When the summer is officially over, it’s back to the hustle and bustle of reality. Being a busy mum doesn’t mean you can’t be an exceptional boss and enjoy an active lifestyle as well, though, you just need to have the right kind of tools to find the perfect balance. As soon as everything is back on track, you’ll easily find time to progress with your life and even relax a bit once in a while, believe it or not.

Here is a mix of the easiest ways to organise your week of work and family chores, regaining a bit of sense and structure when you need it the most.

Dedicate a day for planning

Those who genuinely enjoy a good to-do list will be disappointed to hear that you can easily spend as little as half a day on organising everything that’s floating around in your mind. It’s the number one tip online as well, by the way, and as long as you manage to make the list comprehensive enough, you’ll be able to tap yourself a bath by 6 pm and soak up the bubbles, happy and content that the worst is over with.

The idea is, in a nutshell, that you take your restless mind and divide all of your chores into four categories. You may choose to do some of it right now, for example, reply to that email right away, and do that one batch of laundry.

The second option is to decide never to do it; consider whether it’s actually realistic to get that online degree or continue with those dancing lessons or if you have too much to do as it is. Next, you’ll need to identify the tasks you’ll do in the future.

Create a folder, for example, and gather all of your ideas and plans here as well as a date for when you revisit the folder to reconsider the projects. It’s out of your way for now, but you’ve promised yourself to get back to it. The final category is for all of your active projects that are too complex to do right away – such as finishing that short story compared to sending an email.

Use the tools

As a busy parent and boss or employee, you need to take advantage of all the great tools for organising your life. You may choose to use them during your day of planning if you’re not a fan of pen and paper, but you should certainly make a habit out of using them regularly.

Google Calendar is a lifesaver for many as it’s for free and you can sync it with your mobile devices. If you’re running your own business, regardless of it being from home or an office further away, you’ll find great comfort in some of the services of Planet Numbers as they may answer your calls for you when you’re not available. It gives some peace of mind when you need it the most.

And, as a last treat, have a look at the Xeffect and learn its secrets. Some people online have sworn to this trick when they need discipline and that bit of extra structure in their life, and you will absolutely find it just as useful.

A single post triggered a movement that inspired an entire network online of people who wants to break their bad habits and shape up, so give it a go and don’t let the long reads scare you away.

We can all find the time and energy to be superwomen once in a while; it’s just so much easier when there’s help along the way.  

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.