Ever wonder how most single parents raise their kids successfully? It is not because they are superhuman. In fact, most of them engage in more than one job to meet their financial needs, but they still end up accomplishing more tasks irrespective of their busy schedules.
Being a single mom is quite challenging; you need to share your time between the kids, house chores, work and keep your social life active. That is one of the reasons for sharing this post. You will learn how to accomplish more tasks in less time to be more productive.
4 Tips for Accomplishing More in Less Time
Don’t be afraid to seek help
As a single parent, you will continuously have one thing that will take most of your time, and that is your child. You might not put that down on your to-do list because they are there and they are naturally going to be taken care of first. But that doesn’t mean you cannot cope with them and all the rest you have to do. You need to understand you have one less hand and seek help whenever possible.
You should never be afraid to seek help from family, friends or a paid helper. Help others understand you need help and what kind of help you need. Your friends and family could watch your kids on the weekends to help keep your kids busy while you make dinner or attend to other pressing things on your list that need your attention.
Also, if you are still dating, you are going to need help whenever you have a date. Your kid will also benefit from the attention and engagement of a babysitter. So it is a win-win situation for you and your kid. I know a few women who don’t like leaving their children with a babysitter but, here is the thing, kids may scoff at the idea but, in the long-run, they will enjoy interacting wtih another adult and you will have the opportunity to interact with an adult man. It’s a win/win situation.
Learn to manage your time
One skill every single mom must learn and take seriously is time management. If you cannot manage time, simple tasks will become stressful for you. Even if you are working in an office setting or work from home, time management is a vital ingredient in successful single parenting.
Make every minute you spend on a task count. Focus your attention and avoid every possible distraction. Now is not the time to be checking your different social media accounts. You need to focus on the work at hand so you’ll have more time for children and other issues.
Time management is the ability to plan and control how you spend the hours in your day to effectively accomplish your goals. Poor time management can be related to procrastination as well as problems with self-control. Skills involved in managing your time include planning for the future, setting goals, prioritizing tasks, and monitoring where your time actually goes.
Work on your waking habits
You have the power to change your waking up habits. Try not to overwork yourself during the day, and go to bed early. You can go for a small walk with your kid also. This will help both of you to sleep well, besides, such common habits and family outing can make relationships stronger.
The importance of waking up on time is that it gives you time to exercise and plan how you are going to spend the rest of your day. Without these plans, you might find yourself not accomplishing much at the end of the day.
That said the optimal hours of sleep for adults is 7 hours, which is enough to keep one’s mind and body refreshed. But sleep early and try not to reach for your phone or hit the snooze button when your alarm rings in the morning.
Have a good understanding of your kid
All kids are not the same. Some can keep themselves busy even when you are not close by, while some would want their parent to be around them all the time. However, if your kid is the type that always wants you around, then the best time to work on essential chores is when he or she is asleep. You need to study how long your kid sleeps, and work on important tasks during this period.
One other way you can keep your kid busy or divert her attention away from you is to find someone to play with her. You can seek help from your close neighbors or invite other kids to come over to your house. But make good use of the time you have before she starts calling for your attention. The bottom line is having a good understanding of your kid makes the task of being a single parent a bit easy.
Conclusion
Some single parents are handling their duties very well. In fact, most of them can manage their kids, businesses and lead an active social life. They are only applying simple principles and making the right moves. Being able to discipline yourself is another thing that will make you succeed as a single parent. So start working on yourself and follow the tips above to accomplish more as a single parent.
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