Mastering the Juggle: Organizational, Scheduling, and Simplification Hacks for Busy Parents
Parenting is a full-time job on its own, am I right? When we combine our parenting roles with jobs, household chores, and the ever-growing list of extracurricular activities, it can feel like an impossible juggling act. It's no wonder many parents struggle with finding a balance between work, family, and personal time. Here are some top organizational, scheduling, and simplification hacks and tools, many of which I personally use, that can help busy parents better navigate their lives. With three kids and a private therapy practice, please know that I absolutely understand the juggling act. Maybe we’ll never truly master it (we can hope, right?), but I believe we can live our lives in ways that better honor our personal needs and what matters most.
Organizational Hacks:
1. Shared Family Calendar: If you don’t have one of these, start here! My family uses Cozi, but I know there are many other options out there (Any.do, Google calendar, etc.). Color code each family member to make it easy to see who needs to be where and when. We have a family meeting on Sundays (at least we try to most weeks), where we discuss the calendar with my older two children.
2. Meal Planning/Grocery Shopping: I know for many folks who have a history of disordered eating, or just a challenging relationship with food in general, this can be a tricky one. Five o-clock rolls around, and everyone is exhausted…the very last thing you want to do is come up with a nice meal idea for your family, let alone prepare it. If you can streamline both meal planning and grocery shopping with apps like Mealime, Paprika, or Big Oven- it can make life a lot easier! My husband or I get on the Mealime app on Sundays, choose about 4-5 meals for the week (allowing for “left-over days”), add those ingredients to a digital grocery list, and then it gets added to our online grocery order. The key for me is to set aside time to do it, and to make it a more automated task (which is so helpful especially for the busy weeks).
3. Shared To-Do Lists/Task Delegation: Don't be afraid to delegate tasks. Involve your kids in age-appropriate chores, and if your budget allows, consider hiring help for tasks like cleaning or yard work. There's no shame in asking for support.
Scheduling Hacks:
4. Time Blocking: Time blocking involves breaking your day into chunks and dedicating each block to a specific task. Research suggests that multi-tasking, often thought of as a time-saving strategy, is actually associated with a wide range of disadvantages. When individuals try to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously, they tend to experience reduced overall productivity and increased error rates in their work. This is because the brain expends cognitive resources on switching between tasks, resulting in decreased attention and concentration. Time blocking ensures that you allocate protected time for your work, your kids, and yourself. Personally, I need to write the blocks down and schedule it into my calendar. When I have large, unallocated chunks of time, I tend to become distracted more easily, bouncing from task to task.
5. Prioritization: Use the Urgent-Important Matrix (fun fact- this is also known as the Eisenhower Matrix, popularized by our former president), as a time management and prioritization tool. This matrix divides tasks and activities into four categories based on their level of urgency and importance. The categories are:
Important and Urgent: These are tasks that require immediate attention and are crucial for your goals or responsibilities. They should be addressed as a top priority.
Important but Not Urgent: Tasks in this category are important for your long-term goals but do not require immediate action. They should be scheduled and planned for later.
Urgent but Not Important: This category contains tasks that demand your immediate attention but do not contribute significantly to your goals. Delegating or finding ways to minimize these tasks can be effective.
Not Important and Not Urgent: Tasks in this category are neither urgent nor important. They should be minimized or eliminated from your schedule to free up time for more productive and meaningful activities.
6. Schedule Breaks: If you're struggling to maintain focus, try an approach like the Pomodoro Technique. Work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. After four cycles, take a longer break. The idea of taking breaks after working for 20-30 minutes is consistent with research on productivity, attention, and the brain's capacity for sustained focus. Studies indicate that the average person's attention span tends to wane after about 20-30 minutes of focused work. Not only does research show that short breaks can help rejuvenate attention, improve memory consolidation, and maintain performance, but breaks can also reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and eye strain associated with prolonged periods of work.
Simplification Hacks: