By Kathy Murdock – AllBusiness.comNovember 3rd 2009
Between getting to and from here and there and finding time to get things done when we arrive, it’s difficult to keep everything organized. Yet an disorganized busy working mother is even worse – you have to keep things together if you want to make every appointment and retain your sanity. Here are some tips for busy women like you who are trying to juggle it all!
Amy Knapp, who has created a variety of family organizers, says:
Clean out your car while you are waiting for your kids after practice…..or use waiting time in your car to address or write notes on holiday cards, birthday cards, etc.
Barry Izsak, a professional organizer in Austin, Texas who recently completed serving two consecutive terms as the President of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), offered numerous tips, including:
–Schedule activities appropriate to the amount of time you have to do them. Do small tasks when you will have more interruptions and larger tasks when you have more time.
–Combine activities logically…group your errands together, do phone calls while unloading the dishwasher, etc.
–Select clothing the night before.
–Allow kids to help pack lunches.
–Assign a set time each week to handle paperwork: paying bills, filing items, going through mail and tossing what is not needed.
Izsak, a personal organizer whose company helps lots of working moms, also suggests creating a ‘launch pad’ by the door that holds everything you need before you leave. I do this: Our backpacks, purses, and shoes are located in or on top of a shoe shelf that stays by the back door heading to the garage. In the morning we simply grab our items and go.
Some tips I have found to be helpful:
–Keep a planner in your purse and a calendar by the wall.
–Transfer new entries nightly while making dinner.
–Go through mail while preparing dinner – toss junk,
save the rest.
–Keep a set of cleaning supplies in each room and clean while you can – while the kids bathe, while you cook, etc.–Use carline time to do tasks such as returning calls.