WAHM Diaries: How I Manage Time and Strive to be Productive

"This is an official entry to Dainty Mom's guest post challenge on "How to Find the Time to Write or Blog."

Friends (and family) would often assume that I am not a busy person. Perhaps they get this idea from the fact that I work from home and I have a flexible schedule. I take these remarks with a grain of salt because I never wanted to be just busy - I want to be productive.

On top of working full-time as an essay instructor, I am mom to a breastfeeding and clingy 1 year old. In addition, I have a blog that requires constant attention. And most people forget the household chores WAHMs often do! In other words - contrary to popular belief (LOL!) - I am a busy woman.

But why is that I still find time to play with Yuri, eat with him, read, attend events, socialize, and even shop? It has not always been like this, but let's just say I now learned the art of proper time use and management.

In over a year of my WAHM-hood, I learned a lot of things about managing time. Now, I want to share with you some of my best epiphanies:

I try to be a lot of things: an employer, an employee, a blogger, and a home overseer. I even tried to dabble in business (more on this later). However, in my book, being a MOM always comes first. When the slightest emergency concerning Yuri occurs, the essays and blog deadlines take the backburner. One thing is clear in cases like these: my son needs me.

But this is for emergency cases. What about ordinary days? Well, this is what I learned. When you're with family, be really with them and not just present. Get involved, listen, communicate! Do not think of anything work-related. Make family-time a non-negotiable and make sure that family time is family time. After all, your job won't take care of you when you're sick!

I don't dare think about work in front of this face! :D

Bonus tip: Try to completely avoid checking phone during family time. The effort will have a good impact on the people you're with.

To be honest, this must be my favorite time management tip. Did you know that time management and productivity come hand in hand? Through the latter, we are able to make the most of our time.

What do these have to do with energy? Well, I usually don't accomplish much when I'm feeling weak and hungry or sleepy. To avoid this, it is a must to reenergize throughout the day!

My energizers are simple. I don't work without food beside my laptop.

My "typical" work merienda. Yes, I'm a pretty big eater.

They easily perk me up and get me going. Also, whenever I finish reviewing one essay, I spend 5-10 minutes on stress-free reading to relax.

Bonus tip: Incorporate exercise moves into work routine.

This tip is very helpful when you juggle jobs, a job and a business, or like in my case, a job and a blog. You see, you will never get anything done unless you commit time to it. This entails blocking hours in your schedule and devoting them to your tasks.

For example, I usually begin my day by checking emails and updates. Some do not recommend this, but I need this downtime because I just finished my morning mom duties. I spend 15 minutes here. Then, I spend the first 2 hours of the morning working. After that, I shift into blogger mode. The time I block out for blogging is around 30 minutes. After that, I work again until lunch time.

This is taken from my BDJ planner. I plot my schedule by doodling. :-)

After feeding Y and letting the yaya take a 1-hour break, I eat lunch for 10 minutes. My afternoon schedule is pretty much the same as my morning schedule.

What's the point of this? After being a mom, work is priority because I need to work. Even if I don't plan my day around it, I will surely work because it's a necessity.

However, the same cannot be said for my blogging. Because my blog is just a hobby and an outlet and not a source of income, I don't really need to blog. This is the common reason why most of us stop blogging after a few posts: it's hard to sustain.

But you know why, you could! I learned that the trick is to INTENTIONALLY fit it into your schedule. In my case, I am able to sustain blogging because I make it part of my regular schedule.

Exactly a year ago, we hired a yaya to take care of Yuri while we worked. Workwise, this is one of the best decisions I ever made. Without a yaya, how could I ever work?

At first, I had a hard time letting her take over "mommy duties." Even during work hours, I would get Yuri from the yaya to play with him myself, feed him myself, or put him to sleep myself. I believed no one else can do these but me.

Suffice to say, those weren't very productive months in terms of work and blog. I was always interrupting myself even though I didn't need to!

Slowly but surely, I began delegating tasks to the yaya. I found out that she can be a better playment than me who tires easily. She can also put Yuri to sleep very well. I saw that I don't need to feel pressured to act like a mom; I just need to be there.

That's Honey, Yuri's yaya, in the background. Sorry I don't have a clear recent photo!

Because I delegated the tasks, I was able to focus more on work and blogging. However, during lunch time and after working, Yuri is mine. Quality time, as I mentioned in number 1.

Now, I'm not saying that a yaya is an absolute need. It actually depends on your family setup. Can you partner stay at home to take care of the kids? Perfect. Can your in-laws or parents watch over the kids while you work? Great!

The point is that whether we want to admit it or not, we need other people's help. You can't do everything by yourself and, realistically, if you want to be more productive, delegate what can be delegated.

Challenge: List all of the tasks you do daily. Which of the mundane ones can you assign to somebody else to free up your time for something or someone more important?

Finally, I want to emphasize this: it's not bad to say no! As modern women and modern moms, we sometimes feel pressured to "have it all" and "be all." We want to be the perfect wife, perfect homemaker, perfect mother, perfect careerwoman, and perfect blogger - all at the same time!

Aspiring for these things is not bad because with the grace of God, these are not impossible! However, there are times when we bite off more than we can chew. How many times have we been in trouble because we said yes to two things at the same time? During these times, were we being productive or were we just being busy?

I have been in this place just this year. Apart from already working full-time and blogging, I wanted to begin a side business. It was promising but I had to give it up immediately because I was too stressed out. It was eating too much of my work time (without compensation at that), and instead of giving my full attention to Yuri, I found myself constantly answering messages and inquiries.

This new endeavor was wreaking havoc to my top priorities, which means I had to give it up. Maybe some other time.

Because we all need a break.

When you think about it, you may not really need to have it all. This brings us back to point number 1. Look at your priority list and ask yourself a few questions. What tops your list? What is your non-negotiable? What, then, could you say "no" to to help you focus on that non-negotiable?

*****

There you have it! These are my 5 tiptop tips in managing my time and striving for productivity (vs. mere busy-ness). I am only speaking for myself, but these tips really did work for me.

Actually, you might have noticed that the tips are interconnected. This is because they all boil down to this: