I would bet money that working mums with school-aged kids have more on their minds than anyone else!
Between work and school ‘admin’ my brain is fried at the moment. I’ve got several projects on the go at work – basically full-time work in part-time hours. Then I also have a 6-year-old at school, with forms coming home every day for various school trips, events, dress-up days and god knows what else. Some days I can’t remember what work emails I’ve already sent out or what forms I’ve signed for school. I haven’t yet sent her to school in uniform on a mufti day, though I have forgotten homework on more than one occasion this term.
And then, of course, there’s the ‘home admin’ of paying bills, remembering appointments and making sure everyone gets to where they’re supposed to be.
So if you have a million things to remember, these tips on how to be an organised mum when you have lots on your mind…
Have a morning routine
There’s nothing worse than a stressful start to your day when you’re running late and then you turn up at school having forgotten PE kits or forms. You then end up at work completely frazzled which doesn’t make for a productive morning. Getting things done the night before really helps, check out my other tips for making mornings easier to help your day get off to a good start.
Make Lists
I swear by lists, mostly because if I don’t write something down I’ll forget it. I have to-do lists in my notebook at work and I also use Trello for online to-do lists for both work and personal reminders. These are handy because you can access them whether you’re working from home, in the office, or sat in the car waiting for the kids to come out of school. Here’s a list of some other apps to help keep you organised so that you can remember everything you need to do.
Write Everything Down
As well as to-do lists I write down notes for all sorts of things, anything from shopping lists to things I need to askt he teacher at the school pick-up. I figure the more that I put down on paper (or on my phone) the fewer things I have whizzing around my brain. Or fewer things I’ll forget! Write them in a notebook, on a calendar, in your phone, whatever is easiest for you to stop you from forgetting important things.
Set Reminders
I’m always setting reminders on my phone for things I need to do, especially when I’m at work and remember something I need to sort when I get home such as getting football kits or projects ready. Sometimes I stick notes to the fridge before I go to bed if there’s something I need to do in the morning, and at work my Outlook calendar is full of reminders that pop up when needed. I often set the reminders for the day before the thing is actually due to make absolutely sure I don’t forget.
Use “Mum Hacks”!
Time is in very short supply when you’re a mum and there are so many hacks to save time on everything from housework to grocery shopping to school bake sales. If you haven’t already seen it, have a read through my working mum hacks for some ideas on how you can save lots of time.
Set a date for admin
If it’s mountains of school paperwork you need to keep up with, maybe setting a night every week to go through it all would help. I registered for the online payments app our school offered as it’s so much easier to transfer any money online rather than scrambling around for change to send in. You could also sort household bills at the same time to make sure you keep on top of them.
Don’t put things off
The more things you put off until later, the more you’ll have on your mind. Especially when they’re things you don’t really want to do as I always find these are the things that you think about the most. Especially things like the lovely “home learning” projects the school like to dish out, or the dressing up costumes you need to make. Just get them done, out of the way, and you don’t have to give them any more thought.
How do you cope with remembering everything that needs to get done? Do you have a handy trick up your sleeve that you want to share with other mums? If so drop it in the comments below, I’d love to hear your tips on being an organised mum!
#ablogginggoodtime
Great tips, I am always putting thing off. I think when you ave children you have to get into a good routine, especially when they are young ?
Great tips i definitely need to be more organised as it can be overwhelming when u have loads to do.
Great advice! The not putting it off is a must for me, if I don’t do something straight away I forget.
I am not a mum but I agree that it is important to not put things off. After all the longer you leave it, the worse the workload will get!
I do agree with not putting things off, because school emails come so thick and fast you just have to give them your attention. I suck at list though. Once something is on a list it is as good as forgotten for me!
My morning routine helps me stay sane. It is important mums have one.
I am not a mum yet but I utilize most of these tips at the moment too, I have a long to do list and I set alarms
I have enough problems organising myself, I couldn’t cope with kids to organise too. Hats off to all you parents!
This is really handy – thank you! I’m about to go back to work and my daughter go to nursery so I need all the organisation I can get… I’ve been a bit lax on maternity leave! #dreamteam
Popping back from #blogstravaganza 🙂
Don’t ever underestimate the power of writing down notes like I do. An absolute mumhack I’d say.
What excellent tips. I could really do with being more organised. x
Great advice. We are generally organised but I am guilty of sometimes deferring things which then makes admin a bigger task.
(hubby helping out)
Great tips. I like to think that I am super organised and do most of these. We even have a coordinated family electronic diary but still missed the dentist last week and got a 40 Euro fine ? Thank you for linking up to #ablogginggoodtime ?
YES! I am 100% a fan of lists. The problem is when I am on the go and forget to write down the things I should add to my lists! ?
Thanks for the tips. ?
Oh I soooo need to do all of these! We’re not yet at school age, but even so I feel like my brain is completely frazzled! I forgot to book a table for dinner with our friends the other day and then felt terrible!! Thanks for the tips, I’ll be taking them all on board! Thanks also for linking this to #DreamTeam!
I’m always setting calendar entries with reminders so I don’t forget stuff! Going to check out Trello and the other apps you’ve linked to. Thanks for sharing. #twinklytuesday
Popping back from #sharingthebloglove
These are great tips. I’m so guilty of putting things off, then having to rush around at the last minute! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
My brain is frazzled with school stuff, blog stuff and life stuff! I definitely need to up the organisation game and that’s without working full time as well! Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
Popping back to say Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
lists is my key to getting shit done hahah! #sharingthebloglove
popping back from #sharingthebloglove
Great tips! I was a PA / Project Manager in my working life and I was so organised, but in my home life at the moment I’m a mess! These are all things I would have done at work, so I need to start prioritising and doing them at home and get my life in order! Thanks for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
This is my world – full time work, plus a 6 year old who still can’t seem to do things for himself when it involves getting things ready for school and a husband who announces on the day he needs it, that I need to get him money out the bank and won’t do anything himself if it involves a trip into town. Thankfully I’ve got my system working, and yes it involves a lot of calendars, reminders and lists. I still forget things like birthdays (if they’re not in my list), but otherwise it’s like being a swan – calm on top, frantic underneath #sharingthebloglove
I am not organised at all but o e thing I have started doing lately is bulk ironing for the week ahead. Ie school uniform, my work outfits and a few other bits. We have them all hung up so we can just grab and get ready of a morning. I totally agree being prepared the night before is also a must especially when I have an early start #blogstravaganza
Putting things off – guilty as charged! I sometimes write things down and then I realize, if I actually DO it now, it won’t even need to go on my list!
Great advice here. I’d argue that lists are important whether you are a school mum or not. #SharingtheBlogLove
Fab tips – definitely helps being organised and writing things down X #stayclassymama
Very good tips. I should make to do lists, they are very good for productivity. Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama
I never seem to have enough time but then I do have 3 kids, 3 jobs, my blog and I volunteer for the scouts! I can’t survive without lists! #sharingthebloglove
Great post – I am so unorganised and the annoying thing is that I really try not to be!! #kcacols
I suck at organisation, I have lists and reminders everywhere and still forget things! #kcacols
If it aint on our calendar it isn’t happening – mums have to be super organised these days! #kcacols
These are great tips – I am a list-maker too, but I can second the need for follow through and not putting things off. I’m a chronic procrastinator, so I often end up with overwhelming piles of undone lists – thanks for the reminder to tackle them and regain my peace!
These are great tips. It really does suck to be a grown up sometimes with all the shizzle that comes with it.
Thanks for linking up to #KCACOLS
Great list here. I try my best to be organised but I’m so hopeless. I do find if I have a good routine done in the morning it helps for the day. #KCACOLS