We can use personal development hacks to reduce feeling overwhelmed as a new mom.

Personal Development includes organizing, goal setting, planning, and getting in control of your day.

Are you overwhelmed?

Ever find yourself with too many things to do in a day? Forgetting to pick up cupcakes for school and rushing last minute to get some (yes, that’s me!)? As a result of being exhausted and overwhelmed, is your house always a mess, and are you struggling to get into a cleaning routine?

First of all, this is normal and many new moms feel overwhelmed daily.

I’ve been there and know how exhausting it can be to try to remember to do everything that your family needs and keep tabs on due dates.

This is to say, as much as we do a fantastic job at juggling 2000 tasks in a day, consequently, this can result in us sometimes dropping the ball on a couple of things. This can cause extra stress, rushing, and exhaustion. I have found a couple of things that I started doing that helped me get back on track and keep things running smoothly.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.  I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. 

Use these Personal Development Tips for Overwhelmed moms to get life in order and feel in control of your day again.

1. Create a Master to-do list

Our first Personal Development Hack is using a Master To-Do List that helps you to keep track of all the tasks, cleaning, organizing, birthdays, due dates, maintenance, and doctor’s visits you need to schedule for your family.

I use a master to-do list as a guideline to help me make sure that I stay on top of doctor’s visits and so on for the family.  

Firstly, I’ve found the need to do this because I have often forgotten to schedule certain dentist check-ups and renewing of my car license disc for example (which caused obvious stresses and pressure because then I had to do it very quickly and didn’t necessarily have time in my schedule to get these things sorted!).

Above all, it helps you to keep track of things that need to be done frequently, such as motor vehicle maintenance, annual renewals of a postbox, etc.

No more feeling overwhelmed as a new mom!

How to use a Master To-Do list:

• Print out the blank or filled Master To-Do List and go through each task in each life category and schedule or create the items on the To-Do List.
• Things get done due to using the To-Do List throughout the year before they are due
• Additionally, this will result in reduced stress as you will be more in control of getting things done before they are due and therefore reducing last-minute stress.

2. Use a planner

You can use your planner to schedule all the To-Do List items in advance for the year. Include birthdays and events.

Remember to update your list with things you need to do and due dates as they come in.

You do not need to overdo it! Keep track of what must be done and tick them off as you do them by using the planner.

Here are some of my favorite useful and easy-to-use planners for busy moms:

• 2022 Another Planner Mom

• 2022 Calendar Year Day Planner

• Desktop Spiral Day Planner

• 2022 Hardcover Weekly Monthly Planner with Tabs Stickers

• 2022 Calendar Year Day Planner

3. Have a daily/weekly schedule

Print out the Weekly Schedule from our Free Resources Library and plan your week. 

Useful tips for using a schedule:

• Remember to include self-care activities and most importantly – DO NOT OVERFILL YOUR SCHEDULE. 
• Make sure to include free time where you don’t schedule anything.
• This schedule goes onto the fridge in a frequented spot so that you can see what you need to do when you aren’t sure.

How strict should you be with yourself with using a schedule?

To indicate how I use it, I write down activities that need to be done more or less at a certain time. This does not mean that I stick strictly to the schedule. It does not mean that if I don’t follow the schedule that I punish myself or feel guilty.

This is only meant to be a rough outline to guide yourself with your time – that’s all it is. 

It’s a guideline to help you get things done when you’re not really sure what needs to be done or if you might be behind on household tasks and check the list to see which tasks you can sort out now while you have an hour or 2 to do so.

4. Have a budget

You may feel like you have lost control and don’t know how to cope with your monthly payments or how to get through the month once you have been paid. 

“There is a solution to fixing your finances – we just don’t always LIKE the solution.”

 Step by step guide to organzing your finances:

• If your expenses are more than your income,  or you are stressing about how to get through the month once you have paid all your bills, then you need to adjust your budget. (Start by creating a budget if you don’t already have one.)
• You need to cut out anything that is not essential or a must-pay.
• The easiest way to save money is to spend less, and the easiest way to spend less is to become familiar with your finances. There are several ways to do this.
• The first is to find out how much you bring home in a month and then subtract your monthly bills. You’ll be surprised at how much you have leftover every month once you start looking at it like this.

How to budget:

• Insert your incomes and expenses in a budget spreadsheet (or use a printable fixed expenses tracker & variable expenses tracker).
• Highlight all the items that are essentials (such as housing, food, water, electricity, etc)
• Now, highlight (in a different color) all the items you have to pay (such as minimum debt amounts, etc)
• Add a column for all your debt and add in the total balance owed as well as the interest rate

5. Do things the night before – not in the morning while you are rushing out the door!

Running around like crazy in the mornings? Prepping lunch, packing bags, searching for an outfit for work?

