What does time management mean for work at home moms? Specifically, Christian work at home moms?
It simply means prioritizing your faith and family BEFORE everything else.
Lining your priorities up with what God says is important, not what the world says is important.
But it does involve a plan nonetheless… we’ll be unpacking that here in this post!
>>>>It takes special strategy, a level of flexibility AND incredible intentionality to manage your time effectively as a work-from-home mom. definitely not easy is it? But it is possible.
Time management in itself is a life skill but it looks very different for work at home moms because our attentions are often divided and we have others depending on us.
Titus 2 tells us as women to teach others to be self-controlled.
I firmly believe that intentional time management is practicing self-control.
It’s that chapter in Titus that outlines what I do here… that is to encourage you to find opportunities to be grounded in His word, and self-controlled so that you can be intentional (and have time!) with your family and with your kingdom calling.
What does time management mean?
Mindtools defines time management as:
“Time management is the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities. Good time management enables you to work smarter – not harder – so that you get more done in less time, even when time is tight and pressures are high.”
This is a broad definition and doesn’t even come close to lining up with our priorities as believers does it?
Are you falling into the lie that you “have to get more done in less time?”
If so, keep reading… it really isn’t about getting MORE done, but the RIGHT things done.
Time management for the Christian is more like priority management
What is Christian time management and why is it different?
I’d venture to add that while the definition above is mostly true, for the Christian it’s not necessarily trying to get more done in less time. It’s trying to get the RIGHT things done in the time you’re given.
Getting the God honoring things done in the time you’re given. THIS. THIS has eternal impact.
EVERY SINGLE task you put your hands to has eternal impact for His kingdom, because you are called to operate in His kingdom.
God can multiply time. We have access to that truth! But it’s not striving and stressing ourselves out.
It’s trusting God with the time that you do have and offering it to him so he can use you. It’s yielding our desires and priorities to what He may want for us instead.
Ordering our priorities as God leads and encourages in His word. You can read more about prioritizing God in business and life as a mom in my post here.
Why is time management different for work at home moms?
As a mom you have A LOT on your plate. A lot of hats to wear.
You handle managing finances, managing your household, housekeeping, homeschooling, raising a generation of humans to honor God, administrative needs and MORE…. No pressure.
As a household manager, you handle all of the ins and outs of running your household like a well oiled machine… (mine doesn’t run that way but I’m working on it… and those dang little people just do not like my management!)
You’re scheduling your dreams and personal time around others’ needs and creating order for others to keep them on task.
Also, as a mom, we have small people to keep alive and pour into…
Our family should always have priority in our time management plan (after the Lord of course).
You also have a spouse to support and love on and you want to be able to give them your best and not your leftovers.
You are more limited on time than most. That is a FACT… we won’t even touch on the energy factor here. You need a consistent plan to be productive BECAUSE you’re pulled in so many directions.
How do you even balance working from home as a parent?!? The only way this is possible is with the joy of the Lord and His help… am-I-right?
Deep breath.
You desire to honor God with your priorities and this allows you to do that.
Having a consistent plan will ensure that your spouse and children receive the best from you.
Your time management plan allows you to be present with your family and not allow your business to consume your life like it so often does.
Priority management, within the confines of time. Those that mean the most to us take priority, our spouse, children and then clients/business.
So for the Christian work at home mom, time management looks like:
- VISION- Recognizing that God is over time and he is an inexhaustible resource. You’re creating a legacy, this is so much bigger than YOU.
- UNDERSTANDING- Knowing the tasks that fill your days and those that SHOULD fill your days. Having a realistic view.
- ACCEPTANCE- Acknowledging the nooks and crannies (small bits) of time that you do have.
- OFFERING- Yielding those limited bits as an offering to God with expectation that he’ll do great things.
- SEEKING- Asking Him to help you create a plan with your time that will bring Him the greatest honor.
- TRUST- Trusting that God will use your limited resources and multiply them exponentially.
What is a time management plan or strategy?
This just basically refers to having some sort of framework that you use on a regular basis to order your days and time.
It can mean the use of various tools as well.
It’s easy to panic and think “I don’t have a time management plan!” When that’s probably not true. If you use any of the tools I’ll mention below, you do have some sort of plan…. It just may not be working FOR you.
