How to Find Time For Yourself as a Single Working Mum
Posted: Friday, October 23, 2009
by Amanda Alexander
Coaching Mums
It is incredible how a single mum manages to balance her time between so many commitments. After all, it can seem almost impossible when there are two parents in the household. There is so much to do every single day and it just never stops. As a single mum you simply get on with finding ways to achieve it all, but finding time for yourself? That usually comes bottom of the long list of things to do!
If you want to find "me time" as a single mum, first of all you must look at your time management. You don't have to clock in and out of everything you do, but being a ruthless prioritiser is key. If this isn't your forte, try the following exercise: Keep a diary of everything you do for 3-5 days in 15 minute increments. Not easy, but very worthwhile! Once you've done this you'll get a clear picture of where the time "goes" and where you are making the most of your time and where you might be "losing" time. If you want to hone your time management skills and balance your life, you'll find online life coaching experts who can help you to get to grips with all this.
Professional coaching tells us that time management is one of the most important assets in business. Whilst blue-chip companies have always employed advisers and consultants, coaching for women has become increasingly commonplace, especially for single working mums who seek to balance family, career and personal life.
To enable you to find "me time," it will help if you become more efficient at some of the tasks that you perform, day in, day out. Take a look at each area. Sometimes it will not be possible to streamline and become more efficient, but you need to tackle this with a "can do" attitude. Challenge yourself to experiment with new ways of doing things. If you have to work within a tightly constrained budget, this may not allow you to be as efficient as you otherwise could, but nevertheless, analyse everything. For example, are you being as efficient as you could be when it comes to cleaning? Do you absolutely need to repeat a certain process daily or would you be better served by allocating more time for a really thorough cleanup on one day and much less time on some of the others? If you're a manic cleaner, try going on a cleaning diet for a few days and see if the World really does fall apart without the bathroom being cleaned daily!
Of course you shouldn't cut corners when it comes to eating healthily, but eating healthily doesn't mean slaving away over a hot stove for hours. Introduce fresh vegetables or fruits more often, scoring in terms of diet and less preparation. Take the "cook once eat twice" challenge, looking for recipes that you can double up on and either eat on two days running or freeze. How much time could you save if you cooked only 4 times per week instead of 7 and what could you do with that "cook free" time that you've saved?
Remember that certain things are not optional. Getting enough sleep and exercise is essential; think of it as paying into your health bank account - you'll see "compound" benefits very quickly in your resilience, your health and your self-confidence . Simply by concentrating on exercise routine you can often get more energy, promoting greater efficiency during your working day.
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Amanda Alexander is the Founder and Director of Coaching Mums. She is a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach, who helps working moms across the Globe to get more time, less guilt, bring balance back into their lives, and have more fun! For truly inspiring articles and cutting-edge professional coaching tips, sign up to receive "Inspire", our highly-acclaimed free newsletter at Coaching Mums
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