I love routines to help me make the most of my time. It’s about picking a day or time of day to do recurring tasks or activities. By doing this you take control and decide, based on what works best of you and your schedule, when you want to get stuff done.

It’s all about having a game plan. Of course that plan can always be done away with when you are a mother, but I find it’s helpful to start with one; you can always adjust as needed.

Here are some examples:
• Meal planning for the week on Sunday night and shopping on Monday.
• Paying the bills every Thursday or on the 15th and 30th of each month.
• Washing 1 load of laundry everyday or all of it on Wednesdays.
• Planning your next day the night before or first thing in the morning.
• Devotional and prayer time in the morning.
• Checking email at the kids’ nap time and after the kids go to bed.
• Returning phone calls between 9 and 10 a.m.
• Vacuuming on Mondays, dusting on Tuesdays, and washing the floors on Wednesday.
• Starting meal prep 1 hour prior to dinner time.
• Opening and sorting the mail everyday after dinner.
• Filing your “to file” pile the same day every week.
• Waking up 30 – 60 minutes before the kids to get yourself ready for the day.
• Exercising on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
• Eating out with the family on Thursday nights.
• Blogging on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays for 45 minutes.
• Run all your errands on the same day(s).
Steps to Help You With Your Routines:
1. Make a list of those recurring activities that you do on a regular basis.
2. Have you calendar close by to consult.
3. Sketch out your weekly routines. To start out, you may want to actually write your routines on paper or your calendar-it’s like setting appointments with yourself. You are purposely giving yourself time to do a task that needs to get done. Flexibility is a must -it’s not about scheduling your every waking moment.
Remember, it’s also not about cramming more and more into your schedule; it’s about making the most of your time so you have time for what’s important to you. Don’t forget to allow for some down-time in your schedule, too! Balance is important!
What are some of your routines that work for you? Share them with us!
As the Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula Constable works with busy moms and families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She provides her organizing services both in-home and via Teleclasses and workshops. Receive Paula’s free reports, The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide and 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips for Busy Moms, when you sign up for newsletter at www.stuff2borganized.com or visit her blog, Organizing Tips and Thoughts for Moms.

Here are Tara’s interview answers and tips for moms to get organized:

How do you keep your children’s schedules together ?
My household is a family of 2 – me and my son. I’ve been divorced for 5 1/2 years now, run my own business out of the house and my son just got his driver’s license… some days it’s a tad busy!

I have a combination of schedule managers but use a write-on-wipe off calendar on the side of the refrigerator for anything that is on my son’s schedule or that will affect my son.

For example, it doesn’t really matter to him if I have meetings, appointments or conference calls while he is at school – those don’t make the fridge. But if I’m speaking or have a teleseminar that is in the evening, it is there so he could see it.

Of course, he is a 16 year old boy so verbal repetition and texting seems work a little better than my calendar system. :) At the beginning of the week I’ll do a litte, “Here’s what I have going on, here’s what you have going on… anything you haven’t told me about?” (There often is.)

Then each morning while he’s getting ready for school I’ll remind him of anything that day. Then when he doesn’t remember after school, he texts, fesses up that he didn’t really listen, I tell him for the 5th or 6th time and it sinks in. (They say people need to hear things 7 times to really hear them, in my experiencethat is extra true for teenagers!)

Do you use a particular day planner or mom planner?
I have a Mac and recently discovered this wonderful system called “Daylite”. It may be more than an average mom needs but if you are a mom that is also working from home in any way – check it out!

It has a calendar, contact list management, connects emails to people automatically, politely reminds you of upcoming events… it does everything but clean the bathroom! I have it on both my iPhone and Mac and they sync very nicely – so if I make an appointment away from home I just hit “sync” and don’t have to retype everything.

Daylite has helped me save time, find communication threads and remember when to call people back, send in art for consideration and more. I truly can’t say enough good things about this software!

Do you own a blackberry?
No. As an artist and avid Mac lover, I went from a basic phone to an iPhone. Now I couldn’t live without it!

