Do any of these thoughts sound familiar momma?
I’m so drained. This again? Didn’t I just wash all this laundry earlier this week? If I could just make a plan and manage my time better but I’m too drained to think about it. I love my family, I know I should feel thankful but I’m just so exhausted.
If you’ve had these thoughts or similar ones you’re not alone. Being a parent especially a mom is exhausting. The stress of keeping little humans not just alive but thriving is more than most of us thought we were signing up for.
Time management is important but what can be even more important for us tired busy mommas is energy management. In this post, we’ll go into what the difference is between the two and how we can leverage both to feel more calm, centered, and together. How does that sound? If it sounds needed keep reading…
First some definitions:
What Is Time Management?
Time management involves dividing tasks and activities into specific blocks of time to use your time efficiently and be more productive. When we’re “trying” to manage our time we often use systems like calendars, time blocking, giving ourselves deadlines, and writing To-Do lists.
We want to accomplish more tasks in less time by organizing and prioritizing.
What Is Energy Management?
In this post when I refer to energy management I’m referring to how we cultivate and manage our energy. What we are really talking about is Personal Energy Management sometimes referred to as PEM.
Where time management is focused on getting more tasks done efficiently in less time, energy management is focused on managing higher energy levels to achieve our goals. Rather than focus on clocks and calendars the focus is on understanding our energy patterns, what fuels us, and how to increase and conserve our energy.
If this is sounding too scientific, don’t click away yet!
I’m going to share why this matters to you as a mom and how harnessing these two management systems can greatly improve your life.
Two Worlds Meet For A Better And More Productive Life
Both time management and energy management are important. Managing your time for greater efficiency while also managing your energy. Blocking off appropriate tasks at the right times will help you stay focused and alert for your most important tasks. And also rest well.
Here’s how you can combine the two systems…
Think about your energy throughout the day. Are you an energizer bunny as soon as you wake up in the morning or do you get your second wind after the kids are in bed at night? Or maybe you’re more of a late morning to early afternoon focuser. It doesn’t matter when but write down the times that you feel like you have the most energy and least.
Now if you’re in that early mom life with littles I know it can feel like you don’t have any energy…ever. I feel ya! Hello, sleepless nights and draining toddlerhood. We are going to get into ways to increase your energy in a bit. But if you don’t feel like you have a higher energy part of your day think about when that was for you before you had children.
The thing about doing this as a busy mom is that it’s not going to be perfect and that’s ok. Think of these as tools to improve your life that can be adjusted. Life with children can be unpredictable and your energy levels may not pair up exactly with the set times available for you to do deeper work. It’s just a mom’s reality. But we can get it as close as we can for the best results we can get! Just create your starting point and adjust as needed.
You can also try to keep a record for a few days to notice when your energy is dipping and when you feel like you can get things done.
A Doable Priority List
Once you know when you have more and less energy throughout the day, make your to-do list and prioritize it. And don’t write too many things for each day. Make it doable or you will feel overwhelmed and like a failure when you don’t accomplish it all when really it was just too much. As moms, we have to add in margins of time because things happen and take longer when we’re managing families.
Take your top priorities and the tasks that require the most focus, think about the amount of time they will take, and schedule those in at the times that you know you have the most energy or as close to those times as possible. Write specific tasks for clarity. Have you ever made yourself a note about something you needed to do while you were tired and then the next day you were like what was I talking about?
Again we have to make it work as best we can. For instance, our daughter is currently napping at lunchtime so that is the time that I need to get my deeper more focused work like content writing done. The afternoon lunch slump is true for me. It’s not my most energetic or focused time naturally. But it’s something I’ve had to make work with our schedule so there are things that I’m doing to increase my energy for that time block. We’ll get into that next.
Try your higher focus, higher priority tasks as your energy peaks for a few days and see how much more you are getting done.
How To Get More Energy So You Can Accomplish Your Tasks
Remember when I said I currently need to work during my less productive time as far as energy goes? So how am I making that work?
Here are a few things I am doing specifically for that lunch work block:
Making It Work in A Less Than Ideal World
I Set Myself Up For Success Early
Making this work block work starts early morning. After my devotion and exercise time, I jump on the computer and set up my work day before our daughter wakes up. This includes things like opening tabs on the computer I need opened, gathering needed research, and starting a paragraph or outline. It could also be making a list of marketing items I need to do or looking over my Master Task List in Notion.
It is easier to start my work during my short work block if I have everything already open and prepared.
Quick Burst of Exercise And Fresh Air
This could be running with our daughter in the yard pretending to be different animals or a few minutes of jumping on the rebounder or some stretching and deep breathing exercises. This gets the blood flowing so I feel more awake and alert while increasing my physical energy.
If I can do the exercise outside even better as fresh air and sunshine also gives me a boost. You can also open a window.
A Matcha Latte and Snack
Then I put our daughter down for her nap and make myself a Matcha Latte to drink while I work. I find a cup of matcha with a little plant milk and stevia to be a great treat and gives my brain that little extra boost needed. I like to wait and eat lunch with our daughter when she wakes up but if I’m feeling hungry I aim to shoot for something energizing like a few nuts and some fruit or yogurt. Snacks with a combination of micro nutrients- healthy fats, carbs, and protein are a great way to go.
