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9th August 2020
01:00pm BST

2. Be a planning ninja
I am a firm believer in that keeping an old-school diary and having a calendar system on the wall is the key to keeping my family organised, and make sure I am can juggle both work and family life with relative ease.
I use Google calendar too, but find that writing things down work so much better for me. I keep my diary with me in my bag, and every time something gets booked or planned, I plot it in my diary – and then, later when I am home, I can transfer it onto the monthly planner I keep on the wall. Here I jot down everything from work meetings to the children's ballet classes or football tournaments or whenever any of us have doctor's or dentist appointments. I use a different colour on the calendar for each family member, meaning it is far easier to at a quick glance check who has something on that day and what it is.
3. Get the kids involved with cooking dinner
Not only will you, at least once they get used to it, save time, but chances are you will also have happier meals. Enlisting help with dinner might be the trick to getting picky eaters to try new foods and eat healthier, experts believe. Having little ones measure ingredients and read directions aloud will also help improve basic math and reading skills.
4. Don't forget to breathe
Stress can escalate, and chronic, long-term stress is actually really, really bad for our health. So when you feel overwhelmed, try this: For one full minute, breathe in for four seconds and out for six. Any time we exhale longer than we inhale, it will move us out of that fight-or-flight stress response and into the present.
5. Practise not saying 'yes' to everything
We know, as a parent, sometimes it's hard to say no — to your kids, teachers, parental responsibilities, etc. But, as Sheryl Ziegler, Psy.D., author of Mommy Burnout explained to Redbook magazine, "I'll get back to you." This response gives you a chance to think about what you want to do and will eliminate those stressful things on your overstuffed plate, Ziegler says.
6. Delegate, delegate, delegate
The kids, your husband, whoever else, they are also capable of pulling their weight, so let them. Even children as young as four-five can help out with chores, be it to set the table or help you fold the washing. Bonus: It will also end up giving your children a feeling of being helpful and capable.
7. Keep your car stocked
I don't know about you, but even though we walk to and from school, I still spend a lot of time in the car during the school year, carting children to and from a whole string of activities and parties and playdates, and all sorts of other things.
Making sure I always have a selection of must-haves in the car just makes for an easier life. For instance, at the moment, you'll always find the following in my car at all times: A packet of wet-wipes (for all sorts of spills and sticky finger situations), a roll of nappy bags ( even though none of the children are still in nappies, these make for great emergency bin bags when you are handed an ice cream stick or an apple core), pens (so I can sign papers or scribble down notes or add things to my diary on the go), energy bars (sometimes homemade ones, sometimes those yummy vegan Nakd bars or something similar and healthy, for mornings that have just been too manic to eat).
I also keep some colouring books and crayons – for when one of them has to sit it out as the other one is at hockey or taekwondo or whatever. Plasters are good too, as is some antibacterial water-free hand-gel, especially these days.
8. Get up first
This might feel hard to begin with, but ever since I started setting my alarm so that I get up a good 45 minutes to an hour before I wake my children, my mornings have just become so much more enjoyable.
This ensures I have time to get myself ready, drink my hot lemon water, prepare lunchboxes, get the breakfast table ready and glance at my calendar and mentally plan my day – all before I go wake the kids and deal with all the dressing and feeding and hair brushing and siblings fighting that entails.
In fact, only when I feel like I am pretty much good to go myself do I wake the kids – and we all have a better morning because of it.
9. Get started with meal planning
10. Maximize quality time
Getting back into reality again after a long and relaxing school holiday can be tough, on the whole family. So make sure you prioritise plenty of downtime too. And lots of time together as a family. Because believe it or not, this will also benefit your children in their lives outside of the family – such as in school and with their peers or when doing their homework.
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