What is you most used ‘time saving tip’ when it comes to running your house?
Don’t obsess over dust. If you have a choice between dusting and relaxing with your kids, spouse, significant other or a good book – choose the latter. (Do dust sometimes of course!) I often feel like I’m ‘falling down on the job’ if my house wouldn’t be ready for a white glove test or photo shoot with a home interiors magazine but the truth of the matter is, we live here. I work here. Kids hang out and play guitar here. It can’t be 100% clean all the time. So save time by dusting 1/2 as much as you are compelled to and spend a little more time having fun!

Tell us the truth ? What would we find in your car right now ?
If you asked my sister she would say ‘dirty floor mats’. As well as some stray leaves and bark dust, you would find crackers, a bottle of water, reusable shopping bags across the back seat, a book, umbrella and I think if you went under one of the seats you might find some McDonald’s Happy Meal toys… (I go for the Happy Meal when I break down and crave fast food.)

What advice would you give to other moms who feel the pressure of trying to be ‘super mom’?
“Give up the ghost!” Who defines what a ’super mom’ or ‘perfect mom’ is or does anyway? I never got the handbook which makes it that much more confusing.

Especially after I got divorced and started working full-time plus building my business, I quickly discovered that there was no way I could do everything “perfectly” by myself. So I made choices about what was important and at what frequency (dusting, being a prime example) and how to balance being a mom, a business owner and let us not forget, myself.

I think that sometimes mom’s think they need to look like they can do everything seamlessly for their kids – never let them see that you get tired, burnt out or any other negative emotion. And while it is important to provide the safety and security that comes with being consistent and there for your kids, it’s ok to show them that some days, you just can’t do it all! Think about how much better they will feel when they have a day like that too!

I guess my real point is “Super Mom is a myth. Being a Real Mom is a gift you can give your kids – talents, strengths and weaknesses all rolled into the mix.”

What is your number one goal for the year ? How do you plan to reach it ?
This year I hope to really spread the word about my latest project – PrintYourOwnBunco.com. My main business is art licensing – I create art that manufacturers license to put on their products. (Fabric, rubber stamps, dishes, gift wrap, coasters, etc.)

The majority of my end-consumers are women. Loving to play with business ideas on the internet as well, I started my “Bunco” project in October. Over 7 million women in the US play regularly but unless they are very crafty and creative, they haven’t had a way to get fun, themed party supplies. I am now offering that and working on connecting with the Bunco women everywhere through social media, the website and blog, affiliates, traditional press (coming soon I hope!) and more.

Tara Reed is an artist, author and speaker who creates ‘art that will make you smile!’. Her art can be found on hundreds of products in retail stores as well as online. Learn more about Tara and her work at www.TaraReedDesigns.com

Follow Tara on Twitter

It’s About Time -Changing Behavior to Improve Student Study Habits

Students live in a world of endless opportunities to learn, socialize, volunteer, work, and travel among a long list of things. Good study skills and time management are key to learning how to balance priorities and opportunities in your life as a student.

With all these options and new found freedom, a student might become dissatisfied with how they are managing their time. Perhaps they have developed a bad habit of procrastinating or maybe they have too many activities on the go. Changing behaviors is a difficult task but following the recommendations below will help any student improve their time management skills.

A student can start by doing a self assessment. Do I skip class? Do I set goals for myself? Am I easily distracted from school work? Own up to your short comings and bad habits. Set goals you would like to achieve this semester, this year and in life. This will help you determine what is most important to you and help set your priorities.

Starting to plan. Plan each day. You can do this the night before or first thing in the morning. Set out what you would like to accomplish today and prioritize the items on your To Do list. The best tool is a day planner. Keeping all your appointments and assignments in one place will prevent you from forgetting anything. If you are behind in your school work schedule in time to catch up. Flag start dates for major assignments so they won’t be left until the last minute. Be sure you allow for relaxation time as well as social and extra-curricular activities in your schedule. Allow for flexibility in your schedule, this will reduce stress in case something comes up (parents visiting, illness, etc..).

Scheduling Time. Going to class should be a top priority. Even if you haven’t done the assigned readings, missing class will put you further behind and waste time. Getting notes from someone else is never as efficient as writing your own and someone else may have missed an important point. Attending class will make studying easier later. Block off small amounts of time for studying. You can devote your focus to the task for a shorter period of time and will remember more of what you read. Subdivide larger tasks into smaller ones. This is helpful when scheduling things in your day planner and will make that big project easier to tackle. If you come up against a task that is unpleasant or difficult commit to trying it for five minutes. You may end up getting into it and spending more time, but if not that’s fine. Try to come back to it again later for another five minutes.

