“80 OF THE BEST TIPS FOR WORKING MOMS”

Whether you are a new mom just heading back to the work force or a mom that has been back for years, you probably have found that it’s difficult to balance your work and home life. Finding ways to fit in all the things you have to do while still being able to enjoy all the things you want to do isn’t easy.

However, there are ways you can reduce the time you spend tackling things on your to-do list.

With the help of these 80 blogs you’ll find you have more time during the evenings, you’re better dressed during the day and you and your family are happy and healthy.

Meal Preparation

After a long day at work the last thing you probably want to do is stand over a hot stove and fix dinner, especially on the nights that one or more people in the house have evening activities to attend. While ordering a pizza or swinging through the drive-thru may seem like the most efficient way to get everyone fed, you can actually save both time and money by fixing up a quick meal at home. These 10 blogs are stocked full of ideas for quick, easy, healthy dinners that you can get on the table in no time on even the craziest of nights.

• My Best Tips for Power Meal Cooking Sessions & Freezer Meal Preparation Getting dinner on the table after a long day at the office can be difficult, but you can save time in the evenings by making meals ahead of time.
• Real Food Survival Guide for Working Moms Plan out your meals ahead of time to take the guesswork out of dinners, and stick to meals that don’t require a lot of prep work or cooking.
• How to Make Meal Prep Easy with Your Crock Pot Instead of standing over the stove to brown meat or make rice let your crock pot do the work for you.
• Meal Planning + Sunday Prep Try and save time wherever you can; some easy ways to do this are to pre-plan your meals and to chop veggies ahead of time.
• Organizing a Lunch Station for Easy Meal Preparation Don’t waste time running around the kitchen looking for things when you are packing lunches; instead, have everything in one spot to save time and reduce stress.
• Quick, Easy Family Meals and Tips to Help You Survive “The Witching Hour” Cook ahead as much as possible and enlist the help of your kids while you are preparing dinner.
• How to Extend Slow Cooking or Crocking Time {Freezer Crock Pot Meals} By adding frozen, pre-prepped meals to your crock pot you can extend the cooking time by up to two hours.
• Fix and Forget (Crock Pot) Meals Read these tips on how to make your crock pot work for you.
• Time-Saving Tips for Cooking from Scratch Setting timers allows you to walk away from the meal you’re cooking and get other things done.
• Sunday Night Prep to Eat Clean All Week Try to incorporate little time-saving tricks, like washing all of your fruits and veggies when you get home from the grocery store before putting them away.

Choosing Childcare

Deciding who is going to take care of your child is not something you should take lightly. After all, whoever you decide on will be spending eight to 10 hours a day with your child. Before making a decision, consider your unique family situation and what kind of childcare would work best for you. If you want your child to spend his days with kids his age, daycare might be the best option. However, if you want your child to have one-on-one attention throughout the day, you might consider hiring a nanny. Take a look at these 10 blogs for tips on what to look for as you investigate different childcare options.

• Choosing the Right Child Care: Tips for Working Mothers You should always find out what the child to employee ratio is for each class before settling on a daycare.
• Why Select an NAEYC Preschool? The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) is an organization that sets high standards for child education, and this post explains why one of their preschools might be right for you.
• Nanny Background Checks If you are thinking about hiring a nanny, it’s important to be knowledgeable in what questions you can ask and how to evaluate if a nanny is right for your family.
• Ten Must ask Questions During a Caregiver/Nanny Interview Take a look at these questions before you get started interviewing potential caregivers.
• Three Tips for Finding a Good Daycare Center Read through these tips as you begin to look at different daycare facilities.
• 12 Tips for Choosing the Right At Home Daycare If you are thinking about having your child taken care of in a home, you’ll want to keep these in-home daycare tips in mind.
• Why Choose an Accredited Preschool Program? Look over this list of what you should see when you visit an accredited preschool facility.
• How to Choose a Day-Care Center for Your Child Make sure that you are allowed to look around the facility and that the staff is well-trained before you make a daycare decision.
• How to Choose Good- Quality Child Care Before you start your search for a daycare read this article explaining what you should be asking and looking for in the different facilities you tour.
• Steps People Should Take When Selecting a Child Care Center If you are just starting the process of finding a childcare center, this blog post is a must read.

Self-Care

When it comes to priorities, moms often find that their own hover somewhere near the bottom of the list. However, while you’re busy taking care of everyone else, who’s taking care of you? It’s important to exercise some self-care as you go through your days, and these 10 blogs can help you find the time to take care of yourself. You’ll find that once you start making time for you, you’re able to better take care of everyone else.

