Tips for Time Management for Working Parents

My calendar often reminds me of hard truths as a working parent. Reflecting on the last 10 years, I realize that actions speak louder than words. While I *say* that my family is my priority, meetings often filled my calendar between 2:50 and 5:30 PM—right when school ends, covered by my nanny. Aligning your calendar with your values is crucial. Here are some starter ideas to consider: 🗓️ Reserve evenings from 6-8:30 for family or friend time; put that phone away! 🗓️ Treat workouts as important meetings, make them public on your calendar 🗓️ Take a random afternoon off and surprise the kids with a special outing 🗓️ Block deep think-time for essential projects, mark as unavailable 🗓️ Schedule quarterly YOU time for self-care You vote with your calendar. It reflects your true priorities. What will you add to yours? Consider resharing ♻️ with your network and connect with me Jenny Wood for personal and professional thriving tips.

Being a parent doesn't have to mean putting your dreams on hold! You can CRUSH your goals while juggling the beautiful chaos that comes with raising kids. By finding a balance between family time and personal growth, you can turn your aspirations into achievements. 💫 These tips will transform the way you balance it all: • 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿: Wake up before the rest of the family to get a head start on your day. Use this quiet time for tasks that require concentration or for self-care. • 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: Learn to identify what's most important and focus on those tasks. Politely declining invitations and requests that don't align with your priorities. • 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀: Break down your big goals into smaller, more manageable tasks and celebrate small victories to stay motivated. • 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲, 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲, 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲: Plan activities and chores in blocks, leaving room for both focused work and quality family time. • 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲: Your time is valuable. Outsource tasks to lighten your load. If possible, forgo cleaning or hire a handyman to put that desk together. Instead, use that time to focus on your goals. • 𝗕𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲: Adjust your plans as needed. Flexibility helps you handle unexpected challenges without losing sight of your goals. Don’t be hard on yourself! At the end of the day, it’s not about achieving perfection but about finding a rhythm that works for you. ♥ Anything you would add to this list? #ParentingGoals #WorkLifeBalance #PersonalGrowth #ProductivityTips #FamilyTime

2 years ago, I started tracking my time. I designed a tool to help with the most illusive goal: work/life balance. I *only* track discretionary time. The time I “own and control”. Don't track the non-negotiables: 1. Mandatory work: classroom/prep materials/office hours with students.  2. Keeping kids alive: Making lunches/bedtime/school drop off. 3 steps. Step 1: Month-end run thru calendar, list any meaningful block of time spent Step 2: Code each entry by category: Family, Relationship, Work, Hobby, Book (choose yours) Coding examples: ➡ Playing in a tennis match, playing is a choice, “Hobby” ➡ Dinner with admitted students, going is a choice, “Work” ➡ Half day off to take kids on adventure, taking off is a choice, “Family” Step 3: Make a pie chart. Do the slices match the balance you want? When I look at March, I have data to explain my current overwhelm. **I am spending 1/3 of my discretionary time on WORK.** 🛑 It’s an early indicator light: SLOW DOWN it says. Re-balance. Sure, this isn’t as scientific as keeping a time log.  But, this 15 minute version is a good enough gut check. I have found this so helpful, I hope you’ll give it a try. #personaldevelopment #worklifebalance #workingparent ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost so your network can learn from it too!

I have 4 little girls under 10 - and I run The Riveter. People always ask me how I manage my time. Here are three of my best tips: First, I time block my day. For example, the first two hours of work (5-7 am) are my “deep thinking” time block. Email and social media are out; writing is in. The way my brain works, I time block my administrative work for the end of the day when I don’t need analytical firepower! Second, every Sunday I write out my three main goals for the week and my three “small goals” for each day. Sometimes I make very tiny “small goals” so I know I’ll get them in and I’ll feel accomplished. (We all deserve wins!) But I look at these lists throughout the week to stay on task and not get distracted. Finally, I take care of myself physically so I can actually DO all of the things. I sleep at least seven hours a night. I drink a lot of water (and, yes, a diet coke a day). And: I exercise. I make time for it. Otherwise, I drift and can’t stay focused.  Would love to hear how you make it all work, too. We’re in it together. #workingmom #womeninbusiness #workingparent #timemanagement

I often find myself fielding questions about the elusive quest for balance between parenting and career. As I navigate this dynamic juggling act, I'm excited to start sharing my insights with my network. And yes, I'm fully aware (and excited) that I'll probably learn just as much, if not more, from all of you as you do from me! So, here's me: I'm a proud parent to three incredible kids (ages 1 to 6...almost 7 years old) and I'm hustling to stay on top of not one, but two jobs. It's a whirlwind, but amidst the chaos, I've discovered a few strategies that keep me sane. Here's two things that work for me: 1️⃣ Prioritize Ruthlessly: I've honed the skill of pinpointing what truly matters, both in my professional and personal life. Yes, quality time with my kids daily is non-negotiable. But sweating over elaborate dinners or maintaining a spotless home? Not my jam. Ruthless prioritization means investing my time where it counts most – and being okay with letting go of the rest. 2️⃣ Leverage Deep Work Pockets: Imagine this: the clock strikes 5 a.m., and while the world snoozes, I'm already tackling my most daunting tasks. Those serene, early morning hours are my secret weapon for deep work – that's when my creativity thrives. And come 3-ish p.m., I aim to end my back-to-back meetings and switch gears to tackle simpler tasks or wrap up early to play chauffeur for my little ones' after-school adventures. And, yes, I get plenty of sleep - at least 8 hours a night (I ensure my whole family goes to bed early!). I'd love to share more insights on navigating the beautiful chaos of parenting and professional life. What works for you? Will you join me? #WorkLifeBalance #ParentingHacks #ProductivityTips

