Single parents often try to be both father and mother to their children. The other parent may be out of the picture due to many reasons, such as military deployment, divorce, or death. But no matter what the reason, it’s important for single parents to learn to manage their time wisely. If you are a single parent, these five time management strategies may help you get more time for your children and for yourself.
Create a central calendar
Think about the activities you and your children are involved in that require you to be out of the home. Placing these items on a central calendar that can be viewed by everyone will help you know when you have to take the children for practices or to visit their other parent if you are divorced.
You may want to use color coding to make your calendar more functional. By assigning each person a color, everyone will be able to see when activities are planned and whether there is room to add another. Having a central calendar will also help you learn to say no when you simply can’t fit anything else in your day.
Ask for help
You’re only one person so don’t feel bad if you have to ask for help. If the ex-spouse is involved in your children’s life, be sure they are helping when necessary. You can also ask from help from the grandparents, aunts and uncles, or friends if there are two activities planned for the same time. You can’t be in two places at once, so you’ll need help if you don’t want to let one child’s activity slide.
Do your best to be organized
Besides having a central family calendar, it helps to be organized in your home so you can easily find items that are needed. If your child is always losing their homework, designate a special place for their book bag at the end of the day. Then go through their assignments to ensure they’re done and returned to the book bag before your child retires.
Having an in-box for papers you need to sign for your child will also help you be more organized. You can also immediately transfer any important dates onto the family calendar so you don’t forget about them.
Delegate to others
Your children may be without one of their parents but that doesn’t give them a free pass for helping around the house. Asking and expecting your children to help you may seem like two totally different things, but it’s important for your children to pitch in with household chores. Not only will they help you, which will make you less stressed, but they’ll also be learning life skills they’ll need when they strike out on their own.
Learn to say no
This one tip, saying “no,” may seem like an obvious time management tip you can follow as a single parent. However, many single parents have a hard time telling anyone no, especially their children. You’re not doing anyone any favors by saying “yes” to every request, though; in fact, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. You’re allowing all of your time dictated when you need time to take care of your own needs as well.
No one doubts that single parents have a more difficult time than dual parent homes. These five time management strategies for single parents can be used with good results. Not only will you be more organized, you’ll also be able to take much-needed time to meet your own needs as well as those of your children.
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Time Management
Routines are great for helping us get everything done so we can get out of the house on time each morning. Did you know that you can use routines to make a house run smoother, too?
Sometimes the best morning routines start the night before. If everyone in the family can get into the habit of selecting the clothes they want to wear the next day, it will make your morning run much smoother. You may even be able to get everyone out of the house on time and with little fussing.
Take time to develop a schedule that the entire family can follow. Find a calendar that has large squares to write in. Write down all regular family events such as practices or games if your children are involved in sports, scouting activities, weekly dates with your spouse, or religious activities if your family attends.
Determine which days certain household tasks must be performed. You may want to spend time each day cleaning a certain room in your home rather than waiting until the weekend to do everything. Do laundry one day, vacuuming and dusting another, clean the bathrooms on another day. You get the idea. If you have everything planned and do it the same way every week, it will soon become routine and you won’t even have to think about it.
One day each week, create a meal plan so you know what you’re going to eat. Write down what items are needed for each meal. This will give you an idea of what you need from the store. While you’re in the “food mood,” take the time to make your grocery shopping list and gather any coupons you may need. By having a plan and a list, this will allow anyone who cooks to be able to make dinner even if you’re not home to do it.
Having your meals planned out will also make it easier for you to get your family fed each day. You’ll know what you need to take out of the freezer, you can put everything in the crock pot to cook during the day, and you won’t have to make trips to the store on the way home.
After the evening meal, plan on setting aside time to enjoy as a family. Establish one night for family fun and games. Watch a movie or play board games. Have some fun with your family and watch the dynamics of your family change.
Set a bed time for everyone. Of course, you and your spouse will be able to stay up later than your young children, but everyone will benefit from getting to bed at the same time each night.
Creating routines to help your house run smoother is something every family can do. If you’re consistent in following the routines you’ve established, your day will run smoother and so will your house. It may take time to make the routines habit but the effort will definitely be worth it.
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Time Management
When you’re a working mother, no matter whether you work outside the home or you’re a work-at-home mom, dinner is always an issue you deal with every day. What will you fix for dinner that will be healthy and the family will enjoy? Menu planning will make dinner easier – here’s how to do it.
Decide which day you’ll sit down and make your plans. Will you make a menu plan for a week, two weeks, or a month at a time? The further out you plan, the more prepared you can be. You can also choose to make a list of regularly-served meals and rotate them throughout the month.
Start out by making a list of main dishes, vegetables, starches, and desserts that you know your family enjoys. You may want to include a few new dishes that you’ve wanted to try. Break your lists, especially meats, down into sub-categories such as beef, chicken, casseroles, etc. You should be able to mix and match each type of food to create a number of different meals your family will love.
After you have your list of dishes that you know will be eaten, you can make a list of items you need from the grocery store. By knowing what you’re going to have to eat, maybe weeks in advance, you’ll be able to take advantage of any sales your local stores may have. You can also plan to use the items you already have in your pantry or freezer.
If you know you’re planning on several chicken meals in the coming weeks and the store has chicken on sale, now would be a great time to stock up on them. You can use the same line of reasoning with any item that you know you’ll be using. Of course, you may find that other items you need have increased in price, but if you stick to items that are on sale, you could save a good amount during each time you go shopping.
Besides helping you save money on your food budget, menu planning will make dinner easier by enabling you to feed your family healthier meals and snacks. This process will also allow you to save time because you won’t have to run out to the store during the week. You’ll know what you need well in advance so you should have everything you need when the time comes to fix each meal.
Post your menu plan on your refrigerator to help you prepare meals each day. You’ll know which items to take out of the freezer to defrost. You can put planned meals into the crock pot. Menu planning will make dinner so much easier than deciding each day what you will have. The plan has been made – now all you have to do is cook.
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cooking,
Family,
meals,
menu,
menu planning,
recipes,
Time Management