• 3 Stress-Less Tips for Working Moms Take help wherever you can get it and try to schedule a time into your routine that allows you to be present with your kids.
• Top 5 Stress Relieving Tips for Working Moms Begin the day by meditating or praying to achieve the right frame of mind to start your day.
• 5 De-stress Yoga Tips for Moms Learn these five tips and you may be able to reduce some of the stress that you suffer from as a working mom.
• Self-Care Tips for Working Moms Keep in mind that it’s important to enjoy your life, not just get through it. These tips will help you enjoy life more.
• Finding Me Time Through We Time Reconnect with a hobby that you loved before you had kids and try to carve out at least a little time each week to do it.
• It’s Time for You to Get Off the Back Burners, Mama’s! Instead of constantly putting your own needs behind everyone else’s, move yourself up on your to-do list.
• Dealing with Working Mom Guilt Learning to say “no” to some things will make it easier to say “yes” to the things that make you happy as a mom.
• Working Moms Wisdom: Improving Self-Care & Self-Love The life coach on this blog radio show gives working moms tons of self-care tips.
• The Extreme Overwhelm: Stress Reducers and Productivity Tips for Working Moms Read these tips and solutions from bloggers regarding challenges that working moms face every day.
• Working Moms Workout This blogger knows what it means to be a busy working mom, and shares her tips for fitting in time to work out.

Breastfeeding Tips

Choosing to continue breastfeeding once you go back to work is something that is both admirable and difficult to accomplish. Before you go on maternity leave, talk to your Human Resources department to find out the logistics of pumping at work. You’ll want to plan ahead in the weeks prior to going back to work by shifting the baby’s feeding schedule to one that will match the times you are able to pump. For more tips on breastfeeding after going back to work, read these 10 blogs.

• Breastfeeding Working Moms Tips and Tricks Get all of your breast pump parts washed and packed up the night before so that you are not running around the next morning looking for a part.
• Breastfeeding Tips and Tricks for Working Moms Make sure that you get enough sleep so that your milk supply stays strong.
• Breastfeeding Tips for the Working Mom Get into a habit of pumping at work every two to three hours so that your body keeps producing milk.
• Tips and Tricks for a Breastfeeding Mom Going Back to Work Freeze some breast milk before you head back to work and then continue to pump and store your milk at the same times you would feed your baby at home.
• Been There, Pumped There, Pumping Moms’ Tips on Returning to Work Get a hands-free pumping bra to make pumping at work easier.
• How to Pump Breast Milk at Work Watch this video to learn what items will making pumping at work simpler.
• Working Mothers Can Breastfeed Talk to your boss and find out if there’s a place that you can go and pump your breast milk while you are at work.
• Back to Work: Tips for Breastfeeding Mothers You might want to find childcare near your work so that you can breastfeed your child during the work day.
• Tips for the Breastfeeding/ Working Mom Purchase a reliable double breast pump that is electric to save time pumping at work.
• Tips for the Working and Breastfeeding Mom Make sure that you introduce a bottle to your baby before you head back to work.

Versatile Wardrobe

You’ll likely notice that your body has gone through some changes after giving birth. Even after you’ve lost the baby weight, it’s unlikely that your body will go back to being exactly the same as it was pre-baby. To compensate for this, you may find you need a new wardrobe. For ideas on how to put together a kid-friendly wardrobe, check out these 10 blog posts.

• Stylish Tips for the Working Mom Choosing shoes that are both stylish and comfortable make it easy to transition from working professional to mom.
• 5 Easy Self-Care Tips for Busy Moms By putting outfits together on a single hanger down to the scarf or necklace you can look put- together without spending a lot of time choosing clothes and accessories in the mornings.
• Wardrobe Savings Tips for Working Moms with Style Skip following the latest trends and instead focus on classic staples for your work wardrobe.
• Mom Tips: 8 Ideas for a Working-Mom Wardrobe One way to save money is to look for stylish shoes online.
• Wardrobe Oxygen: Style Tips for New Moms Solid colors don’t fade as quickly as patterns do, making solids a staple for your wardrobe.
• Fashion Tips for the Working Moms Try to work with separates so that you can mix and match your wardrobe. Keep your look simple to save time.
• Tips for Building a Work Wardrobe Start by buying the basics and then add to those for outfits you can mix and match.
• 7 Tips for Building a Stylish Nursing Wardrobe Wrap dresses and button down shirts are a breastfeeding mom’s best friend.
• 8 Tips to Create a Wardrobe for New Moms If you find that you need to build a new wardrobe, use this post for helpful tips and tricks.
• 13 Wardrobe Essentials Every Mother Can’t Do Without Choosing these basics will help you mix and match your wardrobe with ease.

