Our mothers are essential to us. They’re our companions, nurses, and also givers. Nonetheless, they typically aren’t getting the appreciation they should have. On Mothers’ Day, you may show your mother which you value your mom. Special gifts that come from the heart could help a lot towards this conclusion. Almost all mothers usually do not really worry the things they get for Mother’s Day. Like the old saying goes, it’s the thought which is important. While some people don’t really imply this once they say it, mothers typically just want to realize that you love and truly appreciate them.

It doesn’t mean that you ought to slack on gift giving; rather, make sure to get your mom a product really special. The old standbys are bouquets or candies. Many women adore receiving flowers, therefore when you have no clue things to get your mother this can be a perfect selection. Try and select seasons bouquets, roses, flowers which are Mom’s most desired color, or your mother’s favorite kind of rose.

Avoid red roses, because they symbolize romance. Chocolate bars can be quite a nice present for ones mom, while not every mothers should desire chocolates for Mother’s Day. Many ladies don’t like chocolates much, and also other women are usually on diet plans and do not want to interrupt their particular diets for that event. Other women prefer to take the time off and merely enjoy themselves. When you’re contemplating purchasing your mom chocolates, first of all consider whether or not she should would like them.

Mothers often enjoy receiving presents which come from one’s heart. These presents might frequently be tangible or not. Emotional presents range from things that tend to be written, like poetry, short stories, or maybe thank you letters. Together with these alternatives, you’ll be able to show your mother the way you truly feel just about your mom. If your mom might prefer obtaining physical treat, you could rather get your mom something. Selecting something she’ll absolutely love is best.

Work-related items are nice, but some women will not get pleasure from them as much because they aren’t as “pleasing.” If you do wish to buy your mom something special, try to think of particular things that she’s revealed that she would like. This can either manifest as a trinket or maybe something that is not an object, for instance a professional rub down or a resort stay. Should you choose this you can show your mom that you listen to what she says. For Mother’s Day, give Mother the fantastic treat of showing your mom that you care. We’ve got obtained the really inside information on gifts for mother specifically affordable Mother’s Day gifts

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Our moms tend to be so important to all of us. They’ve been our companions, nurses, and givers. However, many usually are rarely getting the actual appreciation they deserve. On Mothers’ Day, you may prove to your mother which you treasure her. Special gifts that originate from the heart will help a lot to help this conclusion. Most moms usually do not actually worry the things they purchase for Mother’s Day. Like the saying goes, it’s the concept which counts. While some individuals don’t actually suggest this once they say the idea, moms oftentimes need to understand that you cherish and love them.

That doesn’t mean that you should slack on gift giving; rather, try and purchase her a product absolutely thoughtful. The previous standbys are usually bouquets or chocolates. Many women appreciate receiving flowers, therefore if you have no idea what to purchase your mother this is usually a perfect selection. Try to get seasons bouquets, roses, flowers that will be Mom’s most desired color, or maybe your mother’s beloved kind of flower.

Keep away from red roses, because they represent romance. Candy could be a nice gift for your mom, though not all moms would desire chocolate on Mother’s Day. Certain women hate chocolate much, and other ladies are usually on diets and don’t want to break their particular diets for any event. Some other ladies like to take the day off and merely have a good time. If you’re contemplating purchasing your mom chocolates, first consider whether she would probably want them.

Mothers typically appreciate receiving gifts which originate from the heart. These gifts might frequently be tangible or not. Emotional gifts range from things that tend to be written, like poems, short stories, or thank you letters. Along with these kinds of alternatives, you could prove to your mother the way you truly feel just about her. If your mom might prefer obtaining physical gift, you can rather create her a specific product. Picking out something she will seriously appreciate is better.

Work-related merchandise can be nice, but some ladies will not enjoy them as much because they are not as “amusing.” Should you like to get your mom something exclusive, try to think about specialized things that she’s said that she would like. This can either manifest as a trinket or something that is not an item, for instance a professional therapeutic massage or perhaps a lodge vacation. If you choose this you could prove to her that you really pay attention to exactly what she tells you. For Mother’s Day, give Mom the truly unique treat of showing her that you really care. We’ve got got the super inside information on gifts for mother specifically cheap Mother’s Day gifts

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When the Work and Families Act was introduced in 2007, it was felt that it was particularly advantageous to mums to be. Up to a year off work could be enjoyed, with nine months of statutory maternity pay. For the family, much more time and attention could be devoted to the task of getting ready, receiving and raising the child during these critical periods. Maternity leave is seen as a basic human right in our caring society, although it can put pressures on both employer and employee as part of an ongoing working relationship. While employers must accept that pregnancy is possible and must accept the letters of the law, they must also be prepared to take on temporary staff as necessary to account for the woman on maternity leave. This is bound to cause a certain amount of disruption, but in the majority of situations, this is taken in stride.

