Recently I was asked, how being a Mother has changed me. Well ... where do I start?! Previous to Motherhood, I use to remove the clothes from the dryer, promptly after the BUZZZ ... I would not stop/rest until whatever I was working on or the mess I was organizing/cleaning was complete.
Enter Motherhood ... if the clothes are clean, but successfully dry in a pile in the basket, GREAT! If it's not imperative for that chore to be done now, then it can wait!
When it comes to work stuff, the best practice I have learned (pre-Motherhood) was to do the top 2-3 things on your to do list that you were dreading the least, FIRST! As much as I hate this little golden rule, IT WORKS! In Travis Bradberry's article, 11 Things Ultra Productive People Do Differently, he calls this "EATING FROGS" ... Love the "They Delegate" mention ... more to come on this topic re: hiring childcare!
Bottom line, we all have 24 hours in our days and some need more sleep than others. I'm a 8-hour-to-function kinda of lady ... this can be challenging with a dog that has a chronic cough and being a working Mother to a 2 year old ... did I mention I also have a Husband! But I have discovered if I can organize myself a bit, things do get easier, and the easier I can make this wonderful world of Motherhood, the more FUN I'm able to experience!
My short list of how to be a productive Mommy:
*Make ONE list! (I use to have multiple lists and that is just LAZY PROCRASTINATION in full effect!)
*If it can wait until tomorrow, it probably can.
*In this brief moment of downtime (naptime, playing with others, etc) what on my list of "to do's" that is MUCH easier to do while Ivan is asleep vs. awake? That takes priority - it's usually my FROG!
*Limit checking of (work) email to dedicated times that you can focus on work and respond/handle any issues asap. I refer to as hitting the ball over the net - as long as it's out of my court, I'm good! Travis's #7
*Find some downtime for yourself ... even if it means reading a book or magazine while doing cardio, etc. I'm offically not agreeing with Travis's don't multi-task. Mothers were built to do so!
*If you have in-home childcare/nanny, delegate any and all chores you can for them to help with ~ especially if you child takes 3+ hour naps like mine!
and the MOST productive time of the day ... NAPTIME! and if I'm not home during naptime, it's the time I have his nanny helping me any way she can with house-chores! Go TEAM ;)
and in the most hectic of times, ALWAYS TRY to remember, as Trace Adkins sings it best, "You're Gonna Miss This"