Time-Saving Tips for the Working Mom

Working moms have the toughest job in the world. They actually need to cope with at least two of the toughest jobs. The working mom must earn a living, while at the same time be available to her family as a very busy wife and mom.

If you're a working mom, as tough as it may seem on days and nights when you need to work overtime and must attend a meeting related to your job, take kids to school, cook, clean and do other chores, it can be done. There are many ways to save time, especially rest and relaxation time for yourself. And who deserves it more?

Some suggestions for making your working mom duties less stressful and time-consuming include:

1. Make schedules that require the cooperation of every family member to share all household tasks. Pre-school kids should be able to do basic clean-ups and bed-making of their own rooms. When kids are of school age, they should be responsible for cleaning their rooms, taking care of their own clothing and helping with household chores.

In addition to their basic tasks, assign each child a specific household job for dish washing, taking out trash and pet care. Older children should be assigned duties of making lunches, helping with dinner, laundry, car care, leaf-raking and lawn mowing. As kids attain their teen years, their other responsibilities should increase. Allowances may be based on amount and quality of household work accomplished.

2. If mom works full-time and family income is sufficient, the family should consider hiring outside as-needed help for major tasks, including laundry, house cleaning, repairs, car and yard care.

3. To cut back on paperwork and mailing, mom, dad and older children should become qualified to use the computer and hand-held devices to pay bills and other paperless transactions online. The time saving can be considerable.

4. Car pooling can save the working mom time if other families are involved in taking children to school, meetings, movies and social events. When kids reach their late teens and are licensed drivers, they should share in the car pooling, shopping and other driving duties that can relieve the mom of some of her required on-the-road time.

5. To keep all the assigned work current and discuss family work schedules, conduct frequent all-family planning sessions to find ways for the working mom to save time, as well as give her well-deserved opportunities for personal rest and relaxation.