There is a new clause available for the mum on maternity, allowing her to “keep in touch” through the allocation of 10 legislatively permitted days, during which she can attend work and receive a certain number of payments. Parliament decided that this legislation was appropriate and that it would help to smooth over any element of “disconnection” or normal disruption that might take place in the work place and between the employer and employee over time.

Mum can take advantage of keeping in touch days from several different perspectives. She can certainly keep up with the latest trends at work. While it is of course possible to research at home and to receive notifications, e-mails and so on while on leave, often there is no replacement for actually being at your place of employment, interacting with other staff and, for example, actually seeing how a new procedure plays out. By “keeping in touch” strategically this way, especially as time approaches to go back to work, the employee is more likely to be able to hit the ground running.

When baby came around, Mum may have been particularly busy with a challenging project. Those keeping in touch days would be particularly advantageous for her in this case, allowing her to continue to follow through and to impart her valued skills. In an ideal scenario, we would not want the business to suffer in any way and we would not want Mum to be at a disadvantage of any kind when it comes to her career, due to the fact that she was involved in a pivotal project. By using those keeping in touch days, she would just be “behind” in terms of her time spent moving forward.

Keeping in touch also will allow mum to interact with her temporary replacement and that could potentially help to smooth over any issues or problems that may arise without this type of informal supervision.

The good thing about each “keeping in touch” day is that it is paid by the employer and is not accounted for, from maternity leave pay. This can be a little boost, financially, when it is much needed.

Make no mistake about it, sometimes an extended period away from work can be very challenging and you may need to seek out professional coaching to help you understand how to handle it. These days, online life coaching, specifically online life coaching for women, is a service dedicated to helping us understand how to cope with every distinct phase of our personal lives and business careers.

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working moms that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!

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Author on December 30th, 2009

It is nothing short of amazing to think how a single mum can balance her time between so many commitments. After all, it can seem very difficult when there are two parents in the household, so how on earth do single mums cope? Answer: They just do what needs to be done! There is such a lot to do in any given day and as a single mum you simply get on with finding ways to achieve it all.

Your list of commitments might be never-ending, but there is nothing in the rulebook to say that as a single working mum can’t have time for yourself. In all likelihood, you may have two full-time jobs, a day job dedicated to your career and the other to ’round the clock’ Family Ltd., but even in these incredibly difficult circumstances, “me time” is crucial, not just for your own sake, but for your children’s as well. After all, happy mum equals happy kids!

If you want to find “me time” as a single mum, first of all you must look at your time management. This certainly isn’t to say that you have to “punch-in” and “punch-out” of every single task and project, but it’s essential that you’re able to prioritise without second guessing yourself. If this isn’t one of your natural abilities, try this exercise: Start a diary of everything you do for around 3 to 5 days in 15 minute increments. It’s not easy by any means, but it’s incredibly worthwhile! Once you’ve finished this, you’ll have a much better idea of where you’re “loosing time” and where you’re making the most of the time available. If you have an interest in refining your time management skills and balancing out your daily life, it’s fairly easy to find helpful online life coaching professionals who can help you put everything into perspective.

Professional coaching will help you to understand the many facets of time management, and why it’s become one of the most valuable assets in business. Whilst blue-chip companies have always employed advisers and consultants, coaching for women has become increasingly commonplace, especially for single working mums who seek to balance family, career and personal life.

To enable you to find “me time,” it will help if you become more efficient at some of the tasks that you perform, day in, day out. Take a look at each area. Sometimes it will not be possible to streamline and become more efficient, but you need to tackle this with a “can do” attitude. Challenge yourself to experiment with new ways of doing things. If you have to work within a tightly constrained budget, this may not allow you to be as efficient as you otherwise could, but nevertheless, analyse everything. For example, are you being as efficient as you could be when it comes to cleaning? Do you absolutely need to repeat a certain process daily or would you be better served by allocating more time for a really thorough cleanup on one day and much less time on some of the others? If you’re a manic cleaner, try going on a cleaning diet for a few days and see if the World really does fall apart without the bathroom being cleaned daily!

