How To Get Stuff Done When You’re A Tired Mom

Tired mamas rejoice! We all know how it feels to be in those early stages of motherhood when you haven’t slept more than 3 hours straight in days, spend all morning re-heating your coffee and your to-do list just seems to get longer by the day. There are actually a few easy tactics to manage to cross things off that list and be productive even when you are exhausted. Here are some of my favorite ways….

Get up early.

Yes you may want to sleep but think of the quiet, alone time you can use to get a few things done in the morning before the rest of the house wakes up. The first few minutes getting out of bed are hard, but then once I’m sipping my coffee in a QUIET house I can be so productive in an hour!

Figure out when you are most productive.

I work best in the morning, and I know I’ll be much more productive then than when I’m up working at 11pm. I have friends who can’t function until 10am and dread thinking about work before they’ve had several cups of coffee and slowly woke up. Figure out when that time may be for you and use it to your advantage. Here’s a great article on Evernote  and Fast Company.

Exercise.

Fit in a quick workout to wake yourself up – that endorphin rush will help put you in the mood to GSD (get shit done) and the increased blood flow to your brain will help you be more alert! Plus we all know that exercise gives you energy. Take a quick jog, do a YouTube workout video or stroll your kids on a vigorous walk around the block. Then come home and tackle that list!

Aim for 3.

Be realistic about your to-do list – just try to tackle 3 tasks a day. Keep a running list of everything that needs to get done and pick your top 3 before bed the next day. Making this change was a game changer for me – it’s all about setting realistic expectations and it’s a GREAT feeling when you can end your day actually feeling accomplished (even if you only did those 3 things).

Limit distractions.

If you only have 1 nap time to get things done make the MOST of it. Put away your phone, turn off the TV, use a timer for specific tasks and bust it out mama. I try to do things that don’t require focused attention like vacuuming, folding laundry, styling for shoots when the girls are awake and save my more serious laptop tasks for child-free hours. I’ve found that putting my phone in the other room really helps limit distractions of social media or texting.

Set the scene

Yes cleaning takes time and may even be on your to-do list but having an organized space always helps me get stuff done quicker! I also love to put a few drops of an energizing oil blend into my diffuser like grapefruit and peppermint.

 

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