Everyone gets it! Tips for time poor parents.
It started with us thinking we should write about returning to school and then we thought that we must have written a blog about this before, and sure enough we have!
Then we decided we would google tips for time poor parents and we found this article Time-management strategies for busy parents and we read the first line:
Mums and dads, let's be real, you probably don't have time to read this. But if you manage to stick around for the next few minutes, you'll leave with some time-saving tips from real parents.
We were hooked. The fact that the writer Kellie Scott acknowledged that fact from the start made us feel so much better! Because its okay that we are stupidly busy and it doesn’t mean we are not organised, or it does, but that doesn’t really matter.
As part of Kellie’s article she reached out to other bloggers that a) know exactly how we feel and b) have some tips of how they have made changes to combat the crazy busy!
As part of our Take Back Your Life campaign, we're zeroing in on areas of your life you can potentially claw minutes back from.
We reached out to several parenting bloggers for this piece because, like us, you've probably been wondering where they even find the time to write about this parenting gig.
Turns out they're just trying to keep it together like any mum and dad.
Here are their strategies:
Be inventive and flexible
Olivia White — House of White
Melbourne's Olivia White is chatting to us from the driver's seat of her car.
"I pretty much have to do all my calls like this — at least they're strapped in," she says of her two children aged three and four.
"Motherhood forces you to be thrifty with your time."
While some mums swear by a schedule, Olivia says routine doesn't work for her.
"You've got to be flexible and adaptable. I get up in the morning and sometimes the kids are already up. Sometimes they're not. And you just have to roll with that and accept you might not get that thing you planned done."
She also likes to categorise her tasks into critical and non-critical.
"It's easy for us to look around and see things that need to be done, but you also need to say 'OK, is someone going to die if I don't do that?"
She says as women and mothers, there is always something someone will want from you.
Learning to say no has helped her reclaim time.
"Sometimes you've got to be a bit selfish with your time and say no to helping out a friend or an activity on the weekend because you want quality time with your family doing nothing.
"It's not about what I do, it's what I don't do."
Reduce TV time
Bruce Devereaux — Big Family Little Income
If any parent can speak about being time-poor, it's blogger Bruce Devereaux.
The stay-at-home father of seven from Gympie said it best when he told us:
"If you just want to be selfish about time, don't be a parent. Part of the deal is that your time is family time."
But working from home with his wife Tracey, who is a photographer, has allowed his family to be flexible around time management.
"We don't have to be somewhere the same time kids have to be at school," he says as an example.
"We are up at 2.00am doing our jobs, but when we have to be there for the kids, we can be."
And the Devereaux family has ditched one of life's biggest time sucks: television.
"We don't watch TV during the week. That started when we travelled in our bus [for 18 months around Australia]. We didn't have a TV, so when we came back the kids lost interest. They became big readers."
As for "me time" — Bruce treasures the simple moments with his wife.
"When we were dating, me time was going clubbing or to a restaurant. Now me time is going shopping or having a coffee somewhere.
"Tracey and I are best friends. We were friends before we got together, so we really enjoy just being around each other."
Plan ahead
Kat Springer — The Organised Housewife
Kat Springer from the Gold Coast is a mum of three teenagers — including twins.
Her blog is all about helping other families bring calm and organisation to their homes.
"There is always so much to do with kids: doctor's appointments, sporting commitments, homework and washing — oh, the washing!" she says.
Her hack for finding more time is planning ahead.
"I'm a systems and routine kind of girl," Kat says.
She recommends writing everything in a calendar and assessing at the beginning of each week what is coming up.
For example, if you have sports training late one night, plan a simple dinner.
Kat also swears by systems she has in the home, including regular laundry days and having the whole family pitch in with the after-dinner clean-up.
"I don't have to argue with the kids to get them to help. It was always part of our family time."
Her "me time" vice? "I always make sure I get my TV time."
Multi-task
Sam Jockel — School Mum
Sam Jockel from Brisbane has three children aged 10 and under.
She says the biggest challenge is finding time to relax with her kids.
"We're busy with our kids all the time, but we're not really with them," she says.
"We have downtime for ourselves, but with our kids I feel it's missing."
A calendar synched to her phone and computer is Sam's best friend when it comes to managing her week.
"No matter where I am, I have access to it. I can update it on the go," she says.
And multi-tasking is what saves her the most time.
"I think through what I need to get done that day, and plan my physical movements around the things I have to do.
"If I know I'm going to get the kids, I'll leave half-an-hour early and go to the shops on the way."
And Sam is not shy about taking "me time" when she can.
"I hear mums talk about feeling selfish or guilty — that's not something I've ever felt for taking me time.
"I actually think it's really unhealthy to just revolve our lives around our kids and not have a sense of self."
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