While no one is advocating that you cut corners or that you don’t eat a healthy diet, see if you can make alterations to cut down on the amount of time that you spend preparing or cooking. Introduce fresh vegetables or fruits more often, scoring in terms of diet and less preparation. Take the “cook once eat twice” challenge, looking for recipes that you can double up on and either eat on two days running or freeze. How much time could you save if you cooked only 4 times per week instead of 7 and what could you do with that “cook free” time that you’ve saved?

Remember that certain things are not optional. You must get an adequate amount of sleep and you can’t “buy into” this time, and building exercise into your week is like paying into a health savings account – you’ll see “compound” benefits very quickly in your resilience, your health and your self-confidence . Simply by concentrating on exercise routine you can often get more energy, promoting greater efficiency during your working day.

Amanda Alexander is the Managing Director of Coaching Mums. She is a celebrated ICF accredited coach, who for over six years, has been helping thousands of working mums from around the World bring balance back into their lives, lose their guilt, find the time to explore their passions, and generally, to have a lot more fun! For fantastic articles and hot professional coaching tips, sign up to receive “Inspire”, our famous free newsletter today!

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Parents can find it very hard to understand all the changes that they have gone through. They may well have become accustomed to the idea of living together and operating as a cohesive partnership, but when children arrive this throws the delicate balance off course.

What may have been a perfectly happy marriage can become, rather quickly, a rocky road. Delicate adjustments are needed by both people here as they try and right the boat and this can apply whether you have had kids before, or not. Maintaining a happy and successful relationship when kids come into the equation really does require us to constantly work at our relationship with our other half.

Whenever doubts arise, worries come to the surface or even anger bubbles up, it is important to take a step back and look at the overall picture. Do you feel that you cannot properly see the problem due to life’s complexity? So much is going on that it is easy for parents to become overwhelmed and not know how to cope. From an overall perspective, both now have to take on additional jobs and become multiple role players. In a situation such as this, even more pressure can arise as each person tries to concentrate on their new role, to the detriment of the other relationships. To take new parents as an example again, “mum” may become somewhat obsessed with the idea of caring for her newborn and the marriage itself may not have as much of a priority.

Meanwhile, new dads can often feel a bit left out and surplus to requirements! A husband may “assume” that his wife needs overall responsibility and is the best person to look after the kids. The danger here is that he may distance himself from the partnership, assuming that he’s doing the right thing.

The most important thing for parents to do is to watch for warning signs and really understand their partner. Look for signs of overload, irritability or a short temper. The worst thing one can do is to leave any potential problems unchecked as they can quickly become unmanageable and dangerous.

Whenever the kids are not around, sit down and have a very deep and meaningful conversation. Ask yourself whether you are being reasonable and ask the other for their honest input. Remind each other that things have changed now that you have additional family members and this is to be understood, priorities now look different.

You both have to work together as a cohesive team to raise your children in the way you want, and you shouldn’t underestimate how much effort and active input this takes from both of you. When all is said and done, give each other a hug and remember that you are the leaders of the pack!

It’s not all doom and gloom You do need to prioritise time together, but just make sure that your time represents quality time. Ask yourself when you last spent a weekend away together or did something fun with each other. Plan a really nice, romantic dinner and don’t forget those meaningful, romance filled surprises, from back in the day.

Experts can often help mums with their huge challenge ahead, especially those who are still working when all this madness is going on. Thankfully, online life coaching is a marvellous way to pick up some truly professional coaching, and when it comes to coaching for women, it’s the perfect place to turn when life becomes manic!

Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!

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We frequently hear about the habits of slick entrepreneurs and there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom to pick up from them. As a mumpreneur, working from home, juggling a family and a difficult business, forming these habits can be quite a proposition.

If you have ever tried juggling the task of being an entrepreneur and a mum, you can see why many turn to online life coaching providers to help them with this difficult task. By coaching women I can understand the difficulties and the particular circumstances, between work, family and being a woman. I also focus her in on seven fundamental “habits” that will help her to juggle it all without feeling overwhelmed.

