Four remote controls, two phones, a lap top ,a desk top and a set of car keys constantly being moved into obscure hiding places by the kids – and we were all told technology would simplify our lives!  As working mums  our lives are complicated further by the dual identity we keep and the limited time either side of the working day to get ourselves organised.

Here are 7 ways to simplify your life as a working mum.

1. Challenge yourself on the ‘must’ and ‘should’ haves rather than the ‘could’ haves.  As a working mum it is too easy to pile on the pressure to do absolutely everything and do it all perfectly. When writing your lists really challenge yourself if it absolutely has to be done , a ‘must’ ,or if it ought to be done, a ‘should’ , these can be put off until tomorrow. Or a ‘could’, those tasks that may make you feel really virtuous like hand baking cookies with handmade labels for your child’s teacher’s present,  but ask yourself , are your children going to grow up any differently if the ‘coulds’  don’t always happen? The answer is most certainly no.

2. Have a wall calendar.  Large and visible to capture everything going on each day, no more surprises.

3. Have a clean out. We are all a little bit guilty of saving things ‘just in case they could come in handy’ even our wardrobes are filled with things we haven’t worn in the last 5 years.  How many of us in a new home start off with a ‘bits and bobs’ draw, for those little items that don’t really have a home anywhere else? Now we can hardly find room for our cutlery as the bits and the bobs encroach every bit of drawer space in the kitchen.   Spend a cathartic morning with a charity clothes bag, an  ebay sales box and a black bin bag. You will feel a whole lot better for it and you’ll save future time not hunting things down.

4. Buy lots of bags and fill them for different occasions. If  your kids are still young, you’ve got to have the changing bag, a must for every eventuality.  Then your child will need a bag for the childminder or nursery where they may have different requests – sun lotion, lots of change of clothes, wellies etc!  You can try and use the bag for both in an effort to simplify but ultimately you’ll end up weighed down and often forgetful of the key items.  It is in fact simpler to have a separate bag for each occasion; you can even make up a swim bag, stocked with all you’ll need in the way of nappies, clothes and arm bands. “Take two bags into the pool? – Not me”.  Of course, as your children get older, you need less paraphernalia, but even more patience (but that’s another article for another day!)


5. Stay on top of things. It’s stating the blinkin’ obvious, but for working mums stepping over the threshold after a busy day, with the bath and bedtime routine ahead of them, putting the post away is a task that can be put off. All too often, so too, is checking the tyre pressures on the car and checking the oil level.   What this ensures is that rather than a five minute task daily or weekly, the filing becomes an entire day’s focus and the car will require a 2 hour wait for a tow.  Get into the habit of doing things straight away and give your reactive problem solving skills a bit of a break – rest assured that the kids are great problem generators for any mum to deal with!

6. Buy a gorgeous notebook. Carry it everywhere for your lists, thoughts and calculations. Working mums often have that light bulb moment remembering about the costume required for the school nativity play costume whilst driving to work or in the middle of a meeting at work. Instead of having to scout for random bits of handbag ragged paper, use your notebook. You’ll have it to reference back to when you can’t remember exactly how much you worked out a nanny would cost, or that it’s a friend’s birthday tomorrow.

7. Get the kids helping.  Make it fun, give them rewards and count to ten when it initially all goes wrong, your patience will one day pay off.