by Alexandra Grose

Created on: April 04, 2009

All of us are given the same number of hours each week and it's how we manage those hours that will make, or break, successful integration of being a mother and that of pursuing a career. What's required, to combine work and family successfully, is organization. If you can get a handle on organization, you'll fair much better in conciliating motherhood and career.

Having a hectic schedule seems to be the norm, these days. Raising children, taking them to their activities, running a home efficiently and turning up for work, bright eyed and bushy tailed, is a juggling act and one, which can leave us exhausted, at the end of the day.

There is a way to make it all work and that way is in being organized. With a few simple steps, you can end your day, as fresh as you start out in the morning. Being busy doesn't necessarily mean being productive and you need to not confuse the two. You need to be busy on the right things, not on stuff that doesn't count for anything or mean anything. Focus your energy on what's important.

So work out where your most productive time frame is and what's important to you. Are you a morning person, or an evening person? Just knowing this helps you to focus on the time of day that will be the most productive time for you. In working out what's most important, write a list with the most important item on the top, placing the least important at the bottom. Now you have some kind of direction and you can follow this all day. Even if everything goes haywire before the days end, you'll at least have the most important thing done and out the way early.

Procrastination is a luxury you can't afford. If it's on your list, do it. Look for ways to save time. It's amazing what ideas you can come up with here, that will save you minutes and all those minutes add up. You may find something as simple as not using pegs on your washing, which can free up minutes each day, giving you hours by the end of the week.

With some simple meal planning, you can also save yourself more time again. Cooking for two nights in a row, is a great time saver, as is preparing and freezing your meals ahead of time. Better still, buy a cooked chook and a salad mix and hey presto, an instant and nutritious meal. While cooking tea, have a space for your child and include them in meal preparation. This not only teaches them about combining nutritious foods for healthy eating, but also gives you time to catch up on events of your child's day.

There are books at your local library on

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