Habit No. 1 – Prioritise!

It is a truism that time is our most precious commodity and we just don’t have enough of it. Have you ever noticed that time flies when you’re having fun, but the opposite is also true?

If we are busier than ever and time is flickering past, we have to be able to understand the management of time, or we will be quickly overpowered.

Most professional coaching experts will tell you that time management is rule number one.

Evaluate all that you have to do and take time to jot it all down in a list. Sort the list and prioritise and work on whittling the list down until it is workable. When you embark on this task, it can seem daunting, if not impossible. However, with a little ingenuity and application, you can make it work. When you have finished, print it all out and make sure you display it prominently, so you can always refer to it.

Habit No. 2 – Don’t forget about you!

The second habit of highly effective mumpreneurs is that they remember to think about themselves! By focusing some time on yourself, you will ensure that you will not become overwhelmed, burnt out with a corresponding effect on your productivity.

So make personal time a priority and understand that this is not about being selfish, but is in fact a vital investment in your business and your life.

Habit No. 3 – Inject some routine.

Become a creature of habit with a set routine. They say that it takes a minimum of 14 attempts at something before a habit becomes ingrained, and we all seem to work better if we adopt a routine.

Some of us do not like to be structured in this way, but experience has shown that injecting some routine markedly helps with daily management.

Habit No. 4 – Don’t get distracted!

Whilst phone calls from close friends can sometimes be a welcome relief, don’t let distraction become the enemy of efficiency. It’s essential to section off time where you can switch off your smart-phone and apply the voice-mail option.

I’m not advocating that you ignore people, but just try blocking out some “do not disturb” time to focus on larger projects. You can then allocate time to return calls once you’ve completed the tasks and projects that are essential to grow your business.

Habit No. 5 – Create sacred space to work.

The fifth habit is about setting up your own personal and private area. A surprising number of mumpreneurs operate their businesses from their homes. If you happen to be a work from home entrepreneur, you’ll know from first-hand experience that it’s not a good idea to try balancing a laptop on the living room table and placing your file cabinet in the lounge!

In whatever spot it is in your house, make your workspace special and if possible set it up in its own room, away from the children when you’re trying to work. Design this room with efficiency and ergonomics in mind and don’t use it for leisure purposes. If feasible, try to have another computer set up in another spot for personal applications.

Habit No. 6 – A healthy body and mind, equals a healthy business.

If you don’t take care of yourself, all the rest of your habits will be tough to maintain. Exercise and fitness must become a habit and you should plan on getting at least three exercise sessions in per week.

Do whatever is easiest for you to take on as a new exercise habit. So if you don’t live near a gym, it’s unrealistic to plan to go to a gym three times a week, as you’ll find that you don’t have the time to travel to and fro. Always try to keep it simple – walking, running, cycling or dancing to an exercise DVD are all excellent examples of ways for you to keep your body moving, and they’re easy to integrate into your daily life as a mum as well.

Habit No. 7 – Create an outstanding superstar success team!

You’ve heard the expression “no man is an island” and the same applies to women! None of us can run a business alone and we all need support in various guises – mothers even more than most as we’re juggling so many commitments. Ask yourself what sort of support you need to become a highly successful mumpreneur and start to look for ways of building your “superstar success team.”

Professional coaching for women can help you to achieve your business goals much more quickly than you would on your own and is an important part of any highly effective mumpreneur’s success team.

But however you choose to build your team, don’t try to do everything on your own as there is so much to be gained from seeking the wisdom of good friends, confidants, associates and professional coaching experts. They can be superb sounding posts and lynchpins to your business success!

Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!

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As a working mom, it’s often incredibly difficult to find the time to reach any semblance of balance while being stretched all directions throughout each and every day. These days, it seems that unless you’ve got a special gift for effective time management, it’s just not possible to find enough time to take care of all the needs of your children, your job, your housework and the myriad of other tasks that are always so necessary.

When we choose to put things off until tomorrow – or the next day, we usually end up feeling guilty about it, and unfortunately this course of action only serves to magnify our daily problems. Budgeting can be quite a challenge and if you only have a limited source of income you will always feel pressured to spend it on the kids and other household items, relegating yourself to last place in the pecking order.

