Stay focused Increase your productivity as a mom
If you are struggling with creating a routine or maybe sticking to a routine this is your easy to follow guide even if you are exhausted and trying to manage a nursing schedule and get things done during nap time. Creating a daily list to help is one thing I learned early on as a stay-at-home mom. It helps reduce the overwhelm and be realistic with what you can get done.
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It took me a full year to fall into this stay-at-home-mom thing and begin figuring out my days. The first six months were filled with understanding my identity crisis struggles and feeling overjoyed with the insane opportunity to stay home with my kids. As a prior single mom, this was something I had never thought possible, and I was so thankful to my husband.
But it was hard for me going from the corporate world and single mom life where my job dictated my time around my career, responsibilities, school schedules, and before/aftercare.
But when you become a stay-at-home mom, it’s this twilight zone. So now you have “all this time” with no so called (career outside the home) as society calls it, and yet you find your self more busy at home then you even imagined, mainly because your schedule is partially run by little humans who are relentless with their demands. And the house seems to get destroyed by the minute.
Society has it wrong though being a stay at home mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world.
Why daily routines work
The Time Management Advantage of a Daily Checklist
Having a daily checklist as a stay-at-home mom can help you manage your time. When you are home all day it can be easy to get caught up with all the things inside the housdhold screaming for your attention. It is also hard when you have multiple children around. That is where a realistic checklist can give you a roadmap of your day, help you prioritize what you need to get done I call these non-neogitables.
This can also help with the feelings of overwhelm on what are we “supposed” to be doing. And the negative nagging thoughts/feelings of trying to measure your daily performance.
Reduce Stress
Sticking to a routine can reduce some of the stress that can come along. If you have ever felt that mom guilt of what did I get done today or the house still looks messy even though I did stuff. You can look back at that checklist and see your progress. It will also help you let go the the stress you may feel with all that needs to be done.
Plan fun during the day
One of the biggest mistake that people make is thinking that a daily routine means no time for fun. It’s quite the opposite I personally used to plan our daily outings after my morning routine and before lunch/nap time. This allowed me to create fun days with my kids everyday. I would look at the fun happenings around town and then plan my days within my daily checklist.
Helps create healthy habits
I whole heartedly believe in systems and routines or habits if you will. Buidling daily habits starts with a daily checklist, then builds from there. It is transformational and your kids will quickly learn to follow those routines and habits.
But yet what the heck are we really doing, and what are we “supposed” to be doing. And you have these nagging thoughts/feelings of trying to measure your daily performance.
If you feel this or are lost, this post might speak to you and hopefully encourage, inspire and help you.
The importance of a daily routine as a stay at home mom
Being productive as a Stay at Home Mom
You may have days where you struggle with guilt like you haven’t done enough or you can’t get to everything and feeling guilty because there just wasn’t enough time.
I was determined to release some of this mom guilt and wanted some daily list to help me.
That’s when I truly understood the meaning of being the creator of my own time, being productive as a stay-at-home mom, and overcoming daily obstacles while staying on task.
For me, my daily routine involves cleaning. I have a cleaning schedule that I follow to help minimize the overwhelm. And over time, I developed a decluttering schedule, an entire e-Book that includes calendars, checklists, stickers, and more.
I came up with a daily to-do list to help me be intentional with my time, help me plan activities and to create a place to ensure I fit in self care and personal goals.
The simple daily checklist helped me accomplish more and also created a visual aid of the task I did.
It helped my mindset, increased my productivity, and gave me more time to do the things I wanted to do.
Stay-at-home Mom daily checklist
This printable is broken up into categories. There are 5 categories.
- Cleaning
- Self-care
- Errands
- Family/Kids
- Menu planning
I found when I broke down the categories of my day. It gave me clarity and reduced stress.
Now I don’t break down my checklist in a daily schedule or hour by hour. I have a simple stay-at-home mom routine that I follow. I have a morning routine, afternoon routine, and evening routine that modifies as my kids grow/change in ages.
The simple checklist helps you plan out your day of the things that MUST get done and creates a realistic view.
It is SO important and helpful when being home with little ones and still trying to do all the things.
It helps if you are realistic to avoid burnout and to help not feel defeated that your day was unproductive. Which means adjusting your expectations. #truthbomb
This is a HUGE factor for stay-at-home mamas like myself coming from the busy corporate world. Or if you find that your personality is more on the perfectionist side.
How I use my stay-home-mom checklist
I like to make my list daily to prepare for the next day at the end of each day. Typically it’s done shortly after the kids go to bed or just at the end of the day. It depends.
But I will look at what I did get done for the day, and if there is something that needs to roll over to the next day, I will be sure to add that to my list. Then I write out my list for the day. At the same time, each day will be slightly similar. It’s just helpful to see my workload visually.
Now this list is my manual list. But I do keep an overall family calendar using Google. This is the master shared family calendar that I share with the whole family. I explain more about my process in my Google calendar post, complete with a video to explain how I create it in an organized way.
Using this list for yourself is simple to do. It doesn’t have to be perfect because we aren’t seeking perfection. It’s mainly your daily navigator to help keep you motivated as a stay-at-home mom.
Letting go of creating a long to-do list.
We have tons of things to do and lots on our minds as moms. And when we allow the list of to-dos to weigh us down, vs the things we can actually do can lead to burnout. So when using this daily checklist, give yourself grace and know that as Mother’s we live in seasons. And that it’s ok to have slower days or days where we have to adjust the things we can actually get done.
Don’t clutter your brain
I hope you find this helpful. You can print this checklist for yourself and use it daily. Checkout more of my tips for staying organized and motivated as a stay at home mom.