Working Mom Hacks to Save Time

Working moms are juggling 2 (or more!) full time jobs.

What is the reality of working moms who are “doing it all”?

If it feels like there is not enough time in the day to get the things you want done, or to be present and enjoy the time you have with your little ones, then this post is for you.

The underlying methods, processes, “hacks” all derive from the following 3 principles:

1. create systems not tasks
2. create habits not checklists
3. quality time over quantity of time

If you have no time right now to read this post word by word, click the table of contents below the title and skip to the parts you’re most interested in. You’re welcome!

Personal experience with time management and my Type A personality

Before I went on my first maternity leave (I took 14 months off), I envisioned a lot of snuggles with baby, some time to learn new things, and maybe even try new endeavors.

During my maternity leave, I felt too tired to start anything new. Most days felt like it went by in a flash.

Do you get the feelings of overwhelm, or anxiousness over being not “productive” enough?

I did.

I thought the answer was to pile on MORE on my to-do list and remind myself to get the things done.

I was wrong.

I went back to work to my demanding career in the financial services industry after my maternity leave. I felt even more strapped for time than during my maternity leave (obviously) and felt burnt out.

After almost 4 years of trial and error with my two daughters, I’m here to help you with some practical and tactical tips for working moms with young kids to take control of their time.

I’ve officially taken my drive and professionalism in improving my workflows at my 9-5 to my mom era.

I hope these tips give you more time back in your day, as it did mine.

Importance of white space and your ability to increase capacity

You need time to rest your body and your brain!

Blank spaces in your day give you time to think and plan. You will feel less overwhelmed, learn to say no, and prevent burn out.

I believe that your capacity can grow over time. I believe that with practice, you will know what tasks to prioritize, what will take up the most time, and streamline your day.

You can have time for yourself, and have time for your family, while still maintaining a career (perhaps not pedal to the metal in every category).

Taking control of your time involves taking a hard look at where your current time is going, and how are you tying where your are spending your time to your greater life goals.

You will need to build yourself some good systems and habits and work towards a long term view for a sustainable family life.

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**Disclaimer for all of the YouTube videos linked below: credit goes to the original creators. I am linking to spread education and awareness, but none of the videos are mine.

Work Life Balance: Does it Exist?

As a mom, do you feel like the picture above describes how you feel a daily basis?

We were told that we can “do it all“. We can “have it all“. But, at whose expense??

I don’t believe in the idea of “balance” for working moms who are juggling work, life, and everything in between.

I do believe that we all have phases in our lives where EITHER our career OR our personal life take priority.

I like to think of it as having different seasons of life.

Sorry to break it to you, but you cannot have it all, all the time. While many try to juggle this unrealistic expectation, you will end up working longer and harder at both parts of your life until you burn out and wonder where your life went.

Just take some time and watch the videos I’ve linked below. Dr. Bahira Sharif Trask talks real numbers and statistics when working moms were surveyed, and after 20 years of studying this so-called “work-family balance“, she realized there is NO SUCH THING. She talks about ways to take back control and I mention some of these in my hacks below.

The important thing to recognize is that BOTH work and family are crucial parts of your life as a whole. You want to learn to keep both work and family parts of your life manageable, and not take over your whole life. The key here is to stop taking on so much. Know your limits, know yourself, and say NO!

“Super Mom” Jomana talks about the difficulty of juggling a professional career and being a mom of two in her TedTalk. She stresses the importance of relying on your “village” to help you raise your child(dren)! The message is clear: don’t try to do it all yourself, all the time.

Building Systems and Habits

Becoming a mom, you’re in the long game. You want to find sustainable ways to make these time saving “hacks” and habits stick. Little changes over time will create big long term changes.

If you’re not convinced about the importance of habit building, check out this video summary of the “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. You are your habits, good OR bad.

“A slight change in your daily habits can guide your life to a very different destination.”

– James Clear

The goal is not MASSIVE ACTION or change, but really as little as 1% improvements in your day. 1% better a day = 37 times better. 1% worse a day = close to zero.

