As a mom with children, you most likely spend your days caring for the little ones, cleaning, shopping, repairing, sewing, washing, and all of the numerous jobs incorporated into the role of mom.  Needing additional income, and with all of the pressures you face daily, are you moonlighting as wonder woman as well?   If you are, here are a few tips to help you juggle your work/life schedule.

Discuss the hours with your employer.  Ensure there is flexibility conducive to any situation that may occur at home.  If this is a first time job, you may find it difficult at first. Prioritize your daily routine; allow enough time to switch roles from mom to working mom.  If your job requires you to work at night; schedule your time appropriately. Make sure you tuck your kids into bed; continuity is important. Sit down with your children and explain what you are doing and why.  Reassure them especially if you are working outside the home, you are only a phone call away.  Involve your children, if age appropriate, as to what type of work you are doing. 

Keep track of the events in your children’s lives.  Try not to miss any important school functions, plays or sports games. When the weekend arrives, devote as much time as you can to your family. Try to remember back to when you were a child, and your mom had to work. Use that life experience as a model, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it at the time. Most importantly, when your job is finished for the day – it’s finished.  Don’t allow it to filter into your home life; keep it separate and distinct.

Finally, if your role as Wonder Woman becomes weary, or you find it is not only a drain on you but your family as well – hang up your gold lasso; put away the cape and the guilt, and call it a day.  Nothing is worth your health and physical well being.  You’ll have plenty of time to rediscover the wonderful world of a working mom, only this time a sword and a particular war cry is recommended.

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Product Name:   The Busy Woman Planner
Submitted by:  Rebecca White; Sylvania, OH
Rating:  10
Where to buy:  TheBusyWoman.com

Description:  A planner for all your organization needs.  The Busy Woman planner offers direct sales pages, holiday planning pages, weekly and monthly pages that are not dates so you can use them when you need them, purses to hold your planner and so much more.

Review:   Is your life disorganized?  Are you always searching for items and not knowing where all your notes, car information, children’s shot records and such are?

For years, every January, I go to our local Office Max and spend hours looking for a planner that can fit all my needs.  I am a mom, a soccer manager, a business owner, a direct sales rep and NONE of the planners at the store had all the informational pages I need!  The Busy Woman Planner changed all that!  Why?  The Busy Woman Planner is a planner you can customize to your specific needs.  The Busy Woman Planner also has direct sales rep packages!  How cool is that!  For example there are contact page, business expense envelopes, mileage papers, and so much more!  With tons of pages to select from you can be sure that The Busy Woman Planner can be customized to your life.

I now can keep all my soccer manager items, my AVON business contacts, my personal information for the kids and doctors in one convenient place.  I even have the credit card holder and got rid of my wallet all I have to do is grab my planner and go!

There are budget pages for you to keep track of your monthly expenses, blank note pages for you to use anyway you need.  So, if you are truly looking for an organizer that fits each and everyone of your life’s needs.

Susie is excellent; she called me to talk to me about what specific needs I had.  She was very personable and I loved talking to her.  I even got the planner CD that explains how to set up your planner.  To listen to this CD makes you feel like Susie is in the room with you helping you set up the planner.  I highly recommend you purchasing the CD when you purchase the Planner.  Susie talks about what type of personality you are and the best way to set up your planner to go along with your personality type.

I am a type A, so that means I am highly organized and well too organized to where it seems I am not if that makes any sense.  Susie showed me how to set up the planner to fit my personality and wow was she right, now all I have to do is go to each day or category to find exactly what I need.  I ordered the planner and had it within 3 days!  Talk about fast service

Are you suffering from mom burn out? Do you struggle just to make it through each day? Moms everywhere are breaking down and giving out because they are too chicken to say, “No.”

“No” may be a tiny, two-letter word, but it is definitely your secret weapon. And you can say it. Here are some ways you can say “no” without feeling guilty about it:

Sorry, I’m taking a break.
The number one reason why you should say, “no” occasionally is simply that you deserve a break. You are chef, chauffeur, dish washer, and more. You job never ends on any given day of the week. You deserve a break. If you feel bad for saying “no,” say, “Sorry, I’m taking a break.”

My schedule is full.
We tend to jam-pack our schedule full of activities, leaving time for nothing. Cut back on your kids activities. Start a car pool and share driving responsibilities. Do whatever you can to free up some time in your schedule.

I don’t have time.
You’re headed out the door, rushing to the next appointment when the telephone rings. What do you do? Do you come to a screeching halt and answer the phone? Let’s say you do, and it’s a family member, calling to dump their latest woes on you. Do you stand, tapping your foot impatiently while you roll your eyes and listen to the sob story? This is a typical scene for many moms.

I have another commitment that day.
Say it and mean it.  Regularly schedule in time with your family or time alone and if someone ask for your help during that time look in your planner and tell them you have another commitment. 

Instead of rushing to be everything to everyone, stop. Ask yourself if you truly have time for whatever comes up. If not, say no by walking away, turning off the ringer on the phone, or not answering the knock at your door.

Always remember that you are a mom—not a super hero. When you have to say no, people will understand; if they don’t at first, they will get used to it eventually. 

Time is a precious commodity and those who learn to use theirs wisely will always be ahead of the game.  First the bad news, the one thing you can’t do is add more hours to your day.  No matter what, it’s just not going to happen.  The good news, you can do certain things to make every precious minute count and in turn leave you with more free time. 

Plan ahead – Don’t go anywhere without a list.  Especially if you have the kids with you, you’re more likely to forget something without a list.  So, don’t go on your errand run or shopping trip without a list.  Also try to go shopping in the evenings when there are less people in the store.  Why waste an hour fighting the crowds when you can be done in 30 minutes.  Better yet, do your shopping online.

Meal Plan – Plan meals for the upcoming week and write your shopping list according to the meals.  Make sure you stick the meal plan on the fridge so you can know what foods need to be thawed daily, etc.  This will save you a lot of time and money.

Buy in Bulk – If you have the space plan ahead and buy things in bulk.  You’ll save money and precious time by not having to go to the supermarket so often.

Pay Your Bills Electronically – If you can do this then you should.  You will save a lot of time by not having to write out and mail checks.  If you really can’t or choose not to do this, then set up a work station and keep your checkbook, stamp, envelopes, pens close at hand.  You can also have a calendar with all your important dates and appointments written on there.  Go a step further and have an inbox for mail and papers that need to be files.  You’ll never waste time looking for these things again.

Don’t Let The Housework Pile Up – There’s nothing worst than spending your weekends cleaning.  If you do a little bit each day you won’t ever need to spend a whole day cleaning.  For example, do a load of laundry daily rather than letting it all pile up for Saturday, same thing with the vacuuming and other tasks.  Once the weekend comes around the house should be fairly organized.  You may just have to give the bathroom and kitchen a good clean, leaving you with plenty of time to enjoy your family.

Organize Your Life – Spend a little time organizing your house, the time spent doing this will save you a lot of time and hassle in return.  Have a set place for everything.  For example, have a place near the front door where you can hang your keys and purse.  Don’t forget items like umbrellas, hats, gloves and scarves for those rainy or cold days.  Set up storage for the kids toys or all magazines and books.