Then I can get to my desk and already know what to get started on so I can just get to work.
Even though it is not naturally my most productive time energetically to work at noon it is the best time from our schedule. So I work to manage my energy to meet the schedule. See how that can work? I hope this is giving you ideas to make energy and time work for you.
Different strategies work for different people and lifestyles so brainstorm. Here are more tips for managing time and energy as a mom…
Time And Energy Tips For Moms
Practice Presence
Being present with what we’re doing and with our children takes practice but it can help us stay more focused and feel less tired. Train yourself to have transitions in between tasks and try to really focus on just the task at hand. This can help your mental energy by relieving you of that constant mental chatter. The power of full engagement in our tasks cannot be underestimated.
Purposeful Multitasking
I just said to be present and focus on one thing at a time. And I meant it. But there are times when good multitasking is helpful. You can listen to an audiobook while you’re folding laundry or a podcast while you’re washing dishes. You can catch up with your favorite YouTuber while you’re lifting some weights or stretching. You can exercise with your spouse in the morning so you’re getting that time together before work. You can take a family walk in the evenings so you are spending time together, getting exercise, and decompressing all at the same time!
Know when to monotask and practice extra presence and when multitasking can be purposeful.
Be Selective About “Yes”
Sometimes a lack of energy is from being overscheduled. When we say yes to something we are saying no to something else and that something else may be our health and rest time. Our children do not need as many activities and play dates as we often think they do and we don’t need to do everything either. That does not mean to never say yes and help others. We just need to not make yes our automatic default answer and evaluate what time and energy we have to give. Take short breaks throughout the day and make your emotional energy a priority too.
Something I talk about a lot in motherhood is seasons. If you are in a busier season with just life then it may be a season to cut out the extras.
You may find this post helpful: How Minimalism Helps Moms Beat Overwhelm
Prioritize Your Health
The truth is if we are sedentary all the time then we will feel more like being sedentary all the time and a body in movement is more likely to keep moving. It aligns with Newton’s first law of motion. Also maybe you’ve heard the junk in junk out mantra. This applies to what we allow in our bodies through what we eat and drink and also what we allow into our minds by what we watch and listen to. A healthy diet both physically and mentally will give us so much more energy.
The truth is we just have to focus on our health to Be Happier Moms.
Eliminate The Excess
This could be excess in our schedules as mentioned but it could also be excess in our physical environment through clutter or even in our minds. I address all of these in this post but let’s just say any excess we can eliminate the more space and freedom we have with our time and energy.
Ever heard of decision fatigue? We can have an excess of decisions to make too. We can eliminate some daily decisions by laying out clothes the night before, deciding what workouts we will do for the week, and by meal prepping. Fewer decisions mean more mental space.
Teach Children To Allow Focus
One of the problems with working on tasks during higher energy peaks specifically for moms if the interference of children. Especially if you have small children. Two main ways have worked for me to help with this at least most of the time. There is always a caveat with children.
- I helped our daughter learn to play more independently by stating clearly that I needed to get a task done and then giving her options and then encouraging her in those options. You can use a kid’s timer so they can see the countdown and increase it little by little until they learn to spend more time playing independently. And we mustn’t interrupt them when they are focused even by talking to them. As Marie Montessori says play is a child’s most important work.
- I give our daughter focused attention before the task. If I can be really present and give our daughter the attention she needs letting her choose what we do then she is a lot more likely to allow me the time I need. I also need to make sure her physical needs are met before- dry diaper, full belly, etc.
Use Money To Buy Back Time (If You Can)
I believe in the principle of buying back our time as time is far more important than money. That said financially sometimes it;s just not something we can do in different seasons. But if you do have the means consider putting some items on autopilot. You could use Amazon’s Subscribe and Save for instance to order things you use all the time so you don’t have to think about it. You could shop online and have your groceries delivered. You could hire someone to clean the house, cut the grass, or do any other outsourceable tasks.
You can also enlist family to help for free. Share in household tasks to buy back more family time together. More hands make lighter the work for all.
It’s A Wrap
Rest, get enough sleep, schedule enough time for yourself to feel sane, and ask for help as needed. High energy levels are natural for some but have to be cultivated in others. At the end of the day, it’s about your best work and about the health and wholeness of yourself and your family. Better time management starts with awareness. Remember that when you don’t have much energy it may just be time to schedule regular breaks.
Systems are there to keep things together so we can take breaks and be successful long term. Breaks can give us energy reserves for the times we need them. A balanced life is just a life that works for you in the season you’re in. Brainstorm easy ways to do daily tasks and quality work while being your best self. Think of creative ideas even if they seem a little crazy. Make it fun.
The good news is that the benefits of personal energy management go beyond our work or productive lives into our personal lives. It can impact how we feel and make the difference between a successful day or a stressful day.
I hope these tips help you brainstorm ways that you can better manage your time and energy to live a healthy, happy, productive life even as a busy mom. If you have tips for our community leave them in the comments. What are your peak energy times?
You’ve got this momma! I believe in you.
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