Welcome to my world, where I juggle the roles of (1) mom to five energetic boys, (2) entrepreneur of two new businesses, and (3) manager of our bustling household of seven. Balancing business and family life is no small feat, but over the years, I’ve learned invaluable productivity hacks that have allowed me to not only survive but thrive under this demanding workload. I’m excited to share my top strategies and insights for managing family with efficiency… and grace!

This is a three-part series on productivity. Check back each week to get all the insights and tips I have learned, and still use, to run a household of 7!

 

Today is part 1, get your mind right:

 

Embrace the Chaos

After my first son was born, I quickly realized that perfection is an elusive goal. Now with five boys, I honestly question if perfection is a goal anyone should be chasing at all! Embracing the chaos and accepting that some days will be more challenging than others, and giving yourself some grace if the to-do list is undone some days, is the first step to improving your productivity.

Having the right mind set allows you to accept that the job is NEVER done, and ensures you understand that making steady steps forward in any given day is actually a win, even if you didn’t complete every one of the individual tasks that day. Focus on the daily wins, not the totality of “all the things”; the more you can stay more positive the better you will be at tackling a few more of your check list items the next day.

 

Flexibility is Required

Being flexible doesn’t just mean in your tasks and planning; be flexible in your expectations too! Life with kids is unpredictable at best. When I go to bed at night, I may have a list of 10 things to do the following morning. But, if Jack wakes up sick in the night, Jasper had a terrible nightmare and Matthew forgot to do his homework the night before, my morning is going to be anything but productive if I only compare my efforts against those 10 things.

Getting the kids off to school on time while running on no sleep, managing cranky kids, and after a mad dash to do homework before school is a win enough, the other 10 planned things can most likely wait!

 

Decluttering Reduces Stress

This is like a mantra in my brain, always. Declutter every aspect of your life. Decluttering the things you have (toys, pens, clothes, all the stuff!) will enable faster cleaning, better organization and reduce the amount of decisions you need to make on any given day. I like this specific shirt style, so do I wear the green shirt, or the red one, or the orange one? If you only have an orange one in that style, no decision to be made, right?

Once you declutter what you physical have, go one step further and declutter the things you see. If I walk into the kitchen and see piles of mail, USB chargers, art work and everything else sitting on my counter, my mind wants to dissect the mass of stuff and clean it up just to make sure there isn’t something important in there. But if the art is in a storage folder in my office, the USB chargers are shut in a kitchen drawer and the mail is on the wall mail holder, I simply walk into the kitchen, grab my snack and go about my business. On the flip side, if there is a piece of mail on the counter, I know it’s important and I should add it to my priority list!

Lastly, declutter your thoughts. I find that keeping a to-do list allows me to empty the tasks from my brain which decreases my mental load of all the things I need to remember for our family for the day. If an important date is coming up, put it in your planner. If the kids need a specific item for school on Friday, add it to your calendar. If something has a specific due date, put it on the to do list. The less items you have to remember, the less stress you will feel. This also creates a more conducive environment for creativity and productivity so regular decluttering sessions are a must!

 

Conclusion

The takeaway for part 1 is something that I try to teach my boys too; you have to mentally set yourself up for success.

Be accepting of how crazy life can be, this is not your fault, this is a reality, so we shouldn’t feel bad about it. Accepting your life’s chaos is great, because then you can become flexible about it. Being flexible allows you to bend with the planned and unplanned environment around you and stay on top of the most important items on your plate. And to go one step further, make sure your plate isn’t overcrowded. Decluttering your things may make things more efficient, but decluttering your mind will bring you new peace you never knew you were missing!

Tune in next week as share some of the strategies I use to tackle the never-ending responsibilities of managing multiple roles.