Time Management for Parents

Posted by: Mauro Vaisman on September 28

Here I am. Sunday. The kids are going to bed, and I have to accomplish my last task of the week before I collapse into bed. Write this blog.

It was a busy weekend. Soccer practices, soccer games, fixed a friend’s computer, did groceries, cleaned the house, and cooked four big meals so we can eat well during the craziness of the weekdays. The garage clean up and mowing the grass will have to wait until next week. Why? Because my kids come first.

After accomplishing all those tasks, my wife just had a great blog idea—Time Management for Parents.

As I do with all my blogs, I first googled the topic. Got 6,110,000 results. So the topic is good. But the large number of results on Google, tells me that most of us are failing on the subject. How do I know? Just google “Diets”— 5,020,000 results.

I am not going to review 6,110,000 results and tell you how to manage your time. I have no time for that…

I will tell you five things I do. The non-expert.

1- Don’t stress. You will not be perfect. And if you are, your kids will hate you because that means you have no time for them. You are spending too much time being perfect.

2- Make a list of what you want to eat during the week and go to the grocery store to buy just those ingredients (helps you save as well). Make sure you also get the cold cuts for the school/work lunches in the same grocery trip. Take your kids with you. Give them the list and a pen, and make them feel like the most important person in the world. Because they are.

3- Cook all the meals at once. It might take you over three hours on a Sunday, but it will free up your time during the week. Get your kid to crack the eggs, do the measuring, and stir.

4- If you have a laptop and high speed network at home, get a wireless router. It will make you mobile at home, so you can multi-task anywhere in the house. Right now, I am in bed and I have one of my daughters reading this blog over my shoulders. Work and love…that is what I call multi-tasking.

5- If you have a demanding job, a PDA (like a Blackberry or a Treo) can help you as well. If you commute above the ground on a train like I do, you can work an extra two hours a day, and not be interrupted by regular phone calls or constant meetings. E-mailing/texting/IM’ing as you drive is not smart. Those few minutes can make your kid an orphan. If the E-mail is important, pull over.

I just wish the day had 26 hours. I could use an extra hour at the gym and an extra hour in bed.

Can you share your favorite Parenting Time Management tips? I am sure we can all improve.

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