5 Simple Ways to Have a Better Week

Last night I was staring down my week and wondering how I was going to cram in everything that needed to get done.  I love being busy.  I love my kiddos being busy. But, lately I’ve felt my weeks getting away from me by the time Tuesday evening rolls around.  It’s TIRING being a mama, right?!

So, as I was trying to make sense of the 51 Post-it note reminders I had strewn on my desk (together with my “perky” phone “beep” reminders going off every couple of hours) I decided to take a moment.  And breathe.

Then I jotted down some ways I could help myself have a better, more productive, and less stressful week – a “Note to Self,” if you will, so I decided it might be helpful to share these tips in case they might be helpful to you, too!

1. I will plan for the next day the night before. 

I will take five to 10 minutes each night, look at my calendar for the next day and lay out anything special I may need, make any reminder notes and organize my thoughts so that when my munchkins wake me up and my day is going full speed ahead at dawn, I already feel on top of it.

2. I will plan my food menus for the week.

This will help tremendously and will help me with my shopping (staying on budget and on task), making healthy, nutritious choices, and not panicking when I am completely exhausted and have to come up with a family dinner.

3. I will schedule time for myself to work out. 

Whether it’s a walk around the neighborhood with my kiddos, a jog, a favorite class at my gym, or even a workout DVD in my living room.  I will schedule my workouts like I would picking up my kids from school or being on time for a doctor’s appointment – otherwise a million and one things will come up and invade my time.

4. I will plan at least one fun thing I can do with my kids today. 

Sometimes the day can get away from me and I don’t want to forget to enjoy my children. It can be an outing, a play date, a simple game of Candyland, playing at the park, reading a book…whatever we feel like doing together.

5. I will go to sleep at a reasonable hour. 

Yes, it is sooooo tempting to use my evening and nighttime to catch up on…well, whatever I didn’t have time for during the day.  Or even veg in front of the TV with my favorite DVR’ed show.  But, what I’ve learned?  My kiddos are up at the same time, EVERY morning, no matter how late I stay up.  This is another way I need to take care of myself, so I can better take care of everyone else.

What tips do you have, mamas?  Any great advice or time-saving ideas?  I’d love to hear from you!