Supermom Series — Maximize Mom’s Minutes with 3 Simple Tips (Part Two)

Photo by authors: Elisa Card & Kristen Lydecker

How to Conquer Mom’s Time Dilemma with Spaghetti Diagrams

How often are you asking yourself, “Where does the time go?” While you are busy perfecting your Supermom skills, Time continues to win battles right under your nose every day. Think about how you’re repeatedly running around the kitchen while cooking a meal. Or how your morning routine sends you to three different rooms of the house. Minutes wasted add up to hours lost in our daily routines.

What if I told you there is a time-saving method called a spaghetti diagram that’s used in lean manufacturing and can be applied to your daily routine? This spaghetti isn’t a precious family recipe and it doesn’t have noodles or sauce. Instead, it is a simple time-saving tool to improve your efficiency.

In part one of the "Supermom Series", you learned that visual management is a simple and effective way to maximize your time.

Using visual management in combination with spaghetti diagrams, you are building your strategy to win your fight against Time. Visual management helps you successfully plan what to do and when. Spaghetti diagrams help you improve how to do it.

Let’s take our lean mom-ufacturing to the next level with another superpower for your arsenal - the spaghetti diagram.

What is a spaghetti diagram in lean manufacturing?

A spaghetti diagram is a way to visualize each step in a process from start to finish. It shows the flow of tasks in a way that helps you see repeated steps. Or how your setup doesn’t match the flow of your process. It helps you spot where to make changes. After creating your diagram, you often end up with a picture that looks like a messy pile of spaghetti. The goal is to untangle it, make the process more efficient, and become more productive!

Once completed, the diagram reveals areas to improve. You put improvements into place and the process is simplified. The diagram is repeated using the new steps to show your amazing new time-saving process in action.

Untangling yourself using a spaghetti diagram can help you determine where you waste time. Relax and follow the steps below…in a few minutes, you can make changes that will save you hours.

How to Organize Chaos: 5 Simple Steps for Moms to Map Out Time

Let’s start by choosing a simple task that steals your time every day. Many routines sneak in extra steps without us noticing. Ask yourself what tasks take longer than they should, feel inefficient, or cause frustration. Think about your morning routine, meal prepping, laundry, or packing lunches. Are you running to different rooms or searching for supplies? What started as minutes turns into hours lost.

Today, our battle, Supermom vs. Time, is in the kitchen. Let’s get cookin’ and make some spaghetti!

Step 1: Prepare to cook by observing your process

Assemble your superhero team and observe your movements.
Track your route around the kitchen while making a meal.
Pay attention to how often you move to different areas and search for things you need like utensils and appliances. How often do you repeat the same tasks?

Step 2: Cook your spaghetti…diagram

Prepare for battle with a blank piece of paper, a couple of colored pens, and a stopwatch. Have your fellow heroes draw a rough visual of your kitchen or use a template.
Get cookin’ and draw your movements in a continuous flow, from start to finish. Start the timer. Include wait times and distance to understand the impact of each movement. Watch your spaghetti come to life!
Use different colors for each major activity like prepping ingredients and cooking a meal.

Step 3: Brainstorm why your spaghetti is so messy

Look for steps that take too long, are repetitive, unnecessary, or inconvenient.
Where do you spend time getting supplies or searching for the things you need? Are you digging in the back of a drawer or the pantry for something you use every day?
Look at the layout to see if the utensils and appliances align with the flow of your process.

Step 4: Untangle your noodles

Here comes the fun! Assemble the team and brainstorm your winning strategy.
Consider rearranging the space and moving items so they simplify the flow and reduce steps. Move small appliances and utensils for a better flow that lines up with your meal-prepping and cooking.
Reorganize the cabinets to avoid reaching and searching for the items you use the most. Imagine your noodles unraveling as you untangle your cooking routine!

Step 5: Test out your recipe for success

Repeat your process and recreate your diagram so you can visually compare before and after. Track the times again to see how much time you’re saving.
Keep looking for ways to make your process even better and tackle another area of your home where you need to save time, like meal planning. Use your visual management weapon and take the guesswork out of what you’ll be cooking.
Celebrate another battle won with your team and enjoy cooking in your new and improved time-saving space.

The best part is that your diagram can be created anytime, anywhere, using pen and paper, and requires no special tools or software.

Maximize Your Time and Motion

Consider when your kids are in their room screaming at each other while you cook. Instead of wanting to hide and pull your hair out, get your superheroes in the kitchen for some training. Have them help fight the battle with you. They can pitch in and free up your time so you can:

Feed the baby.
Check on the kids doing their homework.
Be present while the kids play.

What are the benefits of making your spaghetti…diagram as a busy mom?

Become conscious of your tasks, how you implement them, and how your time is spent. Don’t waste time and energy going back and forth.
Organizing the kitchen, planning, and designing family menus will make you even more efficient. You’ll stop wasting time wondering WHAT…HOW…, and WHEN.
Get things done with less confusion and non-value-added time spent moving from one room to another.
Maximize your minutes to spend time with your family.

Discover the power of this proven time-saving technique to maximize your efficiency. A few simple changes can have a major impact on your everyday routine. Merge the spaghetti diagram with visual management for a winning combination in your quest to conquer Time! Go beyond your home and declutter your mind by following “10 Steps for Spring Cleaning” by Elisa Card.

Bonus: Meet the Creators of the Time-Management Series for Mothers

Kristen Lydecker and Elisa Card combined their expertise to bring proven time-saving techniques to you. Follow the Supermom Series — Maximizing Mom’s Minutes with 3 Simple Tips.

Coming soon: Make sure you check out part three of our Supermom Series for more tips and tricks.