We’ve all felt it before—the feeling of bees swarming from your stomach to your throat. It’s the frantic feeling of realizing how much needs to be done in a day and knowing that there can’t possibly be enough hours to complete them.

And yet some moms seem to get twice as much done in that same given time. I mean, God gave the exact same 24 hours to Beyonce as he did to me, right? Just wondering when my dynasty is going to create itself. So, what’s her secret? Beyonce, the PTA president who also volunteers at the animal shelter in her spare time, the CEO mom who also bakes cupcakes for her kid’s school bake sale…

It’s like they know some kind of magic the rest of us don’t. I’ve dissected the matter, asked around, and gleaned a few clues. Here are some voodoo mom hacks to make your day uber-productive.

 8 Magic Mom Hacks To Blast Productivity

1. Get up an hour earlier than the crazies. 

Tried it, didn’t like it, but I did realize that I got TWICE as much done in that one hour of quiet than I did in nearly three hours that my kids were up. If you’re a mom, then you know that their awake hours consist mostly of lost shoes, bottomless stomachs, and plenty of catfights. 

So bottom line, you may not be an early bird, but the worm is juiciest when you wake up before the crazies.

2. Prioritize: Musts, Shoulds, and Can Waits.

It’s a fact: our brain loves a list and according to Psychologist Dr. David Cohen (Source 1), humans love lists because they ease our anxiety about life’s chaos, they give us structure, and are proof of what we’ve achieved.

If you’re not a list person, you may want to become one.

But don’t just willy-nilly your to-dos. Organize them by priority and preferably, a day at a time. Musts at the top, Shoulds in the middle, and Can Waits at the bottom.

Go get ’em tiger!

3. Delegate (or better yet, say no).

When your list becomes too top-heavy, it’s time to delegate. And never, ever feel guilty about it. Billionaire CEO Eli Broad says that “the inability to delegate” is the biggest problem he sees with managers at all levels (Source 2).

We have a tendency to resist asking others to help. The greatest managers use delegation, so whether you’re the CEO of your company or your home, be a leader and delegate.

4. Plan your week in advance.

If you want to maximize your time and squeeze more into a day, you need to know what your days are going to look like. For myself, there are three things I couldn’t stay organized without: sticky notes, my phone calendar, and this planner (it’s a good one).

5. Have family dinner delivered.

I highly doubt Beyonce is hitting the grocery store in her heels. Time spent planning meals and shopping for ingredients is what many would agree is time wasted. Think of it, running to the store for dinner knick knacks multiple days of the week really racks up. 

Instead, have family dinner delivered. With Blue Apron, you’re still cooking for your family, but they do everything else: the meal planning, the shopping, the delivery. A box shows up on your doorstep and you can whip up a homemade dinner in about 30 minutes. Plus, you get $60 off your first three boxes which ends up being less than buying groceries anyway. 

Have a gourmet family dinner while saving money and most importantly, time. 

6. Read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

It’s old school, but golden, just like that vintage pair of mom jeans that you resurrected from that dusty box in your mom’s closet. Sometimes old advice is the wisest and this book is practically the Bible of productivity.

7. Magic juice.

You think Legally Blond perk and energy comes naturally? Not to most of us. An entrepreneur friend of mine who runs two businesses and has three kids got me onto these protein shakes and green drink. Best protein shake I’ve ever had (I add a banana and a TB of cocoa powder to make it a creamy chocolate shake) and their GREENS drink is a natural pick-me-up and boost of vitamins that I hit around 3pm in the afternoon when I’m starting to wane. 

Hey, just think, what would Elle Woods do?

8. Sleep in your tennies so you can hit the ground running!

Okay, maybe not really, but you can sleep in your favorite leggings so that once you’re up, you’re running. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone from bed to car in less than 30 seconds and have been so grateful I slept in a cute pair of leggings.

My mom gave me a saying once and it’s become my very favorite:

 

 

We all have the same number of hours in a day as Oprah, Condoleezza Rice, and the mom from Sweet Home Sextuplets. Try incorporating these 8 mom hacks to make every day crazy-productive. 

What’s the devil going to say when you get up?

The post 8 Magic Mom Hacks To Blast Productivity appeared first on How Does She.

by Nicolette via Home And Garden