s draining, right? That’s because switching tasks repeatedly takes up mental energy.
One way to make your day flow more smoothly is by batching similar tasks together. This reduces the mental load and helps you get through things faster.
How to Batch Tasks:
- Household chores: Set a specific time to tackle similar tasks like cleaning, laundry, or tidying up. Maybe you dedicate 30 minutes after lunch to knock out a few of these in one go.
- Work tasks: Group things like answering emails, returning phone calls, and writing reports into a single block of time.
- Meal prep: Instead of cooking every night, batch your meals on the weekend. Prep lunches and dinners in advance, so you don’t have to think about it midweek.
You’ll find that batching helps you stay focused and eliminates the time lost to switching between tasks.
4. Build Simple Routines
Routines are life-savers for busy moms. They take the guesswork out of your day, reduce decision fatigue, and help you stick to a rhythm that keeps everything running smoothly.
Think about the tasks you do every day. What would happen if you turned those into a routine?
Here’s an Example:
- Morning routine: Set a calm tone for your day by waking up 15 minutes earlier, grabbing a cup of coffee, and reviewing your to-do list. Bonus points if you can squeeze in a quick workout or some journaling!
- Evening routine: End your day with prep for tomorrow. Lay out clothes, prep lunches, and tidy up common areas so that tomorrow feels less chaotic.
- Weekly routine: Assign specific chores or errands to certain days. For example, do grocery shopping every Saturday morning and laundry every Wednesday and Sunday.
The key is to create routines that feel natural and easy for you. Don’t overload them or make them too complicated. A simple routine can help you feel more in control of your time and day.
5. Cut Down on Distractions
We live in a world full of distractions—phones, social media, notifications, and even the constant hum of daily life. These distractions may only take a few minutes here and there, but they add up quickly.
Here’s How to Stay Focused:
- Turn off unnecessary notifications: Do you really need to see every Facebook or Instagram update the second it happens? Probably not. Mute non-essential notifications during work or family time.
- Set no-phone zones: Create times or places in your home where phones are off-limits—like during dinner or before bedtime. This helps everyone stay more present.
- Use focus tools: Apps like the Pomodoro Timer can help you work in short bursts (usually 25 minutes), followed by a break. This method keeps you focused without feeling like you’re tied to a task forever.
By cutting down on distractions, you can reclaim time you didn’t even realize you were losing.
Are You Ready to Find More Time in Your Day?
You might be busy, but chances are, with just a few tweaks, you can fit more time into your day than you thought possible. Start by doing a time audit with my free template, and then implement the tips we covered—prioritize your tasks, batch similar activities, build routines, and cut down on distractions.
It’s all about small, intentional changes that add up to more time for the things that matter most. Let’s make every day a little less stressful and a lot more productive.
Grab your free Time Audit Template [here] and start finding the extra time you’ve been missing!