Planning For Busy Mums

How DO You Create A Better Work-Life Balance?

Do you know the mum that seem to just effortlessly juggle it all? The one that always seems to know what is happening next in the calendar, who has scheduled play dates in advance, never forget's the school dress-up day, or just generally seems on top of it all.

What is their secret?

Planning! 

As a mum who juggles; several businesses, homeschooling and running my home I can tell you that I have been a planner for many years. It is only in the last few years that I realised that not all mums get the gist of planning. They run the 'family calendar', have some sort of random way of adding certain dates into their phones but not much else. 

TRUST ME

Getting some sort of planner and actually planning things out will free up so much of your TIME. I have used a business planner for the last 4 years, before that I was strictly an iCal girl. Whatever way you choose, the art of putting stuff down will really help. 

What Sort Of Planner Do You Fancy?

Yes, you can choose!

Printable Planners

I have included the link to my planner here. It is a printable PDF that you can just print as you need it. It flows from week to week and month to month. This is especially good if you use a board or even your fridge to put up key things like dates and to do's. 

The printable planner allows for great flexibility. I like to use mine as a daily to-do, then print out each week as I need it. That way I only have to be looking so far ahead! 

I print out the monthly sheets and file them after I have put all the key dates in there! I love doing this at the beginning of the year as I then know in advance that none of the 'big stuff' will be forgotten. 

As new dates appear (school trips, weddings, party invites), I just take out that month's sheet and add it in. This way I easily see at a glance how my month is looking. 

This one thing has helped me to stop over committing to events in the future! 

Digital Planners

I have used an online diary for years. But when I moved to both printable and book, I found that I only used my digital diary for appointments. That way my phone will give me that reminder. 

There are though some great digital products out there. I have lots of friends who love using goodnotes. There are also lots of extra add ons to make it look super pretty too! 

Hardback Planners

I still use my Awesome Business Planner and I am in my 4th year. It is tailored to marketing but I use parts of it for home too. I LOVE a hardback book and stationery is one of my great weaknesses! I am a paper, notepad and fountain, pen girl, wrapped up in a geeky coating! You can also sign up to Claire Mitchell for great marketing tips too, (great for us business owners)

The downside, it cannot be used in any other way outside of a book, so no printing this months calendar out, or printing off several copies of the daily planner for those days with BIG tasks! 

The Right Planner For You In 2022

This year has got a lot of expectations riding on it.

If you have been struggling with how to look forward this year, then check out my last blog on setting intentions. It is something we do as a family and we really went for it this year. We burnt our list of all the negative stuff from 2021 and set some glorious intentions for 2022. 

Top tip - I do this EVERY month at the full moon. I get rid of the stuff that has bogged me down, making space for the good stuff to come in. 

What Do You Want From This Year? 

I shall be writing more on the joy of journal keeping and manifestations too, but really take some time and think - what do you want? This is your planner's function - its reason for being. I want you to use your planner to make those ideas a reality. 

Take Action

Again, you can see more images and even the little video of what the printable planner looks like below. You can access this NOW and get started on making your ideas, dreams and aspirations a reality all while also juggling school, family, dinner prep and more.

Top Planning Tips

• Start with what you want to add in: key dates, birthdays, events
• Take your big 'to-do list' put it on the first weekly sheet, then work through it each day
• Add in things for you too - gym, an evening out (if you are somewhere you are allowed out!), a yoga class, whatever brings you joy
• Tick them off - this is surely the greatest pleasure. Tick off those jobs when you have completed them 
• Keep taking action, the planner is there to enable you to create more balance. If you feel that one side is getting more of your attention, time and energy, review it. Change things while you can. 

Remember - you are in control. This is YOUR planner, if you need or want to change events, to-do's and just need a PJ day. Go for it! 

Have fun and enjoy, there is a great pleasure in having this level of control of different aspects of your life. I think that is especially so in the current global situation. Relish it. 

Gratitude

I have not put a gratitude element to this planner, but perhaps it should have one? I will be chatting more about the power of gratitude soon but always take a moment in your day, morning or bedtime to think of 3 things to be grateful for. It really has the most amazing positive effect on the brain and makes you feel good. 

The Digital Planner

Once again, the planner is downloadable here.

It is only £7 but will see you through the whole year!

Or just take the pages you want, need or like and use those.

Get your kids involved too, as it is great practice for them in getting organised with their time. 

I hope that these planner tips have been helpful.

If you would like to receive more useful mindful tips, then sign up for the newsletter. I  send little nuggets of mindful love every 2-3 weeks, often with freebies (just for those on the email list!)

Planning With Homeschooling

If like me you are a homeschooling mum, then planning also includes your kid's work. We are using these sheets to start to work through work set, assignments due and ensuring that we can get that balance of academic subjects along with the creative and fun stuff too. The monthly one has really helped to get a proper overview of this. 

It has really helped with exam prep! 

I cannot tell you how many hours it has saved, being able to print out weekly sheets so that the girls can plan their revision timetables. You can read more on mytop exam prep tips as well. 

Connect With Me

As always you are welcome to come and join the Mindful Parenting Tribe over in our Facebook Group. Head over, say Hi and see how we can help.

Have you grabbed the FREE Anxiety Pack - Help for those dealing with stress & anxiety?

 Join the Private Facebook Group - all for parents looking for more ideas.

Sign up to the newsletter for lots more freebies and little ways of adding in some mindful moments

 x

Rachel