Tuesday 19 January 2010

MULTI TASKING MUM TIP #2

As always, racking my brain as to what to write today and thought I would share with you a few of my time saving tips, which allows me more time to fritter away elsewhere like on blogging and Twitter!

1. I always get my daughter (3 yo) dressed first in the morning and then she has breakfast. If I'm running late or she's dawdling, breakfast can be on the go, getting dressed can't!
2. When she's having a bath, I scrub any stained clothes in the bathroom basin so I can chat to her while getting work done.
3. I plan for my business day in ad breaks the night before - and I stick to my plan!
4. I plan meals for the next few days in ad breaks and write all the ingredients down.
5. I take a pen with me to the supermarket so I can cross off what I've picked up and be sure about what I still have to get.
6. I search the BBC food website for recipe ideas as you can pop a quick meal option in thsearch engine and get ideas that don't take too long.
7. I only iron if I absolutely have to. There's a lot to be said for flicking clothes before hanging them up and hanging them up properly!
8. I organise catch ups with more than one friend at a time. Even if they don't know each other, they soon will, and it's lovely creating new groups of friends.
9. I use my diary religiously and write in everything I need to do and remember. If I call someone and leave a message, I leave a note for myself a few days on to query if they have called back.
10. I only blog once a week and leave it at that. I only look at Twitter once a day and leave one message and reply to two. I never do either on weekends.

Cheers! Alli

Friday 8 January 2010

MULTI TASKING MUM TIP #1

Tip #1

When was the last time you sat down and really thought about what you spend your time on each day? How many activities do you fulfill that you simply take for granted as a necessary part of your day? I know of one woman that irons her sheets and another that spends a lot of time doing dishes while her kids watch tv.

I'm not saying don't do these things (hey! who am I to argue with the smoothness of an ironed sheet?!) but sit down and ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, do you need to do them? What can you delegate? What can you do faster? With less fuss? Are there other things you would prefer to be doing? If so, what? And what jobs do you want to continue with because they mean so much to you?

Now I know you're reading this thinking fab, great idea, but when do I get the time to do this with that pile of washing/accounting staring at me from across the room? Well, for the very organised, a little time keeping throughout the day in a notepad is very easy. For those with an aversion to list-making, how about a review of your day in the ads of your fave show of before bed? Or, even crazier, how about you tell your hubby/kids what you're trying to achieve and ask they cook dinner/wash up/look after themselves for 10 min a day for a week while you dedicate yourself to this exercise?

The point is that it will take time initially, but the time and stress it could save you in the end could be immeasurable. And isn't it about time you did something for yourself?

I'd love to hear your successes/challenges in achieving this exercise. Let me know how you do by replying to this post! Cheers, Alli