It’s 3 AM and your baby has once more start crying. You wake up and take him in your arms and put him back to sleep. But now you are wide awake and damn its office day. Sounds similar? Enter the world of working moms. Running around, tiredness clinging to you is like a lifestyle pattern in today’s world. We all have to go through it and each day we hope tomorrow will be better. We even try different things to improve things. Some work, some fall on our face. But one thing each mom agrees to is time management.
Streamlining work, home and kids is tough and either you can choose to drive yourself up the wall, or manage things in an organized way. No, I am no expert, but there are some tried and tested things that worked.

So let’s take a look and see if with simple changes we working moms can make our worlds a bit less tiring.

In her new book, “Working Mom’s 411: How to Manage Kids, Career & Home,” author Michelle LaRowe notes that many moms with full-time jobs are left with about 40 hours a week to get all of these things accomplished:

Keeping things Organized

Are you constantly tripping over shoes, or losing your car keys or simply can’t find your favorite book? Worse, you are constantly running late in the mornings because your kids can’t find their backpacks, homework or school books. If yes, then something is definitely got to change! Make a rule to pack the backpacks with all stuff required before kids go to bed and leave it by the bedside. No exceptions to this. If you are finding trouble with your stuff, then find baskets or low storage bins that can help you organize the more troublesome items in your life. As for all the tasks that are lingering over your head, simply planning what task to take up at what time can give you some peace of mind.

Smooth the Morning Bumps

Mornings are extremely hectic and rough for working moms. With kids around it is hard to get yourself ready, get things organized and reach work on time. And the entire process depends on when you wake, feed, clothe, pack and send your little kid to school and at the same time yourself. Here are some tips that can make your morning nightmare controllable.
• Do as much as possible the night before. Set out the clothes, both for yourself and your kid. Pack lunches, make diaper bags, backpacks and work bags completely ready.
• Wake up at least one hour before your kid does. This will allow you drink coffee, get dressed and take care of your pre-work tasks and breakfast set before the kids get moving. Once they are up, you need to focus only on them.
• Keep a 30 minutes buffer for reaching everywhere. Probably you will not be able to reach 30 minutes ahead, but you wouldn’t be late as well.

Feed kids on your terms

Feeding kids is always an uphill task. But rather than taking the advice of people around you and doing it their way, feed your kids on your own terms. Here are some quick tips for it.
• Get a crock pot and along with it get a one-pot cookbook. This is perfect for the insanely busy working moms. With some basic advance preparation, you can work out a menu plan for the entire week and will feel relief each day when you come from work.
• A breakfast can become dinner as well. Once in a while have eggs, toast, hash browns, bacon or sausage for dinner. It’s simple, fast and your kids are simply going to love it. Just add some fruit to it and pack your egg dish with a bunch of vegetables. You are all set.
• Let your kids help you in the kitchen. Let them do simple tasks like grate the cheese, or crack the eggs in a big bowl rather than telling them, ‘I am making dinner, I will talk later.’ All they want is your attention. So share your world with them.
• For week emergencies have some reasonable take out menus for restaurants. All you need to keep in mind is it should be in your budget and have some nutritional value. When everything blows up on your face during a busy week, a takeout meal is a welcome change.

Stock Up

Stocking things is very important. Things that you need to stock will keep changing with your kid age, but the rule remains the same. Store stuff that can save your time and frustration. Have the following things ready at all times:
• Baby wipes (no matter how old your kid is);
• Toilet paper or tissue;
• Paper towels;
• Change of clothes for each kid, along with diapers if needed;
• Snacks that won’t melt and/or go bad, such as fruit leather;
• A big beach towel, which can double as a blanket when needed;
• Band-Aids;
• Toys and books.
So, the next time you are going crazy as a working mom simply think of all the small things you have already taken care of and relax.
You are doing a great Job!!!