Do you know what it is like to have a hectic day and yet still go to bed thinking; what an unproductive day I had! I do. When this happens, it means that we are yearning for meaningful productivity – meaning that we want to get to do the things that mean the most to us. Here are my tips on how to be a productive mom meaningfully.
Defining meaningful productivity
“How different our lives are when we know what is deeply important to us, and, keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what matters most.”
According to Stephen Covey; meaningful productivity is giving our time and attention to the things that are most important to us. We need to plan our days around our priorities. Now let us get into how you can do this.
Get clear on what is meaningful to you.
Motherhood can be very busy making it is so easy to be stretched too thin trying to be everything to everyone at the same time. Shawn Blanc suggests that meaning productivity is a result of clarity because you cannot spend your time on what matters if you do not know what matters in the first place. Therefore, to be able to work on what matters; it is essential to get clarity on:
- Who you are
- What your values are
- What is important to you and your family
- The kind of mother/woman/wife that you want to become
Identify your time management struggles.
Now that you know what is meaningful to you, it is time to eliminate anything that stops you from getting it done. Prevent distractions and stop procrastinating:
- Make a list of tasks and projects that you seem to avoid – the ones that make you scroll for hours
- Resolve to make the necessary changes:
If you tend to spend time on your phone to avoid the task at hand – switch your phone off and put it away until you have completed the task.
- Stay on the task
Sometimes we turn away from tasks that seem hard for us to do. The discomfort and the uncertainty make us want to stop working on the project. Do not stop – keep going until you feel more comfortable.
Group similar tasks together
Some tasks like doing laundry may have not made it to the list of things that mean the most to us however they still need to be done. Grouping similar tasks is a hack I learned from reading Getting things done by David Allen.
- Do all the tasks that need to be completed on your computer in one go.
- Group all the calls together
- Have an errand day for shopping and Dr.s appointments for the kid(s).
Rest when you are tired
Often as moms, we tend to overlook rest and we keep going. We push ourselves sometimes to the point of burnout. However, rest is an essential part of being a productive mom. You take longer to complete tasks when you are tired.
Meaningful productivity goes beyond being busy and getting things done! It focuses more on doing things that are important to you and eliminating everything that keeps from that. It is not only about time management, it is about life management because the minutes and the hours eventually add up to days and weeks and before you know it, it is the rest of your life. These are my thoughts on how to be a productive mom in a meaningful way. How do you make sure that you are doing the things that are important to you?
