1. Plan Ahead
Plenty of appointments and activities come up every day. So, the
family
calendar's always in a state of flux. Why not eliminate some of the
stress
by 'reserving' those essential appointments, can't-miss children's
events,
and family holidays well in advance? Color code them in red so you
know
they can't be moved. And let the rest of your family know about them
ahead
of time. A useful tool to help you is The Busy Woman's Daily Planner.
Easily customize your planning with the types of pages you need
including
appointment pages, lesson planning pages, menu pages, budget pages,
fitness
pages, holiday planning sections and more. For more information go
to
www.thebusywoman.com
2. Thrive on
the Fly
Plans change. Kids get sick. Groceries are forgotten from the
shopping
list. Nothing's worse than spending hours on the phone trying to
track
down one or all members of the family to tell them what's up or to
coordinate who's going to do what when a conflict occurs. Try out
Cozi
Central to coordinate your family schedule, shopping and any notes you
want
to share with other family members. It keeps important family
information
in a central place that's accessible to the whole family wherever they
are.
The easy-to-use calendar lets you hand off appointments to your spouse
with
the click of a button and you can send reminders to them by phone,
email or
text message. It's a great tool for busy families and helps them
communicate with one another and manage all they need to do throughout
the
day. Go to
www.cozi.com and you can sign-up
for free. Yes, free!
3. Take Five
Who has time to take a break when there's already too much to get done
in
the day? But study after study of the work place shows that taking a
break
can actually make you more productive and feel less stressed. The same should
apply for family and household
responsibilities, wouldn't you think? So, next time you deny yourself
that
five minutes for a cup of tea, quick phone call to a friend or, heaven
forbid, the luxury of a bath, remember how much more refreshed,
productive,
and pleasant to be around you'll be with that break. My favorite
quick
breaks are taking a short, brisk walk, reading a book to Ben, my three
year
old, or calling a friend whose emails I haven�t been responding just
to touch base. Try it. It works!
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About Jennifer Jansky:
Jennifer is a working mother of two young
children. She lives in Denver, CO and can be reached at
Jennifer@janskytribe.com.
Article of the Week- between moms....