Finding a Study Space. The first task is to determine your best study time. Some people are most alert and do their best work after midnight; others work best in the morning when they are still fresh. Know your study preference, some people like a bit a noise or music; others are distracted by the presence of others. It is your responsibility to guard against distractions. If you know your roommate is having friends over or that people often stop by your room to chat, go to the library. If you are tempted by instant messaging and email get away from your computer.

Reviewing your Efforts. At the end of each week, evaluate how you did. How many things remain undone on your schedule? Did your schedule work well for you? What obstacles and distractions did you encounter? Each week set out a reward for completing your most important tasks. Maybe it’s a night out, an ice cream cone, or buying a new shirt. Whatever is in your budget and will motivate you the best.

Isn’t it time you started practicing some of these time management techniques? Change your behaviors and you will change your results. These results not only include your grades, but your free time as well.

Alana Green, Professional Organizer with Organize Anything. For more time management tips visit www.organizeanything.com

I think part of the answer is to acknowledge your individual style and family needs.

I am often told by others that they think I am super mom – but things are not perfect in my home. I get a lot done by taking each project and breaking it down into small realistic steps – but that’s another topic …

I also found when i stayed at home I would notice motivation would wane and I wasn’t getting out of the house. So be sure to schedule out of the house time :-) If you know you have to be up and out of the house every day at 9 30 am, you will be able to schedule what needs to be done before then and have the motivation to get it done.

If we “stay home” too much we tend to slow down (or at least I do :-)

I have never liked the term stay at home mom … you are a mom.

Staying at home implies you are in the home – but you aren’t – you are everywhere ! Out walking, doing errands, scheduling play dates, classes, homework, soccer, ballet, dentist appointments … its a full time job. I like the title CEO mom. Running a family is as hard as running a company.

So those big jobs you mention (even if it was tongue in cheek … tell me your partner (the one who works full time out of the house) how much time is in his schedule to be painting the living room and resurfacing the deck” – that’s how much time you have as a full time mom ! You both have full time jobs..

It sounds like if you want to schedule those other big jobs in you will be pulling an all nighter at the office (oops home) outside of your regular stay at home mom working hours.
Another tip : Each evening write a to do list for the small things you realistically should be able to fit in the next day- start with no more than 5.
Good Luck !

Of course I have the internal ability to wake up 30 minutes BEFORE I have to wake up after only five hours of sleep. Unfortunately that alarm doesn’t seem to carry over into the waking hours. A thirty minute heads up would be handy.

Not having that constant heads up, instead, I wear the super mom cape as I leap over shoes, bags and the cat in a flurry of movement. Knowing full well that the school bell is going to ring in ten minutes and the drive is a minimum of 11 minutes and three seconds if no one is in the cross walk and that light isn’t red. Of course, I will have to drive laps to locate a place I can stop to let my son in. All the parking spots are taken by those nannies with an internal clock.

I thought I had the alarm clock before I had children. As a professional Nanny I was never late for a soccer game, a music lesson, or birthday party. It turns out there are two types of internal alarm clocks. The one reserved for those of us who don’t have children under the age of 18. This one allows you to roll out of bed just before your alarm goes off after a night of 8 hours of restful sleep.

Then there’s the other alarm clock. The one called the mom alarm clock. This internal alarm wakes you up at three minutes before the baby needs to be fed, or two minutes before your toddler wets the bed, or 8 minutes before your five year old wakes up with growing pains. Sometimes these alarms are all in the same night. The mom alarm clock results in a pure hatred of the real alarm clock that wakes you up at 7 am as the children are peacefully sleeping telling you to start your day.

Luckily I have some other time management tips under my cape to keep me on time and organized as a mother. Despite the internal mom alarm clock working against me at night, my children make it to their soccer games and birthday parties, usually with the present and cleats in the bag. Was that the blue bag or the red one?

*I wrote this last year – feel free to share it on your blog or website, just link back :)