We often focus on the end goal INSTEAD of the systems that get us there. Note here that almost everyone can have the same “goals,” but it’s the process that gives you progress, even if you DON’T achieve that particular goal.

We want to make progress and not be discouraged by not reaching certain goals at certain times.

With that out of the way, let’s dive in to the working mom tips that will give you more time back in your day with some tangible tactics.

A is for AUTOMATE

At Home

• Set pre-authorized payments for bills. If possible, set equalized payment plans (electricity or gas companies will often let you do this) from ONE account. This will also help you keep track of all the bill payments easily if anything were to go wrong with the bills.
• Pay yourself first with savings automating into specific accounts for specific purposes such as retirement, vacation, education, self care, gifts, etc.
• Subscribe for auto-delivery on Amazon for household products, my favourite diapers, wipes, and baby care items. Never run out or forget again (and save $)!
  • See my post here for baby health care items. Not only will you get a bundling discount (save money!) but you’ll DEFINITELY save time by not having to run to the store when you run out. Buy well, buy once. Spend a little more on quality products and automate the process!
• Set smart home routines. I use the Alexa Echo to set automatic routines for my Philips hue light bulbs to turn the lights on in the bedroom under specific settings at the time we wake up, and to turn off all the lights by midnight. You can also set routines to let Alexa know headlines, remind you of important calendar events of the day, and add to shopping list (super useful!).
• Subscribe to Lovevery Play Kits. I have been subscribed until now since I found out about these kits and my daughter was just a newborn. You can save money by paying for the full year up front. These play kits are high quality, well researched and at a better value than if you were to individually scout the toys yourself.
  • They also have a high resale value! I can say that I’ve not purchase many additional toys for my daughter in addition to this subscription, and it comes on time for her developmental milestones.
• Cut down food prep and cooking time with food processor and instant pot. You will need to do a lot of dicing and mashing and steaming in your first two years of your baby’s solid food journey. For my second daughter, I got the Beaba Babycook Neo since it was one of the few that was made with glass, easy to clean and I’m still using it so much to this day (youngest almost 2).
  • I didn’t even know that food processors existed until my daughter was a year old. It helps with all of the dicing and slicing you’ll need to do and cuts the food prep down to seconds! I didn’t buy separate baby food maker gadgets because it’s not multifunctional for the whole family.
  • I used the instant pot to steam on high pressure cooking to soften hard veggies before age 1.
• Make baby formula bottles with the Baby Brezza Formula Pro Advanced. Get an extra funnel because you will need to wash once every 4 uses. This was a lifesaver during my daughter’s first year when we topped up with formula, and it’s like a little baby Nespresso machine! One button for perfectly measured and perfect temperature bottle.

At Work

• Set up rules for emails. Send emails to their designated homes in a specific folder and you can set alerts and even a notification sound for important emails. Emails eat up SO MUCH TIME, and you want to be strategic on how much time you spend on it while getting things done.
• Email yourself delayed emails in the future for important work tasks or send client delayed emails for follow up. Stay away from keeping a running tab of to-dos when you can get it done right there and then. For important client or team emails, it’s also great to have it written far in advance when it is fresh in your mind. You can always edit it before it sends.
• Use voice to notes if you don’t have time to type it. Make sure you proof-read before you send. You can also do this for your family and friends! You can also send voice notes directly.

