The best type of planner for working moms
You cannot escape from your to do list
It’s no secret that there has to be some level of organization in order to get all your tasks complete throughout the week and day. As a working mom, you will have a long to-do list especially with both work and home responsibilities. For this reason, you need an effective planner for working moms.
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The perfect planner
In this blog, I want to discuss the important components to a planner that will actually help you prepare for the week ahead (the right way). Remember, there are so many different types of planners out there. Once you know what you will need, you can then spend some time looking for the right planner.
Here is my free productivity planner for moms, as a step #1 to get organized. I am someone who has both a digital and physical planner. Again, figure out what works best for you.
Must have sections to your planner
- “>Monthly calendar – The monthly calendar is good when noting down big family events, birthdays or work events. I have a big family calendar posted right next to the door as you both leave and come into the house. Also, I have a monthly digital calendar for work with direct reminders to my phone.
- Weekly brain dump – Soon after becoming a mother, I really understood the purpose of having an end of month/ beginning of month brain dump session. As moms, we tend to have a million and one different things continuously popping up. Therefore, writing out a brain dump once a month of what needs to get done and referencing it as you create your week-by-week schedule is SO helpful!
- Weekly plan (includes home tasks, self-care) – It’s so easy to go week by week with the flow of things and feel super overwhelmed. That is why sitting down (or standing if you got a little one to rock) and taking 15-30 minutes to write out the weekly plan is key. I do this with my partner so we are both on the same page.
Note: In your weekly plan, you should have a couple different sections:
- Main tasks
- Self care routines
- Morning and weekly routine
- Anything missing/ you need to pick up
- Important events for kids, work and home
- Daily schedule (includes routines, home tasks, self-care) – Every night or early morning, looking at your planner and looking at your daily to do list is super helpful to keep you on track. Otherwise, you may be doing the dishes when you notice the pile of laundry and then remember the recycling and so on and so forth. With a daily list, you know exactly what NEEDS to get done and if you have more time you work on the rest.
Note: In your daily plan you should ALSO have the following sections
- Main tasks
- Self care routines
- Morning and weekly routine
- Anything missing/ you need to pick up
- Important events for kids, work and home
- Weekly meal plan – Before I had kids, this was an after-thought (I know, not good). But, now as a parent, I cannot ignore meal prep or meal planning. You will need to decide how or what everyone will eat throughout the week.
Some questions to consider: will this be a meal delivery service, Sunday meal prep or time carved out each day to make x dishes? Then make the plan including what you will need and how to organize yourself, so you are not scrambling around the day of. I must have space to write this down in whatever planner I use.
Next check out these blog posts:
- 12 time saving hacks for working moms
- Can working moms find work life balance?
- 40 self care ideas for working moms
Optional components: planner for working moms
- You can have a workout routine page where you write down what you are going to be doing during the week for body movement and/or exercise.
- A more organized cleaning list broken down by days, so you know what you are working on each day. This way, when you write your daily plan, you don’t forget to include the room or space that you said you would clean.
The key is to stay consistent!
Once you know what you need to write down in order to keep yourself organized, the next step is staying consistent with it. Now this is the hard part! It’s easy to have our nicely designed planner but much harder to stay consistent with it. If that is the case for you, make sure you set an alarm to complete it weekly and monthly.
By setting up time for planning, you will set yourself up for more peace and harmony during your day-to-day busy lives. I have my digital planner with these components completely free. You can download it here!
Go ahead and share this post and leave a comment below! I’d love to hear what type of planners you find most effective!
