What can I do to improve my quality of life as a busy working mom?

[Anonymous]

I'm not talking about the obvious, like grocery delivery.

Trying to think outside of the box for little (and bigger) things that I can do to really impact my quality of life. I wonder if it's possible to hire a babysitter to start at 6 am on weekend mornings- if I had two weekend mornings per month to really sleep in I think that could go a long way.

[Anonymous]

Are you a single mom? My husband and I take turns sleeping in on the weekends. If that wouldn't work for you, I think a babysitter in the morning is a great idea. Is there anyone local who could take your kid overnight for you? My parents are local and will take our older son overnight a few times a year and he loves it!

We've started having our house cleaned every two weeks and while it barely fits in our budget and we still have to "prep" a lot for the cleaners, it's nice not having to scrub toilets and mop floors on top of everything else going on.

My leave balance is finally starting to recover after 2 maternity leaves in the past 4 years so I'm doing things like leaving an hour early once every 2 weeks to run a few errands before pick up. Sometimes I'll take a few hours off to be home alone so I can do things like switch out kids out of season clothes or stuff that's too small, organize my pantry etc. Its really hard to get that stuff done when everyone is home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not talking about the obvious, like grocery delivery.

Trying to think outside of the box for little (and bigger) things that I can do to really impact my quality of life. I wonder if it's possible to hire a babysitter to start at 6 am on weekend mornings- if I had two weekend mornings per month to really sleep in I think that could go a long way.

How old are your kids?

[Anonymous]

How many kids and how old?

[Anonymous]

Virtual personal assistant to handle crap you don't want to deal with - surprisingly affordable. I use timeetc.com

I agree with others about trading off on sleeping in. But a babysitter from 9-1 might be good one weekend day and easier to find than someone willing to come at 6 am.

I use blueapron, no longer worry as much about meal planning and shopping.

[Anonymous]

Counterintuitive, but adding something to your busy schedule that really refreshes you can be a good investment in how you feel about your life. Art class, exercise, weekly happy hour, volunteering for a cause that you really believe in, whatever sounds good to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Counterintuitive, but adding something to your busy schedule that really refreshes you can be a good investment in how you feel about your life. Art class, exercise, weekly happy hour, volunteering for a cause that you really believe in, whatever sounds good to you.

I agree with this. I've added an hour of exercise to my day and I feel so much better. However, I also can't get my sleep together, and that's a huge drain. So if OP needs to fix sleep first, definitely start there. I average 4-5 hours of sleep and cannot get more. It's really wearing me down.

[Anonymous]

Housecleaner and meal prepper (weekly) and nanny. The nanny means you don't have to pack kidsnup and drop off or pick up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Counterintuitive, but adding something to your busy schedule that really refreshes you can be a good investment in how you feel about your life. Art class, exercise, weekly happy hour, volunteering for a cause that you really believe in, whatever sounds good to you.

I agree with this. I've added an hour of exercise to my day and I feel so much better. However, I also can't get my sleep together, and that's a huge drain. So if OP needs to fix sleep first, definitely start there. I average 4-5 hours of sleep and cannot get more. It's really wearing me down.

NP.When do you exercise? I'm so beat at the end of the day and my 3.5 year old naps at daycare so often isn't falling asleep until 9:30pm even though we put him down at 8:30pm. My one year old wakes up between 4:45-5:30am. Maybe I need to get out of the house to make it happen, if I'm home and DH is watching the kids I seem to always get sucked in

[Anonymous]

Do you have a husband who is not that great at doing stuff unless asked? If so, I found signing up for an exercise class to be helpful. Otherwise I always think "oh, I can do it later" and never do. Plus with a class, my husband knows he is on childcare duty.

If you are a singl mom, yes, get a regular sitter, at the same time each week or every two weeks. Woukd your kids leave ypu alone if you were sleeping? Mine woukd sneak in to wake me up.

[Anonymous]

AP or a boy-toy.

[Anonymous]

I bike commute--first to get the kids to daycare and then on to work myself. It makes a huge difference in the quality of my day. I don't have to find other time to exercise, and I also get to skip the frustrations of driving or mass transit.

[Anonymous]

You need to train your kids to entertain themselves in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Marry a man who provides resources and strategies for you to live a life that is as stress free as possible. If you feel that ship has sailed then encourage young women to make smarter choices instead of being blinded by societal stupidity about the realities of life for most women.

[Anonymous]

Find something to do that you love. I started up in my favorite sport recently, and it makes my life so much more fun.

If you're looking for time to work out, sign the kids up for swimming lessons, and then swim laps while they're occupied. I've started doing this, and I also use the gym at work (my job gives us 3hrs/wk paid gym time).

I agree with the exercise class suggestion too.