Practical Tips to Manage Your Time Wisely as a Christian Mom

Days go by faster than you think! I am here to give you some practical tips, as a busy Christian mom to manage your time wisely!  

Thinking back to the newborn days, sleep deprivation was eating me alive. I was so exhausted but shocked at how life slowed down. I was now in this new role, and I was not used to sitting around the house. Looking back, I can not believe how fast that time went. Now, I feel like we are always busy with chores, errands, work, yard care, and meals. I struggle with wanting to get a million things done in a day. I have to remind myself not to set high expectations. While I am no time management expert, I have created a list of tips that have helped me as a mom. No matter what season of life you are in, managing your time is healthy. I hope that this list of practical tips to manage your time wisely as a busy, Christian mom helps you to organize your time better. I hope you feel less overwhelmed and more confident about your days.

Skip to the list of time management tips!

How Does God Tell Us to Spend Our Time

When I need guidance, I dive into God’s word. There are many scriptures that say that our time here is a flicker, it is short in the greater picture. There are also many bible scriptures that say some of the work we do is beneficial, while other work is evil. 

We need to not be worried about our every move.

Apostle Paul is talking in 1 Corinthians 10:23-33 to the members of the church in Corinth. He wanted them to be careful of what they participated in. If you know you should not be doing something, do not do it. However, do not go asking a million questions to seek problems. It would be exhausting to be so worried about your every action and if it aligns with God. I think there is a fine balance between being cognisant of your actions and if it represents God, and being too worried about your every action which drives you to an unhealthy place of unnecessary overwhelm. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 10:23: I have the right to do anything but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything- but not everything is constructive. 

We need to be aware of our actions. 

As mentioned above, we do not need to be hyper-focused on our every move, we do need to consider our actions and how they represent God. Are we honoring God and showing the qualities of God? Or are we showing the opposite of who God is? God gives us amazing freedom. We are free in Christ. However, that does not mean we receive God’s forgiveness while knowingly disobeying him. We do not get to lie all day, then ask his forgiveness every night. We do not get to yell at our kids for meaningless things, then ask god to forgive our sins every night.

God Gave us Freedom-What Does That Mean?

In Chapter 6, Paul addresses sexual immorality among Christians. He is saying that we are free to do what we want, but our bodies belong to Christ. If we commit sexual immorality, we are participating in sin. We are spending our time doing sinful actions.

Likewise, in chapter 10, Paul is discussing if it is okay to eat meat that was offered to idols. At that time, it was not okay to eat meat that was offered to idols. You were to obtain from foods that were offered as an idol. Paul says that the meat itself is not the problem, it is the knowledge that the meat was offered to the idols. He says that participating in actions that you know are sinful is not beneficial or constructive.

The freedom we receive in Christ is not to be taken lightly. God’s grace is there if we mess up, but it is not there for us to willingly mess up. Those that participate in sin knowingly, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those that participated in actions that showed God’s love, and followed his laws will inherit the kingdom of God. We need to look at how we spend our time. Are we spending it doing things we know we are not supposed to, or are we walking with God?  

Filtering Out What Is Not Constructive

I think it is so important to figure out what we need to filter out of our lives. What do we do every day that takes away physical time and mental space? We need to question if it is the best use of the time. One that comes to my mind right away is social media.

I went off of Facebook for a year. During that time, I had a clearer head space. I could take in more information about things around me because I am not filling my brain with other people’s problems or information. It gave me so much more time as well! The average person spends about 2 hours and 31 minutes on social media. Think about what you could do with that extra time. Would your mind be more clear and calm if you took a social media break? Would you be less reactive and more sympathetic and patient with your kids? I know I was.

If you can not give up social media for a logical reason, like it is your job, then set a time limit. It is easy to do now with any smartphone. You can set a limit on it and it will tell you when your time is up. I saw such a big difference in my mental space, my emotional space, and how I was acting towards other people. I am slower to anger and quick to help out.

Are there other activities in your day that are not beneficial? Think about how you can change that. Then follow the list below of “Practical Tips to Manage Your Time Wisely as a Christian Mom.”

Finding Value in Our Daily Tasks

One other quick thing I want to note is that our tasks as women, mothers, and wives mean something. We are obeying God in taking care of our home and family. We can find value in everyday tasks and be worshiping God through them. Our motherhood is a ministry.

I get into these phases where I feel like I am in a vicious cycle of laundry, dishes, vacuuming and constantly chasing the baby. Sometimes I feel like it is not worth it to do the tasks that are never ending- like the work I do around the house is not important. I feel like I am not serving God enough. Are the things I am doing even serving God? I asked God this question. I asked Him why it felt empty. He said that it is all about the heart posture behind it. It is mainly about my attitude toward it.

