20 time saving tips for mums that really work
Last Updated on September 1, 2024
As mums we have a million and one things to do, and there never seems to be enough time to do it all.
However, there are some time saving tips for mums that when implemented can help you to maximise the time you have, and use it to tackle your to do list.
Here are 20 time saving tips for mums that you can pick and choose from, that will allow you to maximise your time, and enable you to feel more productive.
Track your time
Tracking your time means recording how you spend your time, so you can remove time wasting activities, or move activities to times where you can spend less time on them.
For example, after tracking how you spend your time during a day, you notice that you spend 20 minutes in the morning and at night putting toys away.
To save time, you may decide to remove the 20 minutes of toy tidying in the morning, and instead just tidy toys at night, which will give you an extra 20 minutes every day to work on something else you need to to.
Use small pockets of time
Using small pockets of time is a great way to get things done.
For example, you can use the time it takes to reheat leftovers to unload your dishwasher, put a load of laundry on, or pack your kid’s school bags.
Write things down
A time saving tip for mums that’s easy to do is to write down anything you remember you need to do in a notebook, a note taking app, or in a digital calendar, so you don’t waste time later in the day trying to remember what it was you needed to do.
Plan your week
Planning your week is one of my favourite time management activities, which is where you record in a paper calendar, digital calendar, or a combination of paper and digital planners, your appointments, tasks, and to dos during the week, so you can make decisions on what days you can get things done, and so you don’t forget anything important.
Use a family calendar
Using a family calendar is a great way to save time as a mum, because it means everyone in your family knows what they need to do, and where they need to be on certain days.
You can also use it to delegate tasks to family members, lessening the amount of things you need to add to your already hectic to do list.
Use lists
Lists are one of the things that I use to be an organised mum.
Lists allow you to save time by getting everything out of your head and onto paper, or on a digital note-taking app, so you don’t spend time thinking about them later on, or spend time trying to remember what they were.
Some lists that can help you save time as a mum include:
Prepare in advance
Preparing in advance as much as you can not only saves time, but helps to avoid feelings of overwhelm.
Some examples of things you can prepare in advance include:
- Getting school uniforms ready
- Making school lunches
- Packing school bags
- Putting the dishwasher or washing machine on a timer so you can deal with them in the morning
Dedicated chore days
Having dedicated chore days is one of my favourite time saving tips for mums, which means designating certain days of the week to certain chores.
For example, you could designate Tuesdays and Saturdays for laundry, and Fridays for weekly meal planning.
Having dedicated days where certain chores are done saves time because you’re not spending time everyday doing small amounts of these tasks, but instead are tackling them on a certain day, leaving you time on other days for other things.
Weekly meal planning
If meal planning is something you want to dedicate to a certain day, creating a weekly meal plan is a fantastic time saving hack for mums.
Two benefits of meal planning include reducing the amount of time you spend visiting grocery stores, and reducing time spent thinking about what to cook every night.
Meal delivery services
If meal planning or cooking are things that you don’t enjoy, or don’t have time for, you could get a meal delivery service, which reduces the amount of time you need to think about what to cook, as well as the time you would spend cooking.
Online grocery shopping
Online grocery shopping is a great time saving tip for mums, as it means you don’t have to spend time driving to, and in a grocery store, and you can also save money by not impulse buying groceries you don’t need.
Fold laundry
Folding laundry and putting it away as soon as it’s dry not only saves time by not having to fold it when there’s even more laundry to deal with, but also ensures that it’s put away before it can become dirty before it’s worn.
Declutter fast
Another of my favourite time saving tips for mums is to declutter fast.
Decluttering your home means you have less things to deal with and put away, which saves heaps of time over the long run.
If you’d like to start decluttering your home, here are a few things you can start:
- Go through each room and put anything that needs to be thrown away in a garbage bag, and throw it out immediately
- Go through your food cupboards and fridge and dispose of anything that’s expired
- When putting away your laundry, put anything that no longer fits into a donation pile
A later pile
One of the ways that you can waste time is by putting things away multiple times a day.
One way you can avoid this is by having a later pile, which is a place in your home, such as on the stairs, where you put anything that needs to be put away later.
This means you are putting everything away in one go, instead of putting things away when you see them.
Give kids chores
Delegating things to other family members is a great time saving tip for mums, which is where giving kids chores can help.
Some chore ideas for kids include:
- Emptying the dishwasher
- Setting the table
- Helping with laundry
- Picking up toys
- Feeding pets
Create daily habits
Daily habits help you to save time, because it ensures you don’t do the same things multiple times a day.
Some daily habits to keep your house clean and tidy, allowing you to save time when maintaining your home include:
- Making beds every morning
- Having small speed cleaning sessions
- Putting things where they belong
Outsourcing
Outsourcing things you don’t enjoy, or that take too long, is another worthwhile time saving tip for mums.
Some things that you can outsource include:
- Washing, ironing, and folding of laundry
- Household cleaning
- Gardening
- Childcare
Task completion
Tasks can often take longer to finish then they should because we become distracted, or start another task before we finish a previous one.
Focusing on a task and finishing it before moving onto something else, saves time because you’re not doing little bits over a longer time period, and you’re less likely to repeat a step you’ve already done.
Phone off time
Our phones are a big time waster, perhaps our biggest.
We can spend too long scrolling, researching things, and even sending messages to others.
Having a phone off time, which is a time of day or night where you turn your phone off so you can focus your attention on something else that needs doing, is a great time management tip for mums.
Lower your expectations
We often think we can get more done in a day than is actually possible, so lowering your expectations of what you can get done, means you won’t spend time at the end of the day being hard on yourself, and feeling guilty about everything you didn’t do.
Conclusion
As a mum, there’s never enough time in the day to do everything you want to do.
Instead, you need to implement time saving tips that allow you to maximise your time, and feel good about what you’ve achieved.
There are many different ways to do this, which include:
- Tracking your time, and utilising small pockets of time
- Planning your week, using family calendars, and writing lists
- Preparing things in advance
- Dedicating days to chores
- Streamlining meal planning activities and food purchases
- Decluttering your home fast
- Having daily habits, and not repeating tasks throughout the day
- Delegating or outsourcing tasks
- Completing tasks before starting new ones
- Turning distractions off
- Lowering your expectations on how much you can do in a day
Do you have any time saving tips that work for you?
