How to Prioritize Your Time as a Single Mom.

These time management tips for single moms have emerged from years of frustration in managing it all.

And as a single mom, you know what I mean by it all!

As single moms, we are the breadwinners, educators, counselors, primary caregivers, and in charge of house management. That’s a lot!

And with each of those jobs comes its responsibility and burdens. To say we are overwhelmed is an understatement. We are exhausted!

Many times, I was so overwhelmed that I did not know what to do next. So, I did nothing—except sit there. It was all too much.

This occurred mainly in the beginning. The loss of a marriage and the brutal realization of how complex this was demobilized me entirely.

Working with a counselor can help create a more balanced life. But it’s still hard.

However, there are a few specific things that you can do to manage it and your time more efficiently.

Step One: Set goals.

Setting goals helps us prioritize what is most important to us.

This post about setting goals may help you.

Setting goals as a single mom (singlemomoutwest.com)

These goals guide us in our time management.

We can move forward once we know what is most important to us.

Step Two: Consider what is most important for your children.

I wanted the kids to be healthy and happy. But I didn’t know how to get there. And to be honest, I failed miserably in the beginning.

The kids were out of control, and I could not deal with them or myself. It took some time and some profound understanding of what was truly important.

Two books helped me transform our situation from one of chaos and barely surviving to one of healing and change.

The first book is How to Really Love Your Child by Dr. Ross Campbell. It provided me with specific guidance on how to connect deeply with my children.

The second is specific to the needs of children during divorce. It is by Dr. Archibald D. Hart. He writes from the perspective of having gone through this as a child, and it completely changed my perspective. Helping Children Survive Divorce, by Archibald D. Hart.

For both of these books, you can find them here:

Books and More – Single Mom Out West

This is crucial because dealing with your children’s needs will help you manage time more efficiently.

Knowing that your children are in the best possible place will give you the room to make effective time management decisions.

Otherwise, you will be distracted and second-guessing yourself on what you must do.

Guilt from unmet needs causes distraction. It’s also hard to use your hands when you have a needy child in your lap.

Step Three: Prioritize balance in your life.

Give yourself plenty of margin.

Get great at saying, “I can’t do that now. I want to do it someday, just not now.”

Overplanning and spending too much time away from what matters can destroy our peace and our already limited time.

Even if an activity is good, it doesn’t mean it’s good at this moment.

Give yourself and your children plenty of quiet downtimes. Healing will occur, and wholeness will be achieved.

Tsh Oxenrieder has written an excellent book, Organized Simplicity.

While the book focuses on maintaining an orderly home, it also explicitly addresses time management and the necessary balance.

Here is a link to her blog.

https://www.tshoxenreider.com/

Step Four: Plan accordingly.

This may be the most challenging step. It involves figuring out a schedule that works around your life’s demands and sticking to it.

As single mothers, we need to become skilled at working around our time constraints.

We may need to get up early or work after the kids go to bed.

Certain things work better at certain times.

After deciding what to prioritize, the schedule we need to slim down, and the time frame required, we will find what times work best for us.

Step Five: Revisit it until it’s workable.

Time management for single moms is dynamic. Things change. Activities, demands, and children are unique and require some flexibility.

It doesn’t mean our schedule is wholly disregarded, but it can be adapted to meet a specific challenge.

And finally, breathe.

Life has a way of working itself out. Do the best you can and breathe through the hard times. Love your kids, and be kind to yourself.

Things will get better, and you will find a way through!