As a parent there is always so much to do and so little time to do it in. Often we feel like we don’t even know where to begin, and end up procrastinating more and more until WHAM! We feel overwhelmed, uninspired and exhausted – and guilty because we haven’t actually done anything. Sound familiar?

Reduce your to-do list

One great way to motivate yourself is to limit the amount you put on your to-do list. It may sound counter-intuitive but if you put less on your list you actually get more done.

To put this in to practice I have a four step approach that has helped me no end.
1. First, write down everything you think you need to do – from shopping and making lunches, to sewing in name tags, buying your mother a birthday card and booking the dog in for his vet appointment. Write the list you feel you need to write, preferably in a notebook or a bullet journal.
2. Look at the list and begin to prioritise. What is urgent and will have an immediate result or impact on your life? Mark those with a star.
3. What needs doing but maybe this week or month rather than today? Mark those with a square.
4. And what is always on the list that you never get round to but wish you could – mark those with a heart. Think meditation, reading your book, making some art or meeting a good friend.
Now in your urgent list choose your top three Most Important Things (MITs) and make sure they are the first things you do on any given day.

Include joyful things

This still all sounds like hard work though doesn’t it? That is why I always insist that I put joyful things on my list and try to make at least one of my MITs something from my joyful list. After all, ensuring I am feeling happy and fulfilled as a mum means my kids get the best of me and I am less prone to feeling run down, getting snappy and irritable.

Prioritise your feelings

This is the secret to managing your mojo and your sense of overwhelm, by learning to prioritise your own feelings and needs as highly as the tasks you do for everyone else.

By putting yourself at the top of your list every day you will regain your energy, be a nicer person to yourself and others and find you are more inspired to actually crack on, joyfully, with loads of other things further down your list, effortlessly.

As the saying goes ‘A happy wife is a happy life and it’s also true that a ‘Happy mum is much more fun’.

Good luck and go get ‘em!