These productivity tips for working parents will help break the chains of overwhelm so you can finally get things done at work, and at home.

+++

The struggle is real for parents everywhere. Once that alarm clock jolts us into the circadian version of our own personal Groundhog Day that we call life, it’s a race against time to find more time in the day.

Feed and dress the kids and get send them off to school.

Get ourselves fed and dressed and off to work.

Survive the daily grind in the office and still find the energy to get home and get the kids fed, undressed and ready for bed.

Hopefully somewhere in that mess, we will have managed to find our own time to breathe. And perhaps even take some personal time to toss in a workout so we don’t end up with that excess post-baby bump weight or the Dadbod.

Related: Here’s my Ultimate Guide to Losing Weight for Busy Moms and Dads

If we’re truly lucky, there’s extra time for wine or bourbon.

It was tough enough when the daily grind was just about making sure your TPS Reports were finished in time and everyone had the right access code to the next conference call.

The game changes when the everyday stressors include a miniature version of you that is totally dependent on everything from getting properly dressed to eating a solid three meals.

Being a parent is not easy (duh, you know this).

Whether that’s a working mom or a stay at home dad or a self-employed parent trying to juggle a small business and a small human, you are always on the clock trying to stay sane.

I’ve been there.

I spent four years as a stay at home dad myself, handling the lion’s share of the daily diaper duties all while trying to grow my coaching business from the ground up.

It is possible to get things done and be successful and do it without going crazy. You can even do this without just relying on non-stop screen time for the kids. Promise.

In this article, I’m going to share my biggest productivity tips for working parents so you can still enjoy life, be successful professionally and maybe even spend a little extra time with the kids.

Let’s get into it.

+++

10 (Easy to Implement) Productivity Tips for Working Parents

The biggest tip that I can provide to you having done all of this myself for the last few years is to understand that much of this will not always be perfect.

That’s okay.

Perfection is never the goal. Whether that’s in parenting, in business or in your fat loss programming, we’re never trying to be 100-percent perfect, instead we’re looking for some consistency.

We’re looking for some structure.

Because structure promotes freedom.

And at the end of the day, if we have more freedom (schedule wise or even financially) we’ll be much happier and far less stressed.

So, have some grace for yourself. Be flexible.

Try a few of these ideas out. Understand that it won’t always work out perfectly. But that’s okay because eventually it will free up some time more often than that and that’s when the real freedom begins.

Here are 10 productivity tips for working parents looking to find some extra room in the day to get more done (so we can all get back to the important things, like enjoying that wine or bourbon):

1) Learn when to say “No”

Parents everywhere are really great at telling our children when they can’t do things or when we are a little too busy to do something for them.

It’s a nice learning lesson to teach patience and how to follow the rules. But, when it comes to our workloads, we toss the word “no” out of our own personal lexicon.

Bringing on far too many tasks is the first step to total burn out.

Take an inventory of your day and the time available within that day, if a given request (both professional or personal) can’t fit within that schedule; and if you won’t get fired from your job for declining the request, it’s likely in your best interest to say, “No.”

2) Avoid Parkinson’s Law and get things done ASAP

The procrastinators of the group follow this principle without even really knowing it: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

In other words, if you have a week to finish an assignment, you’ll take the entire week to complete it.

Challenge yourself to do better and utilize systems to get things done ahead of time whenever possible.

You never know when the next diaper blowout may hit the fan or an unexpected email will pop up that sucks more time away from your project later on.

Take advantage of whatever time available you have now and see things through to completion as soon as possible.

3) Plan the night before

Football teams don’t take the field without a game plan. You shouldn’t even think about taking on the day without a strategy of your own.

Spend a few minutes at the end of each day to break down the approach for the following 24 hours.

Make a list of the tasks and meetings or playdates, and spend some time developing a roadmap for navigating any potential pitfalls.

4) Set up a daily schedule

Develop a schedule that will allow for productivity in business, competence as a parent, and sanity as a person.

Build routines in how you’ll approach your tasks throughout the day, whether it’s emails or feedings, doctor appointments or conference calls.

It’ll take some time to get into a rhythm between caring for your loved one and caring for your business; but once you do, it’ll allow for a more streamlined and productive day all around.

5) Start the day early

History is full of successful entrepreneurs and heads of state that get most of their work done before the sun even comes up.

The early morning hours are your friend.

Pop up before the craziness of school bells and emails and knock out some of your most important tasks.

You may find that the wee hours of the morning are your most productive of the entire day.

6) Prioritize your daily tasks

Making a list isn’t enough. Especially when curveballs with the children come your way.

Build your daily to do list based off of your top priorities and then (this is the key), you have to stick to them.

Find the most important assignment of the day and make sure this is the first thing you tackle when the mind is fresh and the day is young.

7) Put the kids to work

This doesn’t have to be some illegal sweatshop; but if you’re lucky enough to have some extra manpower around the house and can direct some of those chores to the offspring, don’t be afraid to pass them off.

When the day is jam-packed with work and parenting and everything in between, even something as small as saving 15-20 minutes per day can end up being a huge win.

The older kids can get involved with things like:

• Cleaning their room
• Vacuuming and dusting the house
• Light gardening
• Packing school lunches
• Packing their own backpack
• Laundry (for the older kids)
• Folding and sorting laundry
• Washing and putting away dishes after meals
• Feeding and cleaning up after the pets
• Taking out the garbage

Don’t fall into the trap of “If want something done right, you should do it yourself.” That’s a lose-lose ballgame.

If the kid or family member doesn’t know how to do something, spend the few extra minutes teaching it to them now so you can outsource it eventually.

I cannot begin to tell you how many busy moms reach out to me feeling overwhelmed because they have no help around the house. If you have the chance to recruit that extra help … do it. Do it now.

And if you’re a dad who is on the other side of this busy mom situation, step up to the plate and chip in some more.

8) Outsource wherever possible

Between all of the diaper changes and conference calls; soccer practice and meetings, the day can be quite hectic and loaded with menial tasks.

Do whatever you can to lighten your load of the potential time-sucks in your day to allow for more focus on the important tasks.

Schedule a cleaning service or have lunch delivered whenever possible.

Look to resources like Upwork or Fiverr for freelancers to chip in on business tasks like data entry and small design work when you can afford.

9) Make use of downtime

Maybe you have a long commute to the office.

Or you’re stuck waiting in the pickup/drop-off lane at school. 

Perhaps business travel means plenty of downtime at the airport.

Whatever it is, try to maximize this time either improving yourself or getting things done.

Listen to podcasts or audiobooks during the commute.

Schedule time to work on a project during the flight delays.

Or just say screw it and crank up the volume to enjoy your own personal carpool karaoke session before the chaos resumes.

10) Unplug from everything

The last tip doesn’t necessarily fall into the “productivity tips for working parents” bucket. But it is advice for longevity.

In this nonstop, “always on the go” culture, we can easily find ourselves bogged down and eventually, burned out.

Step away from the email.

Turn off the cellphone.

Shut down the computer.

Schedule in regular periods away from technology altogether.

Find some time every single day to do that and recharge for the next wave of madness that will assuredly rear its ugly head eventually. Until then, relax … and enjoy that wine or bourbon.

You earned it.

 

Let me help you find more time by applying my productivity tips for working parents … 

I’m here to help you out. 

If you have any questions, reach out. I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “Productivity Tips For Working Parents” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Or you can hit me up anytime on the socialz on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

If you enjoyed this post, maybe you’d like more knowledge bombs from me. I’d be honored if you join my mailing list to get regular updates every time I post something pretty dope.