Productivity Hacks for Homeschool Moms

Looking to be more productive this year? If you implement these three simple productivity hacks for homeschool moms, then you’ll see increased efficiency in all areas of your life – not just homeschool! 

Create a Don’t Do List

This first productivity hack is counterintuitive. Most of us think of productivity as checklists and getting a ton of tasks accomplished. But really, if you don’t narrow in your energy to only focus on your priorities and goals, you might get a lot done, but it might not move you forward the way you had hoped.

So the solution for this problem of being busy but not getting the most important things done is to create a don’t do list.

This list of things you just won’t do this year will help you embrace planned neglect. Neglect does sound like a dirty word, but it really just speaks to zeroing in on what’s most important. And remember, your don’t do list may change from season to season or from year to year.

For example, when you have lots of little kids in your home and you’re homeschooling, your don’t do list may look like this:

• won’t volunteer to lead the moms group this year
• lessen up on the unrealistic expectation of keeping a sparkling clean and organized house
• no baking homemade bread right now – not enough time and energy

If you have teens, it might look different. Like this:

• only one extracurricular activity for each child each semester (rather than the 3+ per kid you were doing before)
• reign in eating out so we can focus on family dinners at home and save money

In other words, while you’re making your list of goals for the new year, you should start with a blank slate and only put back the opportunities, tasks, responsibilities, and jobs that fit with your current season and move you toward your big goals.

Don’t Multitask

Most of us think of multitasking as the pinnacle of efficiency! If you can get two things done in the same time span, why not? But really, you can get two things done as long as neither of them require you to really focus. I do this all the time and you probably do too.

• listen to a podcast while cooking dinner
• folding laundry while talking to your mom on speaker phone
• putting an audiobook on for the kids while they eat their lunch

But, if you want to increase your productivity, you have to realize that multitasking won’t get you there. Instead, you need deep work. This is when you get into that mental zone of focus and do your best work. But how can homeschool moms do deep work when we’re constantly being interrupted by the kids? Check out these posts for a deep dive into this topic.

• 6 Reasons Why Time Blocking Works for Stay at Home Moms
• The 168 Hours Mindset
• Deep Work vs. Multitasking

Delegate

And finally, if you are looking to find ways to increase your productivity as a homeschool mom, the best tip is to delegate to your team. Who’s your team? Your kids!

When our kids are at home with us for homeschooling, we have the perfect opportunity to not only teach them the life skills of running a household, but to take some responsibility off our plates as well.

Once kids are about four years old, they can definitely start doing things like emptying the dishwasher and doing their own laundry. Consider all the chores that need to get done on a weekly basis and delegate them to your team. 

Here are some posts which will walk you through the possibilities:

• Delegating to Your Team
• I don’t do laundry (and you shouldn’t either)
• Chore Systems

Grab a FREE Productivity Challenge Workbook

If these productivity hacks for homeschool moms have given you some new ideas to implement, then you’ll love this free productivity workbook. It will take you through small action steps each day for 25 days as you walk through specific productivity goals. You can download the 25 Day Productivity Challenge Workbook and get started. Each day will give you a link for a short video lesson which includes ways to implement what you’re learning. The workbook will also give you a place to keep track of your action steps and progress.