As a working mother, you have to keep in mind one crucial point – you represent the “engine” that keeps the whole family going, and without you being at your best, other aspects of the family machine simply won’t work as well. Therefore, relegate any feelings of guilt to the back of your mind and understand that any time you invest in yourself is an investment in everything around you, your kids and your overall life. It’s essential that you feel good about yourself or, with the passage of time, you’ll feel increasingly burdened, and put yourself in a situation where depression could take hold and create a never-ending downward spiral.

One of the most crucial goals for you to work toward should be to establish a solid support network all around you. It’s a good idea to remember to lean on your close friends for support – you know who they are, they’re the true friends you can always turn to in situations like these at any time. Don’t forget though, that this kind of support is a two-way street. You may already have close family members who help you out, but don’t be afraid to seek the help of a professional coaching expert, specifically coaching for women in your situation as well.

Hopefully you can find a good friend who is willing to become a babysitter for you, so that you can take that special “me” time. If you try hard enough, there’s always a way to find a little bit of extra time to make yourself feel “yummy,” instead of slummy! Always keep in mind that no matter how much chaos seems to reign everywhere around you on a daily basis, you have to take control over the factors that you can manage.

Looking and feeling fabulous on a low budget is not that difficult. Your toughest challenge will be in setting aside the necessary time to truly pamper yourself. Once you accept this as a priority, pay attention to the essential elements.

The best thing you can do for yourself on a daily basis is to commit to an exercise routine, and we don’t mean carrying around big bags of groceries or tidying up your home! A concerted period of cardiovascular work is perfect, or you can event start out by using a small set of hand weights while walking around the neighbourhood.

Before you know it you’ll feel better physically and mentally, and your skin tone will even start to shine brightly again. You can pick up supplies to do a really great home manicure and pedicure, schedule a visit to a beautician or hairstylist and just focus on your personal time in the bathroom more often.

Feeling good is a state of mind. This process usually begins with a renewed focus on setting aside time for you, and then giving this time an equal priority.

For more hints and tips on how to feel great as a low-budget mum, check out the numerous online life coaching resources available!

Amanda Alexander is the Founder and Inspiration behind Coaching Mums. She’s a distinguished ICF accredited coach, who for almost seven years now, has been bringing a new feeling of hope into the lives of working mums from around the world, showing them how to discard their guilt, rediscover their passions and to have a lot more fun! For amazing articles and truly effective professional coaching tips, sign up to get “Inspire” right away, our absolutely outstanding free newsletter!

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Author on October 29th, 2009

These days, we’re always hearing about the possibility of a major flu pandemic of one kind or another, particularly the swine flu. We’re likely to be particularly concerned if we’re mums who have young children, and from doing everything we can to keep them from getting sick.

Without a doubt, this is certainly easier said than done! For working mums, the thought of being involved in some way in this pandemic is all we need, right now, as if there isn’t enough to worry about on a daily basis!

One of the main drawbacks of being a mother that works is the fact that for the most part our schedule doesn’t have much flexibility. We have to continuously balance so many things to ensure that we fulfil all of our working commitments while ensuring our children are well taken care of too. When we hear the (often much exaggerated) horror stories about swine flu, this only serves to add another thing to worry about on an often already long list of worries.

If you find yourself immersed in worry, stress and guilt, it might signal the time to turn to professional coaching or online life coaching to learn from experts and fellow mums who have been there, seen that, got the t-shirt etc.

Swine flu, or H1N1, has been called a global pandemic due to the expected number of human to human transmission cases. It’s simply too complex for us to have any idea how it could effect us individually or collectively, and how it might impact the systems, processes, and essential networks that we usually rely on. Therefore, working mums really should try to focus on what they can do to plan for the worst within these unknown parameters.

It goes without saying that the first thing to do is look at how you can make sure that each member of the family is as healthy as possible. This means keeping up with physical activity, working out, trying to manage stress, eating well, remaining hydrated and getting an optimum amount of sleep. This goes for all members of the family – which includes you! Schedules should be adjusted and habits modified. No longer is it okay to let any of these slide as we need to be as healthy as possible to stave off infection.

We may have to practise a certain amount of “social distancing,” if the swine flu spreads rapidly or mutates. This generally means good hygiene, washing your hands often, using a good hand sanitizers and as difficult as it may seem, try to get yourself and your family out of any habits such as touching your face.

