7 steps for more joyful work+life balance: Systemize everything

Minimizing your time and energy to get work done is key to doing more with less. Most people don’t realize that they can do almost any task in about half the time if they just spent some thought and investment in strategizing about it first. This is true of your paid work, your house work, and your parenting.

Systemizing also helps us create routines that lessen the emotional and mental wear and tear that routine work has on us – leaving more energy for our creative minds to thrive. It allows us to think less and carry out plans smoothly.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: SIMPLIFY

You may want to start with a task that regularly weighs on you – it could be anything from preparing dinners to keeping track of kids’ school routines or activities. Spend some time thinking about what you could do by planning ahead that would reduce the mental or physical output required regularly. A simple example: I have a chart posted by my kids’ backpacks showing what activities they go to each day, so now they don’t need to come ask me what they need to bring with them each day, they just consult the chart.

STOP AND PLAN

If you aren’t sure what you can do to systemize more in your life, you may like to subscribe to my upcoming email series, “A Mom’s Guide to Thinking Big: Systemize Everything” where I share ways I’ve drastically reduced the time I spend on housework and child-related activities to about 1/3 of the average working mom – from laundry, food planning & preparation, morning routines, scheduling and everything in between – to increase the time and energy I have with my kids and for myself.