How to change your rushed mornings:

• Do not stress yourself out by doing things in the mornings!
• Use a checklist that you place onto your fridge with a list of things to prepare for the next day for yourself and your kids. 
• This is also the best way to make sure that you eat healthier meals and that you do not forget to pack essentials.

6. Plan meals according to your budget & activities for the month

Step by step guide to meal planning:

• Create a rough meal plan for the month in a calendar. 
• Use your month view calendar in your planner to see what events are coming up and what costs you have coming up for the month.
• Remember to adjust your meal budget accordingly.
• Now write down meals for each day (budget-friendly meals such as stews work well). Include 1 or 2 meat-free days in the week to save money.
• If you have an event coming up (such as going to family or friends for supper) then you have 1 less meal to plan and budget for. 
• You might also have an event that would include having meals at the venue (such as a kids sports day) – write down the budget for the day for meals.

7. Shop online – weekly

Here’s my biggest mom hack for grocery shopping:

Shop online so that you can stick to your budget and avoid tantrums in the shops!

How to go from shopping in store with a screaming toddler to online shopping in the comfort of your home:

• I usually do a monthly shop after pay-day and then have a budget for each week and buy fresh ingredients each Sunday for the next week.
• Shop online because it helps you see your total while you shop. You can then cut items from the list to ensure you stay within budget.
• You might think it costs more money because you have to pay a delivery fee however, I’ve found that it actually saves me money as you would anyway pay for fuel and you tend to buy more treats and luxuries that weren’t on your list when you shop in-store.
• This is also a great way to get your shopping done without taking the kids out to embarrass you in the shops!

8. Get kids to assist with household tasks

Some people think that allowing your kids to help around the house is using them as your servants or some people have their own personal traumas from being forced to help around the house as a punishment.

The point of getting your kids to help you around the house is not to punish them or use them. The benefits for them outweigh the small benefits you will get.

Benefits of kids helping mom around the house:

• It shows kids how to keep their space neat and organized. 
• Kids will learn to appreciate the value of being able to easily find their things. 
• It teaches them about basic household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and organizing, improving their experience when they move out of the house
• They will better be able to look after themselves. 
• It teaches them a work ethic and the importance of putting effort in to receive rewards.

No aspect of this should be forced or done out of anger. That will definitely scar them!

Here are some age-appropriate tasks that your kids can assist you with from the Child Development Institute:

Toddlers (Ages 2-3)

• Pack away toys
• Sweep the floor
• Dust
• Place clothes in the hamper

9. Prioritise how you spend your time based on your priorities & goals

How to prioritise your time to live the life you want:

• Make a list of your daily and weekly activities.
• Rank each activity 1-5 for least important to most important to you. Rate each one based on the priority in your life.
• Keep a note in your daily Planner of what you do for a week. Write down the time in 24-hour format and write next to the time when you start doing an activity and when you stop.
• At the end of the week, you should see how you have used your time for the activities.
• For each of the activities listed, you will be able to put durations on how much time per day or week you spend doing that activity.
•  Now compare the list of activities that you rated to the actual duration of time spent doing that activity. Does it match up? Do your priorities match up to the amount of time spent doing an activity?
• If not, then you need to adjust how you spend your time so that you can focus your energy on your priorities.

Example of prioritizing your time:

I value family time (with my husband and son). When I did the journaling of how I spend my time, I was surprised to see that I spend a lot more time on social media than what I would like to admit, and less time with my family than I thought. So I cut down time spent on social media and now spend more quality time with my family.

10. Self-Care Activities

What are self-care activities?

Use your time constructively to recharge your batteries and regain your mental strength with self-care activities. These activities can vary from just resting to actively doing an activity such as writing in a journal which improves your mental health. 

Self-care activities offer the following benefits:

• improve mental health
• relax
• destress
• pamper yourself
• fill up your cup
• recharge

List of basic self-care activities you need to include in your week to live your best life: 

1. Audit your social media and unfollow any accounts that make you feel negative energy or feel worse than you started. Follow some accounts that share positive and motivational content that make you feel good and encouraged.
2. Bake a homey dessert
3. Declutter a room in your house.Get dressed up – even if you are working from home
4. Go to bed early or sleep in late.
5. Lay down on the grass outside and watch the clouds float by – feel the sun on your skin
6. Order in dinner & desert
7. Plan out an extravagant vacation – for one day
8. Practice gratitude – write down a list of things that you are grateful for – stop when you feel like you have listed enough (you will know when you have hit the mark)
9. Read 20 pages out of a personal development/inspirational book
10. Regular grooming such as a manicure and pedicure, shaving, etc
11. Sit in a coffee shop and sip on a favorite drink.
12. Take a bubble bath—complete with candles and a face mask
13. Watch your favorite series or movie – without guilt
14. Have a nap
15. Go for a walk outside
16. Watch the sunrise or set while having a coffee/ice-cream
17. Write a to-do list and spend a day getting them done and ticking them off