Schools are of course particularly vulnerable and the swine flu is likely to spread quickly in places where children are present. Should schools be closed, you will need to be prepared for the eventuality. This will mean looking into emergency day-care, help from family or friends.

You will need to take a good look at your work situation and see if it would be possible for you to do some of it from home if needed. If your children need nursing then you cannot realistically expect a sitter to be able to this and you should be there anyway to pay close attention to their recovery.

Without going overboard, make sure that you stock up on non-perishable food and other necessities. For example, keep a stock of ready meals in your freezer if you have one. If you are in the UK, I recommend “Cook” foods, which you can order online. All their ready meals are hand cooked with no artificial ingredients. They’re not cheap, but I can vouch for them being delicious and it’s handy to have a selection in. Imagine feeling really poorly but still having to cook meals for you and your family…not conducive to you getting better! You will be grateful of a meal that you can just throw the oven or microwave and still be sure you and your family are eating healthy and nutritious meals!

As a working mum, check to see what your company’s policies and procedures are regarding a potential major outbreak of swine flu. Hopefully your company will be flexible and sympathetic. If you feel that they are not, or want more information about how to deal with an employer in your situation, you could check out coaching for women and help online.

If you or a family member falls ill with the swine flu, pay close attention to the symptoms and what your doctor may advise. Whilst the majority of cases are likely to be mild, be aware of what you should be on the lookout for and have a plan in place to deal with everything appropriately.

Amanda Alexander is the Founder and Inspiration behind Coaching Mums. She’s a distinguished ICF accredited coach, who for almost seven years now, has been bringing a new feeling of hope into the lives of working mums from around the world, showing them how to discard their guilt, rediscover their passions and to have a lot more fun! For amazing articles and truly effective professional coaching tips, sign up to get “Inspire” right away, our absolutely outstanding free newsletter!

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Author on October 27th, 2009

It is nothing short of amazing to think how a single mum can balance her time between so many commitments. After all, it can seem very difficult when there are two parents in the household, so how on earth do single mums cope? Answer: They just do what needs to be done! In any given day as a single mum, there’s just so much that needs to be done, and you have to keep on looking for new and inventive ways to accomplish everything.

Your list of commitments might be never-ending, but there is nothing in the rulebook to say that as a single working mum can’t have time for yourself. In all likelihood, you may have two full-time jobs, a day job dedicated to your career and the other to ’round the clock’ Family Ltd., but even in these incredibly difficult circumstances, “me time” is crucial, not just for your own sake, but for your children’s as well. A happy mum has happy kids!

If you’re trying to find more “me time” as a single mum, the first thing you should do is look into your time management methods. This is not to say that you must “clock-in” and “clock-out” of every task and project, but you must be able to prioritise ruthlessly. If this isn’t one of your natural abilities, try this exercise: Start a diary of everything you do for around 3 to 5 days in 15 minute increments. It’s not easy by any means, but it’s incredibly worthwhile! Once you’ve done this you’ll get a clear picture of where the time “goes” and where you are making the most of your time and where you might be “losing” time. If you have an interest in refining your time management skills and balancing out your daily life, it’s fairly easy to find helpful online life coaching professionals who can help you put everything into perspective.

Professional coaching tells us that time management is one of the most important assets in business. Whilst blue-chip companies invariably employ a host of advisers and consultants, coaching for women has become increasingly sought after, especially for single working mums who are looking for a way to balance their family, career and personal life.

To enable you to find “me time,” it will help if you become more efficient at some of the tasks that you perform, day in, day out. Take a look at each area. Sometimes it will not be possible to streamline and become more efficient, but you need to tackle this with a “can do” attitude. Challenge yourself to experiment with new ways of doing things. If you have to work within a tightly constrained budget, this may not allow you to be as efficient as you otherwise could, but nevertheless, analyse everything. For example, are you being as efficient as you could be when it comes to cleaning? Do you absolutely need to repeat a certain process daily or would you be better served by allocating more time for a really thorough cleanup on one day and much less time on some of the others? If you’re a manic cleaner, try going on a cleaning diet for a few days and see if the World really does fall apart without the bathroom being cleaned daily!