R is for ROUTINE

At Home

Time Blocking

• Time block instead of making a to-do list. When you block off the exact amount of time you want to allot to an activity or a task, you set specific time aside for it.
  • Set an alarm for the time block that will likely run over time. Try NOT to do this with an alarm on your phone (distractions!) – Get a timer cube or a visual countdown timer so you don’t go past the time you’ve allotted! Learn about the pomodoro method here.
  • You can set routines for time blocking well in advance. Set recurring blocks for things like: family time, cleaning time, cooking time, self care time, etc.
  • You will be able to know exactly WHAT and WHEN to do something at a glance. Tip: set different tasks with different colours. I do this on my Google Calendar with 5 min reminders before the activity starts.
• Book as many appointments in advance as possible (and time block it in!). Important appointments such as baby vaccines you will need to book closer to the date, but you can set yourself reminders and block off time to book it. Any self care or routine check-ups like dental appointments should be able to be booked well in advanced. Most providers will send reminder emails before the appointment.
• Set time block for journaling. This SOUNDS counterintuitive, but in practice, it will help you “unload” much of that constant running tab in your head. Moms’ brains are working overdrive all the time, and that’s why we have a hard time remembering anything! I highly recommend a short time block of 15 minutes to mind dump before you sleep or first thing in the morning. This is also great to have something to look back on for important milestones for your baby and your family.
  • I use OneNote to journal. It’s super easy to have a page for each date.
• Set “Do Not Disturb” time limits on your phone. You need to guard your sleep with as much vigor as you can. You can set this on your phone easily either for all work days or every day. I set mine to be 10pm – 8am with only my husband and immediate family on the exceptions list to call through. This setting forces you to NOT be on your phone last thing before bed and first thing in the morning because the audio on videos won’t work, and your screen will be black and white.
• I use my fitbit to monitor my steps and track other health measurements. It gamifies the process and you remember to keep active throughout the day. You can also set a timer on the fitbit for all of your time blocking activities. I think it’s way less distracting than a full blown apple watch or smart watch.

Zoning Areas of the Home

• Create baby safe zones. This allows baby to have free play and full autonomy in a safe area while you do your work/cook/other tasks.
  • You can have a fenced off area (Amazon.CA), or even just a pack and play when the baby is young. I got these magnetic cabinet locks so my daughter couldn’t get into any of the cabinets or drawers I didn’t want her getting into. And I covered all of the outlets with these electric plug covers (Amazon.CA). Baby gate to zone off a baby safe room also works. You can get a wall nanny to protect the walls for the baby gate.
  • You can’t be helicoptering after them all the time. This will save you a lot of time and mental energy knowing that your baby is safe and having independent play time.
• Create different zones for based on your habits. Have a “dump zone” if you’re someone who likes to dump things after coming home from work, an “out the door zone” for keys and things you need for going out, a “home office zone” for an area you always work at if you don’t have a home office. You get the idea. This way you will not forget where the things belong to the zone are, and you can teach your other family members to know where things are. This follows the Montessori philosophy of, “a place for everything, and everything in its place“.

Labeling & Dividing & Filing

• Save time by labeling EVERYTHING. Does your husband always ask you, “hey honey, where is X?” Make it easier for everyone and label things from the kitchen to the bedroom. Later, this will serve as a great transition to teach your child words in real life scenarios.
  • I labeled all the drawers and baby clothes by 3 months increments from 0-12 months and put them into clothing drawer organizers.
  • If anyone else is there to help you with child care, they can also easily find things this way.
• Organize your drawers with drawer organizers. The ones I’ve linked are my absolute favorites. I use them all over the house from the kitchen to the bathroom and my office.
• Divide your laundry by darks, whites, delicates with a divided hamper with wheels and a separate plastic hamper (Amazon.CA) for heavily soiled (kids!) clothes. Your toddler will love to do laundry with you, and having a separate hamper for her will help build independence!
• File your documents by date in a documents file. I like to use expanding file folders for all the important documents (tax, insurance, banking, etc) for my husband and I, and a separate receipt organizer for my important receipts.
  • You can also use the old school method of taping the receipts on a notebook. It’s really important to keep the receipts because many household and baby items have a long return or warranty period, and you will need the original receipts to claim it. Save your future self some headache and organize as you go!
• File baby documents in separate organizer. I have this baby file keeper from Pearhead and it’s super compact and easy to use. You will need to get their ID and health passport each time you go to get the vaccine or to the doctor’s. You will also be getting a bunch of documents from the hospital, later from her day care or school, and you want to keep everything organized separately.

