Supermom Series — Maximizing Mom’s Minutes with 3 Simple Tips (Part One)
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From Chaos to Control: How Lean Manufacturing Principles Transform Time Management for Moms
When you first became a Supermom and imagined your daily life, did you envision a constant race against time? You probably thought you could do it all and do it perfectly. For many of us this vision is not our reality. Well, every superhero has a villain and ours is Time. We need to band together in our battle against Time!
I’m a working mom, who has spent nearly 20 years with manufacturing plants applying lean manufacturing concepts. Would you believe me if I told you the time-saving tools used to build cars can apply to your everyday life? I am going to share valuable planning and visual management principles that you can add to your superpowers.
What is visual management?
Visual management is a tool used in lean manufacturing. It is a way of putting thoughts into visuals like pictures or graphs that can be easily and quickly understood. The concept of lean is simply reducing waste in the form of time or non-essential tasks. The key is to simplify a process to save time and make the best way the easiest way. It includes very different forms of communication like graphs, charts, or clearly labeled areas that show where items belong.
When there is a campaign to raise money, organizations often use a thermometer to show progress. You can see that you are getting hotter as you meet the goal. Stop lights are used for wins (green) or losses (red). Visual management also includes posting a plan and tasks for the team’s awareness. Assigning due dates and names to tasks sets the plan in motion. These are all examples of lean manufacturing tools and visual management that can be applied at home.
How can you make visual management your simple superpower?
Let’s take a look at how to apply this to your daily life in three easy steps. The key to time-saving success with any plan is to make one and stick to it!
Step One: Develop your Vision and Create your Plan
Ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Do you want to create more family time, schedule vacations, attend school activities, or get more done around the house? Start simply by gathering your thoughts. Then plan for one year. Engage your family to share in your vision. This will allow their voices to be heard and help them buy into the plan.
Purchase or print a yearly calendar, grab a stack of Post-Its, paper for daily lists, and your favorite style of Sharpie marker.
With your vision in mind, start writing each family member's goals. Include things like vacations, favorite movies, meals, activities, games, and major family events on post-its. Take some time to review the Choices that you have to divide up the household tasks.
Gather all calendars - personal, work, and school to create a master plan of major events.
Populate each day of the month with the must-do activities. Then add in the fun! Place the post-its on days that would make a great movie night, game night, or favorite meal. Pick days for cleaning and laundry. Don’t forget a date night.
Visually review to make sure it’s realistic. Look for too many days that are booked in a row and adjust if possible. Make sure you have some free days to fill in later with some last-minute activities. If something comes up then simply move the Post-it to a new day.
Step Two: Put Your Plan into Action
Now that you’ve created a plan it’s time to make your vision a reality. Share the plan and make it visible. This leads to less wasted time from last-minute planning, confusion, double bookings, and procrastination. It also allows for everyone’s priorities to be considered.
Post your calendar in a common area of the house.
Each Thursday, review the upcoming week and make adjustments as needed.
Break large tasks down into smaller items and add them to daily activities.
Make a schedule of events for very busy days and make sure everyone knows the details of the plan. Be realistic with your time and reschedule unnecessary tasks.
Plan each day the night before. Consider choosing clothes, placing items by the front door, and packing lunches in advance.
Step Three: Work with Your Team
Lastly, remember there’s no “I” in team. Assemble your superhero dream team by including your family. Sharing the tasks gives everyone an important role and saves you time. As mentioned in “7 Key Facts that You Should Know about Leadership as a Parent” Elisa Card recommends having an open mind, flexibility, and willingness to learn, as you lead your family.
Assemble your team.
Create a chore list together and ensure everyone knows what to do by when. If lunches can be prepped in the evening, have your team members do it. Rotate the cleaning and laundry chores.
Use visuals for tasks that are done so everyone can take pride in their wins. Consider color coding like green for a good day or a sticker chart when everything is completed.
If you are saving for a trip or something fun, consider a visual of the thermometer that tracks your progress to success and hang it where the family can see and discuss it.
Celebrate winning your battle against Time.
It’s Efficiency in Every Moment: Lean Manufacturing Strategies for Time Management in Motherhood Series
Try these proven techniques for success used in manufacturing! They are simple and effective ways to save time, improve communication, and motivate each other to stay on track. Teaching these skills to your team sets them up for future time-saving success. It may seem scary at first but once you take the first step, you are on your way to lean mom-ufacturing. If you get off track, don’t worry. Start again and keep moving forward. Rest assured that having a plan will bring you peace of mind and save you time!
Coming soon: Make sure you check out part two and three of our Supermom Series for more tips and tricks.
Bonus: Meet the Creators of the Time-Management Series for Mothers
Kristen Lydecker and Elisa Card are combining their expertise to bring proven time-savings techniques to you. Follow the Supermom Series — Maximizing Mom’s Minutes with 3 Simple Tips
Meet Kristen!
Kristen Lydecker is a professional with nearly 20 years of expertise in applying lean manufacturing and continuous improvement techniques at work and at home. As someone who doesn’t want to miss a beat, she applies principles that accelerate success in the manufacturing industry to her everyday life. This allows her to maximize her time to spend time with family and friends.
Her passion is leading others and helping them reach their full potential by sharing her experiences and perspectives through writing. If you are looking for someone who can relate to your challenges or write about leadership and manufacturing techniques, look no further than Kristen. Check out her blog about parenting, business travel, and the fun adventures of a stay at home dad. Check out her website at copywrittenbykristen.com to learn more about her writing services and book a discovery call.
Meet Elisa!
Mother of 5 boys, ELISA CARD is a well-being sophrology expert and author of her new book soon to be released: “Becoming Me! It took five boys.” She is a dynamic global speaker known for her engaging and transformative presentations. With a unique blend of STEM background and entrepreneurial expertise, Elisa brings a fresh perspective to personal and professional well-being. Her mission focuses on empowering professional mothers to achieve emotional and financial freedom, nurturing family legacy, and harnessing higher consciousness for impactful living.
Through her online programs and in-person well-being retreats, Elisa’s work is dedicated to enhancing well-being and stress management. Elisa’s mentoring is a journey towards self-discovery and a lasting positive change for managing stress, fostering emotional well-being, and promoting a healthy work-life balance. Schedule a call today to talk to Elisa Card, wellness coach at Happy2Succeed!