While no one is advocating that you cut corners or that you don’t eat a healthy diet, see if you can make alterations to cut down on the amount of time that you spend preparing or cooking. Introduce fresh vegetables or fruits more often, scoring in terms of diet and less preparation. Take the “cook once eat twice” challenge, looking for recipes that you can double up on and either eat on two days running or freeze. How much time could you save if you cooked only 4 times per week instead of 7 and what could you do with that “cook free” time that you’ve saved?

Remember that certain things are not optional. You must get an adequate amount of sleep and you can’t “buy into” this time, and building exercise into your week is like paying into a health savings account – you’ll see “compound” benefits very quickly in your resilience, your health and your self-confidence . Simply by concentrating on exercise routine you can often get more energy, promoting greater efficiency during your working day.

Amanda Alexander is the Founder and Inspiration behind Coaching Mums. She’s a distinguished ICF accredited coach, who for almost seven years now, has been bringing a new feeling of hope into the lives of working mums from around the world, showing them how to discard their guilt, rediscover their passions and to have a lot more fun! For amazing articles and truly effective professional coaching tips, sign up to get “Inspire” right away, our absolutely outstanding free newsletter!

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When you think about it, it’s absolutely amazing how a single mum can balance her time between so many different obligations. After all, it can seem very difficult when there are two parents in the household, so how on earth do single mums cope? Answer: They just do! In any given day as a single mum, there’s just so much that needs to be done, and you have to keep on looking for new and inventive ways to accomplish everything.

Your list of commitments might be never-ending, but there is nothing in the rulebook to say that as a single working mum can’t have time for yourself. In all likelihood, you may have two full-time jobs, a day job dedicated to your career and the other to ’round the clock’ Family Ltd., but even in these incredibly difficult circumstances, “me time” is crucial, not just for your own sake, but for your children’s as well. A happy mum has happy kids!

If you want to find “me time” as a single mum, first of all you must look at your time management. This is not to say that you must “clock-in” and “clock-out” of every task and project, but you must be able to prioritise ruthlessly. If this isn’t your forte, try the following exercise: Keep a diary of everything you do for 3-5 days in 15 minute increments. Not easy, but very worthwhile! Once you’ve done this you’ll get a clear picture of where the time “goes” and where you are making the most of your time and where you might be “losing” time. If you want to hone your time management skills and balance your life, you’ll find online life coaching experts who can help you to get to grips with all this.

Professional coaching will help you to understand the many facets of time management, and why it’s become one of the most valuable assets in business. Whilst blue-chip companies have always employed advisers and consultants, coaching for women has become increasingly commonplace, especially for single working mums who seek to balance family, career and personal life.

To enable you to find “me time,” it will help if you become more efficient at some of the tasks that you perform, day in, day out. Take a look at each area. Sometimes it will not be possible to streamline and become more efficient, but you need to tackle this with a “can do” attitude. Challenge yourself to experiment with new ways of doing things. If you have to work within a tightly constrained budget, this may not allow you to be as efficient as you otherwise could, but nevertheless, analyse everything. For example, are you being as efficient as you could be when it comes to cleaning? Do you absolutely need to repeat a certain process daily or would you be better served by allocating more time for a really thorough cleanup on one day and much less time on some of the others? If you’re a manic cleaner, try going on a cleaning diet for a few days and see if the World really does fall apart without the bathroom being cleaned daily!

While no one is advocating that you cut corners or that you don’t eat a healthy diet, see if you can make alterations to cut down on the amount of time that you spend preparing or cooking. Introduce fresh vegetables or fruits more often, scoring in terms of diet and less preparation. Take the “cook once eat twice” challenge, looking for recipes that you can double up on and either eat on two days running or freeze. How much time could you save if you cooked only 4 times per week instead of 7 and what could you do with that “cook free” time that you’ve saved?

Remember that certain things are not optional. You must get an adequate amount of sleep and you can’t “buy into” this time, and building exercise into your week is like paying into a health savings account – you’ll see “compound” benefits very quickly in your resilience, your health and your self-confidence . Simply by concentrating on exercise routine you can often get more energy, promoting greater efficiency during your working day.

Amanda Alexander is the Managing Director of Coaching Mums. She is a celebrated ICF accredited coach, who for over six years, has been helping thousands of working mums from around the World bring balance back into their lives, lose their guilt, find the time to explore their passions, and generally, to have a lot more fun! For fantastic articles and hot professional coaching tips, sign up to receive “Inspire”, our famous free newsletter today!

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