As a mum, life is busy. Over the last twelve months we’ve had to add in home-schooling to an already rammed week full of other responsibilities. Mums who rarely have any time alone, have had even less and life has been intense for so many of us.

Whilst finding time for ourselves is so hard, deep down, we all know that in order to take care of your kids in the best possible way, you must take care of yourself first. We know that you can’t pour from an empty cup, yet we still struggle to prioritise ourselves.

We all know the things we can do to take care of ourselves, whether that’s eating better, making sure we exercise, get a daily walk and fresh air, or just sitting quietly or having a bubble bath. However, there are other things we can do in our daily lives to ensure we actually have time for these things. By reducing your workload, you should have more time for yourself.

Here are a few tips.

Batch cooking

Planning what to cook, buying food and then preparing it each day is a surprisingly time consuming task, especially when you add in all the other daily tasks we have to complete.

Batch cooking really can help here. Making three or four times the amount of food you would need for one meal does not require a great deal more time than making one dish (aside from a bit of extra chopping perhaps). Be your future friend and think about the time you will have for a nice long bubble bath once you’ve batch cooked for a week or more!

Shopping online

Online shopping has increased hugely during the pandemic, but I have been doing this for years. I still hear so many people complaining about having to go and do the weekly food shop and wonder why they don’t try online shopping. I find this a massive time-saver and I find it easier to meal plan this way too.

This website can help you if you are still shopping in-store and have mobility issues, hopefully saving you time too!

Giving out regular chores

It is perfectly acceptable to give children chores. One day they will have to do these things for themselves, so by teaching them now, you will be raising children to become capable adults with good life skills.

I give each child three chores each day. These can be as small or as big as you decide, but what is surprising is that even with them doing seemingly small jobs around the house, my list gets smaller, leaving time for other things.

Get organised

Be honest, how much time do you either spend looking for things, or looking for things for other family members? This can waste a huge part of everyday. Be your future friend and get organised now – whether that is making sure that the children’s clothes are where they can get them, pyjamas are folded in a parcel so they don’t get separated, or simply having squash made up in dispensers in the fridge so children can help themselves to drinks and you aren’t being interrupted every 30 seconds.