I was recently asked on social media how I keep up with everything and if I use a planner. This is such a fabulous question, that I had to write a post about it. I’m going to give you three very simple ways that busy moms can keep up with everything.
All moms are different. All situations are different. Some of us are excellent at just remembering and some of us are late to everything.
It’s sooo okay that we are different. Being different means that each of us can provide our unique take on what works for us, so that we have the opportunity to help others.
Quick resume for those of you who don’t know me well: wife, mom, PhD student, employee, and my husband owns a small business (which means I do his paper work).
I’m busy, and I’m going to share with you how I keep up with everything.
3 Simple Ways That Busy Moms Can Keep Up With Everything
1. Use a planner (Or don’t)
Some people are planner people. If you can keep up with all of the things in a planner, by all means do! I wanted to be a planner person, but I’m just not. With all of the running around I do, I never have it when I need it, so I eventually stop writing everything in it. If a planner doesn’t work for you, don’t stress yourself out even more by trying to keep up with one. There are other ways mama.
For me, a planner works best for reminders you do not need to see everyday. Perhaps, which bills need to be paid on which paydays
If you are a planner person, I love love love the Happy Planner by Me and My Big Ideas.
2. Google Calendar (Just try it)
You need a gmail account for this, but they are free and simple to make. If you’ve never used the Google Suite, it’s awesome, and Google Calendar is no exception!
Google Calendar allows you to easily add anything and everything to your calendar, whether you are on a phone or computer.
There are endless options for how to setup your calendar. You can create multiple calendars, so that you are able to share certain calendars with family or friends without them seeing things that do not pertain to or interest them.
Personally, I keep everything on one calendar and color code. Yellow for school, blue for sports, purple for appointments… and so on. When it’s something I’m likely to remember, I set a notification 30 minutes before it begins. If it’s something I know I’ll forget, I’ll start notifications up to a week before!
There are so many options, it would take it’s own blog post to describe, but it’s easy to use. I 100% recommend you give it a try!
Google Calendar stores everything for me. I may not always have a planner with me, but I always have my phone.
3. Do it when you think of it (Just do it)
How many of you are fellow procrastinators like myself???
If you think about something that you don’t necessary care to put on a calendar, do it right when you think of it if you can. Need to buy baseball socks? Don’t put it off. Need to schedule a vet appointment? Call them now. One less thing to remember.
If you can’t get it done right when you think about it. Add it to your to-dos on Google Calendar.
This took some training on my part. I found that if I make myself do it, I am considerably less likely to experience extreme anxiety. So… win win.
Keeping Up With Everything is Hard
There’s no one size fix all that allows moms to instantaneously keep up with everything. It’s hard mama.
These tips have helped me personally in a huge way, and I honestly believe they can help you too.
Rely on family, friends, and other moms to help you too… there’s no shame in it. We take care of each other.
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I love Google Calendar! It’s made my life so much easier and now I don’t forget that we have activities thanks to it.
Planner person here. I simply write down everything I can think of that need to be done by certain date or time. Thanks for sharing these great tips.
Planners are life! I love my happy planner! I also love getting things done as soon as the task comes my way.
Awesome tips! I keep a planner for my day job and blog but just do it for the rest.
great ideas!!! I think with schools closing we really need to plan even more!!
I keep a “to-do” list on my planner and I use Google calendar for all of our family planning so my husband also gets notifications π
I love the do-it-when you think of it idea. I need to do more of that because putting things off usually means it doesn’t get done.
For so long, I did the same thing. To be totally honest, sometimes I still do. Itβs all a work in progress, but it definitely helps and it becomes a habit!
LOL my Google calendar… OMG! It’s been a life saver for me and is usually jam packed with things to do. I keep mine color coded and everything so yes, this is the one I highly recommend as well!