Being inside for months on end is not easy. Especially if your house is cluttered, disorganized, and full of rambunctious children who are (literally) jumping off the couch. With a chronic illness, four kids, and a pandemic underway, I’ve learned a few tricks that help me get more done with less effort! Whether you’re social-distancing or just working from home with kids in tow, these tips will help you maximize your time at home!
WHAT IT MEANS TO “MAXIMIZE” YOUR TIME
Simply put, to maximize means to make the best use of.
So to maximize your time at home means to make the best use of your time at home.
You may have noticed the name of this blog is The Maximizing Momma. And that’s because I am always looking for a way to make the best use of my time! 🤷♀️
Because of my Type-A, organizing personality, I’ve always been productive.
But after recently being diagnosed with a couple of chronic illnesses, making the best use of my time with the least amount of effort has kind of become my mantra!
I have Lymphedema, which is where a blockage in my lymphatic system prevents lymph fluid from draining properly. The build-up of fluid leads to severe swelling in my legs and hands.
Some days are better than others. My legs ache constantly, but I’m pretty used to that by now. It’s the heaviness that really gets me. If I’m on my feet for too many hours, I pay for it ten-fold the next day.
With that being said, maximizing my time at home is my jam, like going to the Taco Truck at least once a week. 😉
MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME AT HOME
A great way to maximize your time at home is to always ask yourself, “What’s the best way for me to be spending my time right now?”
For example, if you’re tuning in to your favorite Netflix series, consider what you can do simultaneously. Think of mindless tasks like decluttering a dresser drawer, matching socks, or tidying up the room around you.
Multi-tasking is extremely ineffective because our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. But if you’re simply watching TV or cleaning the house, it’s definitely okay to focus on a second mindless task.
The key here is mindless.
Try to do this whenever you can and you’ll have learned the first step to making the best use of your time!
PLAN YOUR SCHEDULE TO MATCH YOUR ENERGY
Some people do their best work in the mornings, while others (like me!) are true night owls.
But being a night owl doesn’t necessarily mean staying up until 3am working! It just means that you have more energy in the second half of the day.
So how can you take advantage of this and plan your schedule around your energy?
Start by taking note of your peak hours
Your peak hours are the time of day when you’re clear-headed and have the most energy.
If you aren’t sure when that is, I recommend tracking your energy.
Track your energy
- Check-in with yourself throughout the day and take note of how you’re feeling.
- Are you tired, excited, irritable, happy, calm, normal?
- You can write it down or you can create a little graph with different colors to signify different energy levels.
- Be sure to include the time of day!
Now the next step is to put that information to use!
Use that information to your advantage
Tracking how you’re feeling for a day or two should give you a pretty good idea of when you are most productive. You’ll also know when you have the most energy. These are your peak hours!
Here’s an example of how I use that information to my advantage:
I know that I’m completely useless every day from around 1-3pm so I don’t attempt to get any work done during this time frame. Instead, I focus on mindless tasks that can be easily completed without much brainpower. Like cleaning the house, folding laundry, or playing with my kids.
Since I have the most energy and am most productive in the early evenings, I really wanted to figure out a way to be able to get some work done from 5-7pm. I decided to start cooking dinner at 4pm before my husband even comes home from work. This way, dinner will be ready by 5pm and I can have a few hours to work before my kids start their bedtime routine.
USE YOUR “POCKETS OF TIME” WISELY
Pockets of time are generally defined as those small moments of availability throughout your day. Such as when you’re waiting for your kids to get their shoes on, waiting for the oven to preheat, or waiting for your favorite show to start.
But as a mom of 4 who works from home, I do it a little differently. I like to think of pockets of time as the moments throughout the day when I’m NOT working on something important.
If you’re working from home with littles in tow, this will typically be the time when you’re busy with your kids.
Instead of mindlessly scrolling through your phone while you’re busy with your kids, make the best use of this time! Start by creating a list of all the activities that you CAN work on during these times of the day.
Here are a few examples:
- 20 minutes of social media
- Tidying up
- Daily cleaning tasks
- Folding laundry
- Replying to a text message
- Deleting old emails
Your list will be largely dependent on the type of work you do, but you want to aim for tasks that don’t require a lot of brainpower.