Meal Prep

• Plan out meals by the week. We are not hardcore meal preppers by any means. I use a magnetic fridge calendar that has a weekly board to write our weekly meals and see what type of groceries I’m missing. We set Fridays as our take-out/delivery days.

At Work

• Time block at work, too! Set boundaries for meetings, and have time set aside for lunch, breaks and don’t budge. Work will always be there, and you want to define your work day so you don’t max out on your capacity and burn out before you know it. There is nothing more important than you health, so schedule that meeting tomorrow or next week.
  • For example, I may set to meet only 3 clients maximum a day and have 1 work meeting. If there are 2 work meetings to be booked, I will reschedule one to another day where I don’t have another work meeting booked already. Colleagues and clients need to learn to respect your time.
• Color code your work calendar so you can see at a glance how important the week is.
• Productive time on the road. If you’re like me, you want to read more but have so little time in your day. I have my trusty Audible membership and speed the reading time up to 1.2x for all my commute to and from work. I like how Audible gives you badges and it gamifies the process. I like to mark the parts I want to re-listen to.

T is for TEACH YOUR BABY

Related Posts on the Time Value of Mommy Blog:

• Baby Sign Language Basics
• Baby’s First Library: From Birth to 12 Months Old
• 12 Best Books for New Parents Actually Worth Reading

• Teach your baby sign language. You can start as early as 5 months old when their eyes are fully developed and they have the ability to focus on you. The more consistent you are, the more repetition you are doing. Repetition is how babies learn. With your baby able to effectively communicate with you, you’ll save SO MUCH TIME instead of trying to figure out what is going on.
  • My daughter was able to sign “more”, “milk”, “water”, “all done”, “eat”, “book”, “help”, and “please” from month 10 and it has helped her language development immensely.
• Teach as you do. I learned a lot about the Montessori methods from this book (it’s really the ONLY Montessori book you need, in my opinion). Instead of distracting your child with TV or flashy toys, your time and their time is better spent learning about practical life.
  • I purchased a learning tower when my daughter turned 15 months old, and it’s been a daily use item ever since. Since 18 months old, she is able to help me prepare dinner, help me make coffee, and be involved in so many daily activities because she is on the same eye level. Toddlers LOVE to help, so LET them!
  • There are so many options for educational towers. I opted for one that can transform into a table because we lived in a smaller space at the time.
  • I do majority of the household chores with my daughter if she’s not napping. She has her little helper Dyson vacuum to vacuum with me, and she helps me do laundry. We have a little cleaning caddy with handle she carries around when I dust, wipe, and clean the washrooms.
• Build focus and independent play with passive NOT active toys. Provide baby with toys that won’t do anything unless the baby is engaging and playing with the toy, rather than active toys. This means no blinking and flashing toys where the baby is sitting there idle. An easy way to remember this is, “passive toy encourages ACTIVE play, and active toys promotes PASSIVE play“.
  • Activity tables are a great option, or any of the Lovevery toys, or even the Lovevery play gym when your baby is little (you can find it on Amazon but it’s somehow way cheaper through the Lovevery website).
  • Educational toys from Coco Village, Lovevery and other passive toy options linked above are based on Montessori philosophies. These toys teach your baby life skills and problem solving skills which will help them build their focus and attention in a meaningful way, so you have more time back in your day.

