It is hard being an adult!! I didn’t know it would be this difficult. So…I kept complaining about it day after day and expecting all things hard to fix themselves. Well, that didn’t work for me and it won’t work for you either. I know…this is some tough love for us all but it really is true. If you are a human and you feel stressed, burnout and running on empty….then you need to read this so you can finally make a plan to get out of this rut….(Ok, this won’t make everything disappear but it will certainly make everything better.). See the solution below…
Systems, systems, systems! If you don’t have a system then you need to get one. I know…I am very forward with this, but I really mean it in the kindest way. If you are scrambling and struggling to hold it all together as a mom who works out of the home, then you need to find a system. Start with the biggest problem or stressor in your life and develop a system for that. Once you have that automated, pick the next thing on your list and develop a system for that and then automate it. And so on and so on. It will take a lot of work at first but it will change your life. Systems are meant to be automated eventually. Systems are hard to implement….at first. But consistency will change everything. Remember that when you are developing a system and keep it as simple and streamlined as possible.
I learned this from my best friend, Laurel, who looked at me one day as I bawled my eyes out from the burnout of being a working mom and not having a plan to get out of this rut. She listened as I cried and complained for the thousandth time to her and she gave me some tough love. She told me that I had to stop complaining about it and start implementing a plan to fix it. The problem was, I didn’t know what she meant by that or how to fix it. She began to help me develop systems for anything that was stressing me out. She was like a fairy godmother swooping in and she was exactly what I needed to gain clarity! She has taught me a lot along the way and I wanted to share some systems that have really made a big difference in my mindset, productivity and efficiency.
Develop a Control Center In Your House – This is a corner of your house that holds all of the information, schedules, chores, etc. It is a place that is updated monthly on things that need to happen in the house. You can curate your control center however you wish but it is essential to have one so everyone knows what is going on. So often, it is the parent who is reminding the child what is happening but by having a control center gives the kids responsibility of checking daily schedules and clarity of household expectations. It stands as the operational center for the groups of activities, expectations, and reminders. It is a system that runs the household so that no one can say they didn’t know what they had to do or where they had to go. Some ideas that you might want to include in the control center are:
- A monthly calendar
- Chore list
- Mail holder with important notes
- Inspirational quotes
- Reminders
Like I said earlier, set up your control center however you wish but make sure it sets up the days and expectations.
The My Doh App for Keeping Kids Accountable for Chores and For Teaching Them About Financial Literacy – I struggled for so many years getting my kids to stick to the chores that were expected for them. We would start out strong and then it would fizzle out to me doing it all again very quickly. This is a new app that I am trying. So far it has really helped. This is a family banking app that helps to automate chores and allowances. Kids learn the value of earning money and you get extra help around the house. From learning to earning, to making smarter money decisions, it is a really effective and efficient app. I set up the chores on the app and the kids use their devices to check their chores off daily. On Saturday, they automatically get paid for the chores they did. They also get a debit card that they can use to go with the app. The best part about the app is that they also have little lessons on financial literacy that the kids can do to earn points and learn about budgeting. This app has really helped to motivate my kids to actually care about doing chores because it is attached to money. They are also learning the value of money. It is a win win!
A Project Management System – Seriously, I project manage everything. I do it through the free version of Asana. You do not need to go out and immediately get the Asana app but I am saying that it is so important to have a project management system in place that can be automated. Within the Asana app, I keep ‘to do lists’, projects, system operating procedures, and expectations that I can send out to delegate to certain people with reminders and deadlines. I use this in my career and in my home. Once you set it, you can forget it because it will automatically check up on the person to ensure that the task gets done. It also helps to organize a project into steps and systems and has a place for you elaborate on details or reminders. As the person completes the task, they can send it back to you via Asana. At home, I use the control center as my project management system because my kids are not yet ready for the Asana app but I definitely plan on getting them to know and use the app once they are older.
Batching – If you’re interested in productivity at work (and in your personal life), you’ve likely heard about batching. Batching is the act of grouping tasks together. for a chunk of time. You do them all at once in a two hour time period, instead of switching between tasks that take place in different programs or areas. This helps you to focus, get things done, and move on rather than switching from task to task and getting disoriented. I batch things like cooking, laundry, emails, pd planning, meeting agendas, etc. If I am dedicating myself to this one focus for a period of time, I find I do things with a lot more depth and clarity. I also get way more done!