So when your kids are running amuck around the house, you can whip out your “pockets of time” list and know exactly how to use that time for maximum productivity!
This is my best tip for working from home with little kids that scream, speak gibberish, and jump off the couch like it’s a jungle gym.
When the schools first shut down in the spring of 2020, I would get really frustrated because it was impossible to get any work done while their dad was at work.
But now I’m intentional about the type of work that I do during the day and it has made a tremendous difference!
Our schedule isn’t exactly ideal, but it’s working for us in this season of life when we’re “safer-at-home”.
NEVER LEAVE A ROOM EMPTY-HANDED
Getting into the habit of never leaving a room empty-handed is another great way to maximize your time. (It’s also one of the best organizing secrets out there!)
When you take a commercial break to get a snack from the kitchen, gather all of the dishes and trash that has accumulated in the family room.
If there are toys on your kitchen floor and you’re heading back into your living room, bring the toys with you so you can put them away.
When you come inside from your car, carry all the trash and coffee mugs back into your house.
Once you wake up, grab the water glass from your nightstand and take it with you on your way to the kitchen.
This tip is especially great if you have kids that leave everything everywhere. I currently have a fishing game on my nightstand that was left there this afternoon by my 3-year old. When I get up to make dinner, I’ll grab the game and put it away on my way to the kitchen.
It takes time to get into the habit of never leaving a room empty-handed.
Try repeating to yourself, “full in, full out”. Meaning, always have full hands coming in and full hands going out. (This is something I picked up after 19 years working in the restaurant industry. 😂)
CLEAN THE BATHROOM WHILE YOUR KIDS ARE IN THE BATH
I know how tempting it can be to scroll through Insta while your kids are splashing away in the tub. But if you’re already in the bathroom, you might as well clean it!
Keep a few basic cleaning supplies under your bathroom sink so you can easily clean the toilet, disinfect the counters, and wipe down the mirror while your kids are bathing.
And then your bathroom will be clean for the week (or at least a few more days, depending on how many kids you have 😉)!
CLEAN THE SHOWER WHILE YOU’RE BATHING
If you clean the rest of the bathroom when your kids are in the bath, all that’s left is the tub and the floors.
So knock out the tub while you’re in the shower!
Keep a homemade shower spray under your sink so you can quickly spray the walls as soon as you get out of the shower. This homemade cleaner uses dishwashing rinse aid, so there’s no need for wiping!
When it’s time to clean your bathroom floors, go ahead and give your shower walls a quick scrub and you’ll be all set until next week!
MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME IN THE KITCHEN
Technically, freezer meals can be defined as maximizing your time. Freezer cooking is when you spend a few hours prepping a bunch of meals so you can freeze them for later.
But that doesn’t mean that’s the only way to maximize your time in the kitchen!
There are a few other things you can do that don’t involve spending an entire day freezer-cooking:
Cook all of your meat for the week at once
For example, when you’re browning ground beef, go ahead and cook enough for the entire week’s meal plan.
This works for any food item that your family will eat throughout the week, like eggs. Scrambled eggs reheat wonderfully, so it’s a great way to make sure your kids are getting a hot breakfast as opposed to cereal.
Cook twice as much food each time you cook
Double the ingredients for the specific meal you are preparing and freeze the second meal for later. (Click here for more information on freezing prepared meals.)
Related Post: How to Accomplish Your To-Do List Every Day
YOUR TURN
Are you ready to maximize your time at home? Here are a few ways to put this into action:
Track your energy
Take note of how you’re feeling at different times throughout the day, tired, energetic, relaxed, grouchy?
Whatever time of day you are more energetic and productive, use it to your advantage!
Make a list of tasks you can do in the daily pockets of time
Aim for tasks that don’t require a lot of brainpower, like scrolling through social media, cleaning and tidying up, folding laundry, replying to texts, etc.
Constantly ask yourself, “What’s the best way for me to be spending my time right now?”
If you plan your schedule around your energy and use your pockets of time wisely, you will be well on your way to making the best use of your time at home!
Good luck! 😉
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5 Popular Goal-Setting Methods
How to Accomplish Your To-Do List Everyday
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