These time management tips for single moms have come out of years of frustration in managing it all.
And as a single mom, you know what I mean by it all!
As single moms, we are the breadwinners, educators, counselors, primary caregivers, and in charge of house management. That’s a lot!
And with each of those jobs comes its responsibility and burdens. To say we are overwhelmed is an understatement. We are exhausted!
Many times, I was so overwhelmed that I did not know what to do next. So, I did nothing—except sit there. It was all too much.
This occurred mainly in the beginning. The loss of a marriage and the brutal realization of how complex this was demobilized me entirely.
Working with a counselor can create more balance in your life. But it’s still hard.
However, there are a few specific things that you can do to manage it and your time more efficiently.
Step One: Set goals.
Setting goals helps us prioritize what is most important to us.
This post about setting goals may help you.
Setting goals as a single mom (singlemomoutwest.com)
These goals guide us in our time management.
We can move forward once we know what is most important to us.
Step Two: Consider what is most important for your children.
I wanted the kids to be healthy and happy. But I didn’t know how to get there. And to be honest, I failed miserably in the beginning.
The kids were out of control, and I could not deal with them or me. It took some time and some profound understanding of what was truly important.
Two books helped me change our situation from being out of control and barely surviving to healing and changing.
The first book is How to Really Love Your Child by Dr. Ross Campbell. It gave me specifics on how to connect deeply with my children.
The second is specific to divorce and children’s needs during a divorce. It is by Dr. Archibald D. Hart. He writes from the perspective of going through this as a child, and it changed my perspective completely. Helping Children Survive Divorce, by Archibald D. Hart.
For both of these books you can find them here:
Books and More – Single Mom Out West
This is crucial because dealing with your children’s needs will help you manage time more efficiently.
Knowing that your children are in the best place possible will give you room to make time management decisions effectively.
Otherwise, you will be distracted and second-guessing yourself on what you must do.
Guilt from unmet needs causes distraction. It’s also hard to use your hands when you have a needy child in your lap.
Step Three: Prioritize balance in your life.
Give yourself plenty of margin.
Get great at saying, “I can’t do that now. I want to do it someday, just not now.”
Overplanning and spending much time away from what matters destroys our peace and our already limited time.
Even if an activity is good, it doesn’t mean it’s good at this moment.
Give yourself and your children plenty of quiet downtimes. Healing will take place, and wholeness will happen.
Tsh Oxenrieder has written an excellent book, Organized Simplicity.
While the book focuses on keeping an orderly home, she explicitly addresses time management and the necessary balance.
Here is a link to her blog.
https://www.tshoxenreider.com/
Step Four: Plan accordingly.
This may be the most challenging step. It involves figuring out a schedule that works around your life’s demands and sticking to it.
As single moms, we need to get good at working around our time constraints.
We may need to get up early or work after the kids go to bed.
Certain things work better at certain times.
After deciding what to prioritize, the schedule we need to slim down, and the time frame required, we will find what times work best for us.
Step Five: Revisit it until it’s workable.
Time management for single moms is dynamic. Things change. Activities, demands, and children are unique and require some flexibility.
It doesn’t mean our schedule is wholly disregarded but can be adapted to meet a specific challenge.
And finally, breathe.
Life has a way of working itself out. Do the best you can and breathe through the hard times. Love your kids, and be kind to yourself.
Things will get better, and you will find a way through!