Let's talk life hacks.... As a working mother, I am on a constant quest to squeeze more minutes out of my day. I've become hyper-focused on productivity and maximizing my time, and was recently tabulating some of my daily non-negotiables - which, mind you, have changed drastically over the last 10 years! Here are some of Audra's daily #nonnegotiables for #productivity - would love to hear yours as well!: 1. Daily walks: Because Vitamin D and movement are so important, I take a walk outside almost every single day for at least 30 minutes. Some of my best ideas come to me while I'm out walking, and I'm sure my neighbors think I'm nuts when I use voice note to jot down these ideas so I don't forget them. More info on the benefits of daily walks here: https://lnkd.in/gtACxzDk 2. Having a clean kitchen sink! While making your bed every day apparently makes you a millionaire, I also have to have an empty sink in order to feel like I have my life together. I also love it when my dishwasher (and washer/dryer for that matter) do the work for me while I'm sleeping, so using that delay wash feature also is key. https://lnkd.in/gTh_w4Zi. 3. Podcasts/audiobooks. I love staying up to date on the news, but when I'm reading I can't be doing other things (like loading the dishwasher), so I listen to podcasts every morning to bring me up to speed. My favorite business news podcast is Morning Brew Daily, as I appreciate their Gen Z/Millennial take on financial and world news without taking themselves too seriously. 4. Habit tracker. Inside, I'm really still just a 7th grade girl who loves Lisa Frank and feels accomplished when I can check something off my list, but I need it to be separate from my work to-do list. I use this inexpensive weekly planner to check off my daily habits (e.g. water intake, walks, vitamins, etc.) and it doubles as my mouse pad: https://lnkd.in/gE-Q_9_D 5. Subscribe & Save. I swear, it's not just because I work at Amazon - I am a huge fan of this feature! There are products our family needs every month/3 months/6 months and I like not having to think about it or worry that I've run out of something in the middle of the night. K-cups on auto-refill anyone? 6. Daily hugs. There are a few viral videos going around that discuss the psychology behind hugging. They say you need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 for maintenance, and 12 for growth. I have tried to be more intentional about this recently. I do notice when I give my husband or children a proper hug, I can almost feel my blood pressure lowering. Give it a try - pets count too!: https://lnkd.in/g_yWqgcG So tell me.... what are your #lifehacks?

Want to be 10x more productive? Become a parent. I’m only half kidding. Here are some of the incredible things that have happened to me since having my daughter. And I don’t believe these are mere correlations. ✅ Won the EB1A green card ✅ Started a successful business ✅ Ran my first half-marathon And these are the many mindless tasks I have drastically cut down on in a given day. ❎ Doom scrolling ❎ Binge watching TV shows ❎ Overthinking, overanalyzing and FOMO Being a working parent, particularly a working 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕 parent often means you’re doing EVERYTHING on your own, often with zero external support. What this means is that you’re constantly strapped for time, and you’re inadvertently forced to prioritize and make tradeoffs. So even though I have less time for myself on a given day, I get way more out of that time than I ever did before. If you’re a working (immigrant) parent trying to chase your dreams while raising a future citizen of the world, here are 3 habits I swear by that have helped me dramatically increase my productivity - no gatekeeping! 1/ Set realistic goals You’re only going to be productive if you have clear goals and a roadmap to support it. If you’re trying to do too many things, you’re going to do nothing. Figure out what matters the most for the next 6-12 months (ex: career growth, improving personal fitness, etc.) and be razor focused on making that happen. 2/ Create uninterrupted time blocks in your day to get sh*t done for yourself For me, this is in the wee hours of the morning. On days when I have a LOT to get done, I wake up at 4am and get 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time to make progress on my personal tasks. 3/ Everything goes on my calendar. Everything. If it's not on my calendar, it's not happening. This also includes focus time blocks to get sh*t done. Tip for families looking to better organize your weekly events - create a family calendar between you and your spouse so you can better plan and divvy up events, chores and other parenting tasks. 4/ Choose how you spend your time When time is limited, you have to be realistic on what you can commit your time to. For example, we try and limit social time to only those engagements that involve & benefit our daughter (birthday parties, playdates, etc.) and split them between my husband and I. While this might mean”single parenting” more often than we’d like, we’re gifting the other partner productive hours in the day to work towards our goals. Curious to hear from other parents - what strategies have worked for you to boost your productivity? __________________________ 👋 I'm Anu, a Healthcare PM leader and an EB1A Discovery Coach. Follow for more news, updates and tips on EB1A profile development and strategies to ultimately help you work towards immigration freedom. Visit 📌 allthingsanu[dot]com 📌 for more information. ___________________________ #immigrantstories #personaldevelopment #parenting