Do you HAVE to have a specific plan?
No, but you’ll be a more intentional steward, wife, mom, entrepreneur etc. if you do.
Time management techniques and styles
There are many different time management techniques out there.
Here are a few you may have heard of:
- Time Blocking
- Block Scheduling
- Pomodoro Method
- Timed Schedules
- Combos of any of the above!
You could get completely lost in YouTube researching these. You can try them out, modify them, combine them, whatever!
FAST TRACK: Pick ONE to try then purpose to modify it to work for you.
The only right way is the way that works for you!
I will caution you to not be too rigid as you may set yourself up to crash and burn. Mess with them, try them out CONSISTENTLY for at a least a week then modify what didn’t work.
TIP: I use a hybrid combo of block scheduling and time blocking. It’s flexible in that I move the “blocks” around to correspond with the baby’s nap time.
Let your plan evolve with your days and with your seasons. That is WISDOM.
Everyday tools of time management as work from home moms
- Calendars (daily, weekly, monthly, year at a glance)
- Planners
- Routines
- TImers
- Schedules
- Plans
- Checklists/To Do Lists
- Goals
Once again there are no “right” tools. The right ones are the ones that work FOR you.
There are SO MANY types of each of these tools and even some that are combined together.
Find what works for you.
Tools that I use daily:
- Weekly at a Glance calendar sheet (from my time management roadmap freebie)
- High Performance Planner (not sure if I love this yet)
- Cultivate What Matters Power Sheets
- Google calendar on my iphone
- Crayola SuperTips Markers (Color coding for my block schedule! Makes me happy)
- Timers, alarms, alerts (A MUST or I forget everything and get distracted!)
Flexibility in your time management plan as a work at home mom
Why? When you’re taking care of kids there’s just a lot that’s out of your control. If your plan is to strict, you’ll set yourself up for failure when the kids get crazy… Which they do… or is that just mine?
Flexibility is grace.
Giving yourself and your kids grace is so important!
This is the beauty of working for yourself. You’re able to tend to your family’s needs and serve those that God has called you to serve through your business in a way that is flexible with time.
Maybe in an ideal world, you’d create a schedule for you and your kids and they’d stick to it… Allowing you undistracted and uninterrupted time to work on your business.I don’t know about you, but that is not my world. In fact, it’s not realistic. I’ve had to come to that harsh reality.
My kids think my work time is a time for them to ask me 42 questions… yet I want them to know they matter and that I’m available.
It gives you the opportunity to teach them boundaries and to model diligence, hard work, self control, integrity and passion for God’s call.
You’re creating a legacy! You’re inspiring and teaching them to dream big and pursue God’s call on their lives!
Legacy momma. That’s a big deal.
I plan for the distractions because they always happen. It’s the one thing I can count on. I practice patience every time.
TIP: Schedule certain tasks for certain times of day. Use those moments of undistracted time (hello 4 am insomnia) for tasks that take the most focus.
My creative, energetic, and focus time tends to be in the morning so I try to get up early to work on tasks that I need to get done without being interrupted like writing.
When I do this in the afternoon, it takes me twice as long because of all of the conversations my kids must have with me and the severe lack of energy and patience I have at that time.
Consistency is the key to SUCCESSFUL time management as a work at home mom
How can you be both flexible AND consistent?
This will look different for everyone but you should find times to be consistent in some things and work the rest of your time management plan AROUND those set pillars.
TIP: Be consistent in the following DAILY and you’ll see massive results in productivity:
- Showing up each day. (No quitters allowed)
- Quiet time with the Lord
- Wake up at about the same time
- Go to bed at the same time
- Meals at the same times
- Nap times at the same time each day.
You get the idea.
Having consistent pillars or markers in your day then fitting the flexible bits and pieces around them will enable you to have some structure to your day and yet be flexible to take what the day throws at you.
What does time management mean for christian entrepreneur work at home moms?
It means having a plan, utilizing techniques, recognizing the differences it means for moms, being flexible, using available tools that work, and being consistent.
How do you find work-life balance as a work from home mom?
Comment below and tell me what your favorite tips, tools or techniques are!
Want more tips and encouragement? You can now find me on Instagram.
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