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This is just an extract of the 6 week online course that I offer. Some tips and tricks to help you add an extra 2 hours or more to your day to do with as you please.

Moms are always rushing around having to do lots of stuff, not having enough time in the day to finish the chores that they want to do. Most times moms forget about investing in themselves and taking time out for themselves because they “did not have the time to do it”.

I eventually got tired of saying that I did not have the time to do things. I made up my mind that I was going to make the time to get some exercise, go to the spa, have quiet time to myself, spend quality time with my husband and spend quality, fun time with my daughter.

This is what I implemented in my daily life to get that extra time.

First, I kept a diary of what I did in my typical week. I kept a booklet with me and recorded every activity I did throughout the day for a week. At the end of this week, I made a note of everything that was a waste of my time.

Second, I registered on Google and got myself a Google calendar. On this calendar I captured all the activities from my journal. I also prioritised these activities, so I captured the “Priority 1” activities first, then if I still had gaps in my schedule I captured the “Priority 2” activities, then if I still had even further gaps I captured the “Priority 3” activities.

Third, while capturing Priority 2 and 3 activities, if I did not have a gap in my schedule for these I tried to figure out how else I could get the activity done. Perhaps I could do it on another day, perhaps another time. Maybe I could even delegate the task.

Fourth, we had a family meeting and decided that mom needed some help with chores etc. So I started delegating tasks that my husband and daughter could take over from me. My daughter had just turned 4 at that time, so there was not much I could delegate to her. I did keep the tasks simple for her and made sure that she could handle it. She actually told me that she was so excited that she could “help mom out”.

Fifth, I looked at tasks that could multitask, eg. exercising and watching TV or reading a book (if I were spinning). I put simple tasks together as I found that cooking and bathing my daughter always resulted in burnt food. I also learnt a lot about saying NO. I always thought about whether the task was for the greater good of me and my family, and if it was not, I just said NO.

Sixth, I made sure that we had a routine. There were certain things that needed to be done at a certain time and in a certain way. This helped when everyone was involved. We all knew what to do and when so there was no confusion. An example of this was when we got home from school, my daughter knew that her bag needed to be unpacked and that everything that was unpacked went to their respective placed immediately. This gave me time to run her bath and to freshen up myself.

Seventh, I learnt to take shortcuts where I could. An example of this was that when I was shopping for fresh produce, I dropped off the vegetables that needed to be chopped at the counter while I was still shopping. When I had gone through the store my last stop before paying would be to collect my freshly chopped veggies. This helped my in the kitchen when preparing for dinner, I did not have to chop the veggies, just got each packet out the freezer ready for cooking.

So at the end of this I now can say that I am an expert at time management! I do hit a snag every now and then (I am not perfect), but my schedule is that flexible that I can bounce back easily without any bruises.

because I have been so successful in managing my time, I have put together a 6 week online course for other moms out there, so I can help and support them in finding that extra time like I have.

If you do implement the steps that I have suggested above, please leave me a comment and let me know how it’s working for you.