5 Super Easy Ways to Be More Productive as a Stay at Home Mom (Without Waking Up Early)

Being a stay at home mom is a lot of work. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start if you’re a new mom or how to get your momentum back if you’ve fallen into a rut. Here are 5 super easy (and I mean, the basics anyone can do) ways to be productive as a stay at home mom without waking up early.

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5 Easy Ways to be More Productive as a SAHM

1. Change your clothes

This tip alone just might change your life. Every mom is different and we all have different styles, comfort preferences, and so on. But one important switch ALL of our brains have to make in order to be productive is to know when it’s time to relax and when it’s go-time.

Whether it’s changing out of your pajamas into a clean pair of leggings and over-sized tee, jeans and a sweater, or a tank and running shorts, it’s up to you. But for us all, changing clothes tells our brain it’s time to shift gears. Pajamas signal to our brains to chill and wind down for sleep. We can show up to our day prepared and ready to tackle what needs to get done when we’re dressed properly.

And pssst… this tip is for everyone. Change your children out of their pajamas, too. If you have a last minute errand to run, playdate invite, or decide to visit the park or library, it’s one less thing that needs done before you head out the door. And we need all the help we can get, am I right?

2. Wake up your house

Open curtains and blinds. Turn on lamps (not the “big light” though, never ever). Welcome the day by opening up your house and “waking it up.” Letting in natural light, even on cloudy days, helps our bodies’ natural circadian rhythm. It signals to us that it’s time to wake up and start the day. It’s a gentle energizing mood boost.

3. Make your bed

I told you these were going to be easy. There’s nothing revolutionary about making your bed in the morning, right? Wrong. It has a ripple effect throughout your entire day. Just ask one of the most driven, productive, get-out-there-and-get-things-done people on earth: a Navy SEAL.

William H. McCraven is a retired U.S. Navy Admiral SEAL, and author of the New York Times bestseller “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World.” In a commencement speech at the University of Texas in 2014, he said this:

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

4. Start with a quick win task

Set your day up for a quick win task in the morning. Maybe it’s making your bed or unloading the dishwasher right away or starting a load of laundry first thing. But have one small task to knock out before anything else.

Realistically this only needs to take a couple minutes. Sometimes our to-do list can feel impossibly long. Or the day’s demands can feel so unpredictable we get frozen with decision fatigue. We don’t know where to start. So we don’t start at all.

By choosing one easy, automatic task to get knocked out, you’re setting yourself up to win first thing in the morning. I start my mornings by putting clean dishes away that having been drying overnight (we don’t have a dishwasher). Easy and takes only a couple minutes, but it gets that momentum going for my day.

5. Do tasks one at a time

Do tasks one at a time? But aren’t productive moms supposed to be master multitaskers? Nope. Actually, there are a lot of reasons why multitasking doesn’t work. But ultimately what may feel like multitasking is just switching between tasks rapidly.

I already know what you’re thinking: “No way, there are always a million things that need to be done!” And that’s true. The reality is sometimes we don’t have a choice; the baby needs held while dinner needs stirred and the toddler needs his nose wiped.

But in the areas we can simplify and nothing is urgent, tasks can be done most effectively when we stop trying to do everything at once. Switching between tasks slows us down and requires more energy from our brains to process what we’re doing.

Take it one thing at a time and create a realistic to-do list to help you keep track. Realistic is the key here. Adding too much to a to-do that we realistically can not get done in a day creates stress and makes us feel like a failure. Keep it short and sweet!

Simple Changes for Better Days

Remember, our work as moms is much more than dishes or laundry. I hope these 5 simple tips inspired you in your productivity so you can spend more time connecting with your family and pursuing your passions. And showed how small, simple changes in your day can help you be the stay at home mom you want to be. Your work as a stay at home mom is important and so are you.

Keep up the good work and follow along for more tips! Leave me a comment sharing your best productivity tip as a mom!

Needing more mom life inspiration? Check out my post 5 Easy Ways to Get More Hours for 1000 Hours Outside for tips on getting more outside time with your kids.

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