Organized Containers – This is a simple but maximum impact change I made in my life! I put everything I can into organized and labelled containers. And yes, I mean organized containers just like the Home Edit system! I found I was getting frustrated with the clutter in my office and my home. In fact, it was really stressing me out. It wasn’t until I watched the Home Edit show, read the book, and had my friend Laurel come in and show me exactly how to declutter and batch items into bins that I began to find clarity. I was also way more efficient because everything had a home and I wasn’t spending time searching for things. My kids also became better at organizing and putting things back where they belong. But I won’t lie….every day there are reminders for the kids about the importance of cleaning up after themselves…
Start Up and Shut Down Routine – I have dedicated myself to figuring out a system to set up and shut down my day. It is now a routine that is engrained in me and I find if I don’t do it, it really messes with my day. My start up begins with my own personal health. I get up, work out, work on my home business, eat breakfast, and get my kids and myself ready for school. At work, my start up begins with looking in my calendar to see what I have set up for myself to get done from the day before. I give myself 5 minutes to check emails and only tend to the important ones. My shut down routine at work is empty my email box, check my calendar to make sure that I got the three things I had set out to do that day done, then I organize the following day with tasks/meetings, and three things that I need to get done the next day. At home, my shut down consists of some tv, kid hang out time, putting kids to bed, reading, and sleep. It is simple but I make sure I focus on three areas for both start up and shut down. I focus on wellness, time management, and family/career. I don’t have a huge list of routines but just enough that I put my own self at the forefront so that I tackle things that will instantly make me feel better and set me up for my day, or even the next day.
Sunday Nights – Sunday nights are dedicated to organizing my week into my calendar. I plan my meetings, tasks, outcomes, and what I will batch. That way I really know what is coming up for me and there are no surprises. I used to do this day by day but I found that I didn’t always do it and so I was always caught scrambling and not really knowing what was filling my day. This simple intention to create space to organize my week has been game changer.
Lock boxes – This is a box I ordered from Amazon that locks up devices so kids and adults can have breaks from them. I found that just having the kids and myself put their devices in the office to charge just wasn’t enough. By having a lock box that doesn’t open up until a specific time allows us to truly take a break from technology because the temptation has been removed. At 8:00 pm, technology goes in the box and does not open up again until a certain time the following day.
Digital Notepad – Ipad with a notability app to keep everything in one place – I use my ipad for everything. I use the app called Notability and I use it to present, teach, and as a digital notebook. It organizes and keeps all of my ideas and notes from meetings or personal events all in one place. I also use it to teach so I can walk around the classroom and write in front of my students using an ipad pen. This app allows me to upload slides and I can mark them up and walk around the room as I present in meetings. I found that I was always looking for notebooks and didn’t really have an organized system or space to keep all of my notebooks from my work or personal life. This app really helped me to organize and create space with everything in one place.
An Organizing System for digital files – Ok, I was the queen of searching for files on my google docs! It took me so long to find anything. Now I have everything under one huge tab and then I have topics, subtopics, and sub sub topics. I even wrote a blog on how to do this so you can go back and check that out. I realized that having everything all over the place was not efficient or effective….like at all. And so, I set up a system!
Automated To Do Lists – I just learned about this app! It is called the Microsoft To Do app and it helps to automate to do lists so that you don’t always have to start from scratch. I automate grocery lists, packing lists, chore lists, etc. and I can also share it with my family. I also have a favorites list, design list, a want list, and a next list so that I can save things that I may want to purchase later or perhaps do next. The types of list that you can create are endless and it saves you recreating the same list over and over again!
So there you have it! 10 things that work well to save time, be more productive, and more efficient. I didn’t share these things for you to try all at once but to give you some options to perhaps start to figure out some systems to help you organize your time so you have more balance and less burnout. These things have really changed everything for me but it has been years of consistency and implementing one at a time. I have also had the help of gurus like my friend Laurel and have learned about some of these apps through trial and error.
If you are interested in joining a community for moms who are looking to set up systems for productivity, efficiency, and clarity in their personal and professional lives, I am starting a brand new membership! Inside of this membership, you will learn systems that you can use in your life immediately to avoid burnout. The first week of each month you will get a masterclass that will teach you a system for organizing your personal or professional life, the second week there will be a template for you to help you implement the system, the third week will be a lifestyle section class/zoom chat that will focus on health habits, and the fourth week will be a live Q and A. It will be a membership dedicated to a community of moms who want to go from feeling burnt out and overwhelmed in their careers and personal lives to feeling clarity, energy, passion and rejuvenation due to setting up automated systems to balance their life. If you are interested in joining this membership, send me a message letting me know at jacealynh@gmail.com.
I also have a free guide that gives you some tips on how to reframe how you show up for your life. It gives you some really useful tips on how to infuse a healthy mindset and habits into your life. You can download it here!
Now that you have chosen one thing that has been stressing you out for so long, you can start to look at you how you can implement a system to help you get out of this funk and back on track! Just promise me that you won’t keep doing what you are doing if it hasn’t been working….ok? You deserve the best life ever! And don’t forget to email me and get in on this brand new membership!
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