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One of the most challenging aspects of self-employment for moms is managing a busy to-do list alongside parenting and household chores. But with a few tips and tricks, you can manage your list with ease and stay up on everything that needs to happen.
Make it Available from Anywhere
Doctor’s appointments, grocery store trips, play dates, park excursions and so much more dictate the life of a busy mom. And of course, somewhere in there you have to take care of yourself.
In the chaos of it all, it’s nice to be able to set aside work. And sometimes that means writing down to-do list items when you think of them. This means having it everywhere you go. I love apps that sync across devices so you can make notes on the go.
My mind is so much more at ease when I can read an email and add a to-do list item and get back to what I was doing. It helps with reducing distractions while you’re working too, which is why I like that my app syncs from my laptop to my phone.
Keep it Simple
My to-do list is literally a bullet point list. And in that list, I have the due date in parenthesis. The bullet points make it easy to constantly reorder the items as due dates change or priorities shift. It isn’t a calendar or anything fancy that takes tons of time to manage.
I keep more bullet points in various buckets though.
- Home or personal to-do list items
- Work to do now
- Pending work awaiting more info
- Recurring work that I need to keep on my radar
Items move from one list to another as they become relevant. I write down even small items, such as sending an email or looking something up when I don’t have time to do it right away. That helps put my mind at ease and ensures I don’t forget about it.
When I write down these smaller to-do list items, I sometimes think “there’s no way I’ll forget to do that.” And then I open the notes app the next day and read the item having totally forgotten I’d committed to doing it. So even if you think you’ll remember, write it down. That’s the whole point of the to-do list.
Break Your To-do List Down to Make it Feel Attainable
Sometimes when the large list of items feels overwhelming, I’ll break it down to just what I need to do this week. This helps me visualize the items differently and feel better about getting it all done.
Or I’ll mark it based on when I think I’ll do each item, such as morning and afternoon. I basically work each day with two distinct time slots for work, which generally means two blog articles per day. Sometimes I get an extra in, but I count on one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
I also break down my to-do list based on writing versus proofreading. I have a hard time writing in the evenings, but proofreading isn’t so bad. It’s an efficient use of the kid-free time that I have to get things done.
Why I Love the Apple Notes App
I use Apple for all my devices. I love how they work together and how I can iMessage people from my laptop if I have a quick question while I’m working. The convenience is incredible.
And one aspect of Apple that I really appreciate is the Notes app, which syncs across my devices. It’s so easy to use and is always with me on my smartphone. Once I switched to using this as my to-do list, I felt more productive and stressed less about all that I had to get done.
