Planning is Important for Working Moms – Here’s Why

If you follow me on social media, you are probably well aware that I am a planner mom. Yes, I love all things planning. This includes stickers, charms, and decor. I utilize a dedicated planner for personal, business, budgeting, and virtual schooling. Not to mention the countless number of vision journals, notebooks, etc. that I leverage to stay organized and on top of my task.

I’ll let you in on a secret. My love for planning isn’t new to me. I remember when I was a kid, I
loved the school planners and I also had diaries, prayer notebooks, and other journals. I was always
dreaming and writing down goals and plans.

Whether you are a soon- to- be mom or a seasoned mom with multiple children, I believe planning is beneficial for all stages of motherhood. To some degree, moms are naturally organized. It comes
alongside our nurturing ability in that we desire to ensure our household is properly cared for. If you are not a planner mom, it’s important that you become one.

Brian Tracy, a renowned leadership author and motivational speaker, shared that “Every minute you spend in planning saves ten minutes in execution.” As a busy mom, every minute saved is a lifesaver. Could you imagine being able to work more efficiently? Over the years, I have observed that I am more successful when I take the time to plan my weeks, goals, and tasks.

Planning is important for three main reason:

It saves you time in the long run (as Brian Tracy shared)

I can attest that planning will save you time in the long run. Spending just 15 minutes at the start of
your week and a few moments at the start of your day to plan out your priorities and activities sets the tone for a more productive day. When you have a clear vision of your time commitments, you alleviate cycle time trying to plan on the fly. Not only does it reduce unnecessary cycle time, it also gives you a layout of your day so that way you can easily transition from one task to the next.

In addition, you will be able to identify opportunities where you can bundle activities. Notice, I did not say multitask! I’ll share in upcoming posts about the dangers of multitasking for working moms soon. Here’s an example, say for instance you have 3 similar tasks due at different times during the week. You can plan to tackle all elements of these tasks at once and streamline the workflow. Similarly, if you have an assignment to work on, you can identify downtime or wait time (ie. waiting for your kids during their activity) and overlap the two activities. Some more simplistic examples include, bundling errands to reduce travel time, bundling chores, bundling meal prep activities, and so forth.

It keeps your thoughts organized which reduces stress

Reducing stress is important for mental and physical health. Do we all agree? If yes, then we should
look for every opportunity to reduce stress levels in our lives. Planning is one of them. It doesn’t matter if you opt for a paper planner, digital planner, smartphone app, or the back of a napkin (not highly recommended) all of these methods help to keep you organized.

Enables you to balance competing priorities

This benefit is huge. If you are not already a planner mom, this benefit alone should make you want to start immediately. One of the biggest concerns I hear from moms is that they struggle trying to “balance it all”. As working moms, we wear many different hats at any given moment and I understand from experience how challenging it may be to balance, grow, and succeed in life.

A benefit to planning includes being able to identify your competing priorities. For example, if you
have a standing 8AM work meeting and your children have to log in for virtual school at 8AM, this time overlap can present an interesting challenge for you. Seeing schedule conflicts before they arise gives moms the ability to course correct, reschedule, or implement systems to mitigate problems.

I hope that this article helped you to understand the importance of planning and gives you some insights into the benefits you can expect to receive.

Let me know in the comments, on a scale from 1-5 how would you rank yourself in terms of planning?

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• Christmas with Kids: Your Presence is the Best Present
• Erin Condren Collection
• Purposeful Affirmations for International Living
• Don’t Make These Planning Mistakes, Mom
• Fall Self-care for Working Moms