Travel Tips

Not every working mom has to travel for work, but many do from time to time. Being separated from your child for even a few days can be emotionally stressful for you and your child. There are ways to prepare both you and your child for a trip, though, even if you are still breastfeeding. If your kids are older, involve them in the planning and packing for the trip. Plan something fun for them to do while you’re away. These 10 blogs will share more tips on how to travel for work while the kids stay home.

•  No-Tear Tips for Working Moms that Travel Leave notes or cards around the house for your kids to find while you are away.
• Working Moms—Make the Most of Your Time Apart  Try to continue doing little things while you are away, like reading a bedtime story over the phone or singing a lullaby.
• Working Moms: Tear-Free Work Travel While you are gone, routines will inevitably change, but try to have the caregiver keep as many things the same while you’re gone as possible to reduce disruption.
• Seven Tips for Working Mothers Who Travel Skype with your child while you are away so that you can let him know you are okay.
• TSA Guidelines and Air Travel Tips for Pumping Moms Read what the latest regulations are in regards to bringing along bottles and a pump in your carry-on.
• 10 Easy, No-Tears Tips for Working Moms Who Travel Creating a ritual that the kids can do while you’re gone can help lessen the stress of you leaving.
• Tips for Working Moms Who Travel Be sure to talk about where you are going and what you will be doing while you are away to help the kids feel more comfortable in your absence.
• Three Tips for Traveling Business Moms Make sure that you are organized before you leave and that you plan something fun for the kids to do while you are away.
• Unaccompanied Mommies: Traveling without Baby While Nursing If you have to travel while you are breastfeeding you’ll want to make sure that you keep your milk production up.
• The Working Mom’s Guide to Business Travel: 10 Tips and Tricks to Keep You and Your Family Sane While You’re Away Plan ahead by making dinner that can easily be reheated before you leave town.

Organization

Being organized can help you streamline your life, whether you are a working mom or not. However, for working moms, organization can help you get everything done and reduce the stress on everyone. Utilize the many apps that are available for your smart phone to help keep track of appointments and other commitments. Do as much preparation as you can the night before to reduce morning stress. Find these and other organizational ideas for working moms in the following 10 blogs.

• Taming the Transition Times Help your children adjust to transitions in their day by developing a routine with them that will reduce drama for you both.
• Going Back to Work? 5 Tips to Make the Working Mom Thing Easier Look at the schedule for the week ahead of time and plan out the meals you will have on certain nights.
• Getting the Whole Family Organized Put everyone’s schedule down on one calendar that everyone in the family can see so that activities aren’t missed.
• Organizational Tips for New Working Moms Pack a diaper bag the night before so it’s ready when you need to run out the door in the morning.
• 20+ Secrets of (Somewhat-Organized) Working Moms Don’t sweat the small stuff; spending time with your child is more important than folding laundry.
• Life Hack: 10 Organizational Apps That Will Boost Every Mom’s Life 2Do is an app that will help with your task list.
• Organization Tips for the New Working Mom When you walk in the door avoid just dropping everything into a pile. Instead, spend a few extra minutes putting everything in its rightful place.
• Simple Tips for Working Moms to Get Organized Working from home can be every bit as challenging as working in a corporate office. Take these tips to heart when organizing your home office.
• Morning Tips for Working Moms Do as much as you can the night before to get ready for the next day.
• Organizational Tips for Moms that Work Outside the Home Do not open your e-mail throughout the day. Instead, have a set time that you check it.

Housework

Face it; most people don’t relish the idea of doing housework. It’s one of those necessary evils of life. The trick is to make it as painless as possible for all involved. Find ways to save time and still get everything done by reading through the tips on these 10 blogs.

• Working Mom Survival Tips By doing a little housework each day you can get it all done by the end of the week.
• Managing Housework When You Work from Home Set a timer and clean for a certain amount of time and then be done.
• Working Mother or Domestic Goddess: Can You be Both? Delegate tasks to family members so that everyone can contribute to keeping the house clean.
• Working Mom Friday Tip: Clean When You Can! Wake up early and clean before everyone else gets up so that you don’t lose any family time.
• 5 Tips to Juggle Child Care, Housework and Your Career Get into a routine so that everyone can be on the same page.
• Time Management for Working Moms Learn how to prioritize your tasks so that you know what has to be done and what you can let slide.
• A Few Tips for Making Housework  Quicker and Easier Declutter your house so that picking up is simpler.
• Time Management Tips for Working Moms Plan out your time so that you can do a little laundry every day to free up hours on the weekend for other things.
• Does Housework Expand to Fill the Time Available? Allow yourself short pockets of time to do housework and you will get as much done as if you had allocated more time.
• Tips for Working Moms This blog post encourages moms to plan and then prepare ahead to get more done with less stress.

Thanks to Maria Wells