Coming up with a productive and simple stay-at-home mom schedule can feel super daunting. Some days all we can manage is making sure everyone stays alive, and nothing extra. Luckily with a little planning, and managing your time effectively you can fit in everything that needs to get done and hopefully more!
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Below I will share my biggest tips for creating a productive and simple stay-at-home mom schedule, as well as my personal schedule! Keep in mind that my schedule is a baby and toddler schedule so it might look completely different for you depending on the age of your kiddos! Hopefully, it will give you some inspiration for your schedule as well!
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My Biggest Tips for Creating a Productive and Simple SAHM Schedule…
- ALWAYS PLAN! If you fail to plan you plan to fail.
- Group “like tasks,” and time blocks as much as possible. For example, I can pay bills and book a play time session online simultaneously since they are both computer tasks.
- Make sure to schedule time for yourself! If you don’t, you won’t magically find time for it!
- Stay consistent! The more consistent you are the better!
- Use some sort of to-do list/daily planner like my free stay-at-home-mom daily task planner template to keep you organized.
- Prioritize deep cleaning tasks to designated times only, or if/when you have someone to help you watch the kids. Trying to deep clean the bathroom while your kids are trying to get into everything will only frustrate you, and make you feel like a failure if you have to stop halfway through.
- Give yourself some grace. Even if you plan, not everything is always going to get done and that’s OKAY.
- Don’t stress too much about getting outside. It is important to get outside, but sometimes it’s just not possible.
Morning Routine
6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
I always try to wake up 30 minutes to an hour before the kids wake up. It helps to set the tone for the day, and I am less flustered than if the first thing I hear in the morning is a crying baby.
The first thing I do in the morning is feed our dogs, and let them out. Next, I go straight for my coffee and unload the dishwasher. I then go and get myself ready for the day. Honestly most days I am happy to be showered and have my hair out of my face. We’re raising tiny humans not entering beauty pageants so I really try to give myself some grace on my appearance.
By 7:45 a.m. the kids are usually babbling to each other and awake. I’ll be real here and say that sometimes someone is crying because they have woken up while I am showering, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.
After I grab the kids and have gotten them dressed we jump immediately into making breakfast. Depending on how content they are in the morning depends on how much effort I can put into breakfast. Sometimes I can whip up some homemade pancakes, and other days it’s a frozen waffle kind of morning! Usually, while something is heating up I will try and throw in a load of laundry!
9:30 a.m-11:45 a.m.
Breakfast and kitchen clean-up are usually wrapped up by 9:30 a.m. By this time, my baby is usually about ready to go down for his first nap. By 10:00 a.m. it is time for my toddler and me to play outside or if it is too cold and rainy we will choose an inside activity like this one to do before lunchtime.
If my toddler can play independently during this time I will try to sneak in a little bit of computer work that doesn’t require my full attention. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s nice if it does. Computer work includes freelance work, tasks for my esthetician business, or things like ordering groceries and paying bills.
Afternoon Routine
11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
I usually try to begin prepping lunch a little before noon to avoid hangry kiddos. My baby will usually wake up just in time for lunch! We typically will start eating lunch between 12:15 p.m. -12:30 p.m. with the goal being to get the toddler napping by 1:00 p.m. at the latest.
Once the toddler is napping it’s just me and baby time! I was once able to get a lot of work done during my toddler’s nap because he had some overlap with the baby’s naps, but not so much anymore.
During this time baby and I get some play time in, and I will switch the laundry and do a quick midday tidy! I will also use this time to accomplish any other computer tasks or light cleaning that can be done with a baby in tow. I always love wearing him in his LILLEbaby Carrier while I vacuum! Around 2:30 p.m. baby is starting to wind down for his 2nd nap of the day although he won’t usually fall asleep until 3:00 p.m.
2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
At this time I take the baby into my room where he takes his 2nd nap. I get him all dressed for his nap in his snuggle suit, and nurse him right before I lay him down. Occasionally the kids’ naps will overlap at this time, and if they do I try to do some preliminary dinner prep, computer tasks, or outside chores.
Between 3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m., my toddler will wake up and require undivided attention. I will grab him a snack and we play until dad gets home at 4:30 p.m. Our favorite thing to play with lately has been these picasso tiles!
Evening Routine
4:00 p.m.-6:15 p.m.
My toddler and I will play and keep ourselves busy until dad gets home to take over so I can make dinner. We usually play with toys from the living room or make an epic fort or slide out of our kid’s play couch! Additionally, I try my best to let our toddler watch and help with dinner if possible! We use our toddler stool so he can see exactly what I am doing at counter height! I will be honest though, and say that sometimes we do screen time at this point so I can get an early start on dinner.
Occasionally my husband will know he is getting home early so instead of making dinner I will schedule a workout class for myself at 4:30 p.m. and I plan an easy meal for that night instead! If mama can get out and exercise everyone is a lot happier! Regardless, we usually like to eat dinner at 5:30 p.m. so we can stay on schedule for bedtime, and get to bed at a decent hour ourselves!
Once dad is home, the baby has usually just woke up from his 2nd nap. Dad plays with the kids during this time while I make dinner or go to my class. Once 5:30 p.m. rolls around we all gather around the table to eat dinner! Dinner always feels like a whirlwind at this point. It is half me scarfing down food and half bargaining with my toddler to eat his food!
Bedtime Routine
6:15 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Our bedtime routine is something that always stays the same around here. It is crucial to have a consistent bedtime routine for the kids, and also know that after they are asleep we can enjoy some kid-free time!
My husband will start bath time around 6:15 p.m. while I finish cleaning up the kitchen. I am the type to “clean as I go” when cooking so there is not usually a lot to clean up. After I am done cleaning up I go help get the kids in their pajamas and read books! We like to sit altogether in their room during this time, and just enjoy being together as a family.
After we read books I nurse my baby one last time before laying him down in his crib. We stagger their bedtimes where the baby goes to bed at 7:00 p.m. and the toddler follows at 7:30 p.m. After I lay the baby down we usually just hang out in the living room while our toddler drinks his milk and does some more reading or playing before bed.
At 7:30 p.m. our toddler is usually ready to join his brother in their room. Once we lay the toddler down we take a big breath and are ready at that point to catch up from the day or just enjoy each other’s company.
Adult Time
7:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m. (sometimes later)
After the kids go down my husband and I will get ourselves ready for bed and wind down together. Unfortunately, my husband has a labor-intensive job that requires him to wake up very early so he falls asleep around 8:30 p.m. every night.
During the week after I have my pajamas on, I start planning for the next day! I will use my daily task planner template or simply text myself a list of things I want to accomplish the next day. Afterward, I will spend my time researching things, online shopping, or writing blog posts! I also enjoy watching a good show every now and again too, but I don’t usually unless it is the weekend!
Ideally, I would be asleep by 11:00 p.m. to ensure I have energy for the day ahead, but I have been known to stay up too late sometimes!
Final Thoughts
With a little planning, you should be able to create a productive and simple stay-at-home mom schedule that works for your family! It is important to remember that you CAN do it all, just not all at the same time. Multi-tasking is great, but we usually can get more done when we are focused on one thing at a time.
Managing our kids, daily life, and homes is stressful, but it can be one of our greatest joys and accomplishments once we find a system that works for us! I hope hearing about my schedule can inspire you to create a productive and simple stay-at-home mom schedule of your own!