S is for SHARE

With Your Partner

• Google calendar sharing. If you don’t have a shared calendar, do it now. The amount of time it takes to double check appointments, play dates, other personal and work obligations is a time KILLER. Do yourselves a favor and just schedule it into a shared calendar so both of you can see at a glance what is happening throughout the week.
• Cloud sharing for photos, documents and files. We use OneDrive and back up our photos, documents and files through this. Your phone will run out of storage pretty soon with a new baby and their countless photos and videos. You want to have a shared cloud space to refer to any important documents, receipts, files, and photos/videos.
• Set up joint email. This makes it infinitely easier when you are signing up for anything your child related, and anything that needs both of your attention.
• Set up joint bank account(s). If you don’t have it already, this is important to manage your household and childcare fees. We set everything pre-authorized (see above).
• Shopping list sharing. STOP keeping a running tab of things to buy in your head! We tell Alexa our shopping list items as we think of them or as things run out. We also have a shared Microsoft To Do list for any gift ideas for our daughter and large items to purchase on sale so we can keep an eye out.
• Chores by time blocking. Time block a specific time and do your shared chores together. We have a recurring time block that includes our individual chores in the notes section in our Google Calendar. Include your child if possible, but you can also block time off when your baby is napping. No time is wasted!
• Childcare. This one can easily fit into the “Routines” section, and it might seem redundant to include it as something you need to “share”. However, you need to have CLEAR communication on what you are each doing. Be specific and define exactly what it is each of you will do to avoid duplication and confusion.
  • For example, my husband does all of the drop offs to day care and I do the pickups on my light work days Mondays and Fridays.

With Your Family

• Group chat. If you don’t already have one, set one up! It’s so much more work and TIME spent to individually message your mother in law then your mom then your brother about the same event or thing that happened.
• Cloud sharing for photos and videos. Send your family a shared link to your cloud folder. We use Microsoft OneDrive and share specific folders so we don’t have to keep sending photos to the group chats. We have folders for all the special events that have MANY photos, and a daily folder for my daughter’s photos I backup from my phone.
• Baby monitor sharing. I have the Cubo Ai Plus smart baby monitor and you can give limited access (no audio or no playback) to family members. If you have doting grandparents and they can’t come over all the time to see your little one, this is a great way to stay connected (without taking more of your time)!

O is for OUTSOURCE

Free

• Ask for help from family. If they have the capacity to help with some light childcare, outsource it! My mother in law and my parents do pick ups for me Tuesdays to Thursdays. They will also bring food and groceries over. They will help us walk the dogs before dinner while I cook. These little things may not seem like anything, but they give time back to you. These little blocks of time compound.
• Ask for help from friends. If you have friends who can help you watch your baby while you take a nap (especially for those first few months), ask! Who doesn’t love little babies that they can give back to their parents? 😛 If they can bring a hot meal or help you with some light chores, be a good friend and return the favor!
• Ask for help from fellow moms and dads. Don’t take on this journey of parenthood all on your own. I started this blog because I wanted to help as many parents SAVE TIME and not duplicate the work of the research and reading that I’ve done myself. Ask a seasoned parent that you trust, I’m sure they’d love to help!

Paid

• Cleaners. I truly believe that having a clean environment helps with your mood and wellbeing. Think about how much rest is worth to you, and how much your time is worth. Our family made the decision to hire cleaners that come every 2 weeks, and it’s the best money we’ve ever spent. We get time back to ourselves to rest, to recharge, and to maintain a clean home.
• Cooking and meals. I’ve tried the GoodFood subscription when it was just my husband and I. We found the portions quite small. Now growing to a family of 4 by the end of the year, I am seriously considering restarting some sort of food subscription service for at least 2 days of the week to save time and have more variety on food options.
• Buying groceries. You can use Instacart or other delivery services like Uber and get your groceries delivered right to your door.
• Day care, nanny, or other childcare. This is especially important when you go back to work, but consider this option if you cannot get family to help even on your maternity leave. A couple hours a day or two in the week can really help you feel like yourself again. First time moms on duty 24/7 often neglect themselves!

This post was all about time saving tips for working moms with babies. If you are a first time mom wondering where all of your time went, I hope this post gave you some ideas on how to have more time back in your day.

Don’t pile on MORE. Use the time back to be with yourself, for self care, to plan and think. A well rested mom is a mom who has the capacity for anything that gets thrown in her path.

The important message here is to have systems set up, and work towards building habits that will give you sustainable LONG TERM results!

Please drop a comment below if you have more tips to save time for a fellow mom.

This post has last been updated as of September 13th, 2024