Motherhood is a ministry; your work matters

Motherhood is a ministry. I was ministering to God, even if that did not look like traditional ministering. By doing loads of laundry, I am taking care of His children. The children He gave me to raise. What an honor it is that God has blessed us with children. It is an honor that I have clothes for them, that I have a washing machine so they have clean clothes to wear. I am obeying God’s commands to take care of what He gave us. With this new attitude in mind, I can better serve my family. I can do it with a gracious heart.

Now, I am not perfect. I do get angry when the laundry does not stop. However, I can now lean back on that positive foundation. While I clean my house, feed the children for the 10th time that day, and pick up that toy for the 1,000th time, I am a good steward of what God has blessed me with. That brings Him joy. 

Practical Tips to Manage Your Time Wisely as a Christian Mom

Quiet time in The Word:

I hate the term quiet time, but that is a rant for another day.

I am going to start this list with a task. It sounds wrong to give you yet another task when this is supposed to be giving you more freedom in your day. However, this does help your day go smoothly! Spending time with God needs to be a part of your daily routine. Spending just 15-20 minutes with God can lead you to be happier, and have a more positive attitude. It will ground you in His truth, word, and joy. The Bible teaches us, corrects us, and trains us up in righteousness.

Getting up just 15 minutes earlier and reading the word of God can start your day with a better attitude and we accomplish so much more than if we are grumpy, overwhelmed, and angry. If you are not an early riser or you never have much time in the morning, set aside another part of your day to spend quality time with our heavenly Father. Try to put on some worship music in the background while you get ready. It is calming and reminds you to set your mind on Jesus. Your small children will notice that detail, and it is a great example for them. 

Practical ways to sit in with Jesus:

Accessing the bible is getting easier in our current time. We have the bible app, that gives you verses of the day. Open your smart phone to the bible app instead of social media in the morning (it will change you, just trust me!). If the bible intimidates you, feel free to find a devotional. These are books with daily scriptures, then usually some detail about the verse and a prompt to get you thinking of how it applies to your life. These are usually short. It will only take you. 10-15 minutes! 

If you are not a reader, there is also an audio bible available online! Sit and listen to it. 

Really, the amount of time does not matter. It is the quality of the time spent with God that matters. Also, how you spend your time with God, whether it be bible time or devotional time, is so important to sit with Him as the first thing you do that day. It will set your heart and mind in the right place. 

Make a plan for your day:

I love making a plan in my head right when I get up. I think about my day in order. Example: One kiddo needs to be dropped off at school, then I need to wash the baby’s sheets, fold the laundry, pull weeds, dust, vacuum, clean the chicken coop, then the kiddo has a doctor’s appointment at 2, pick up kiddo from school, then dinner and finally bed.

I use this planner to plan my month. I write down my goals and appointments. It helps me to stay organized.

Prioritize.

Now that we have a list for our day, we need to prioritize. Sometimes we feel like we need to do everything. This is a long list. We need to look at the to-do list and determine what are the priorities. Pick 1-3.

Using the example above, it is a must to drop off and pick up your kiddo from school. It is also a must to get to the appointment on time. Everything else can be things that you want to get done but have loose expectations around it because you can not predict your day. Giving yourself grace and being okay with not accomplishing your entire list is beneficial. Remember that your priorities for that day are accomplished.

Delegate

I will admit, I am the worst at this. However, it can be super helpful. Ask your husband to help wash the sheets or make dinner. Maybe ask him if it is a possibility that he can grab the kiddo from school so you have time to accomplish a task. I also believe that it is so important to involve your kids with age-appropriate tasks. Such as setting the table, putting their clothes in the drawer, or going to collect the eggs from the chickens. It teaches them responsibility and teamwork. 

Do not overload your day

It is so easy to wake up in the morning and make a huge list of to-do’s. You have all this energy in the morning and you make a list that is laughable. Like, cleaning your car, organizing the kid’s summer clothes, going to the park after nap time, and having a hot meal on the table for dinner, all while you have a spotless house and fresh flowers in every room. It would be nice to get all that done, but it is just not possible.

Do not overload your plan for the day. It will only lead to feeling unaccomplished, disappointed, and a feeling of failure. Instead, make an attainable list and make those 1-3 priorities that we talked about. That will bring you a feeling of accomplishment. It will then be a bonus if you get your kid’s clothes organized or if you have a nice dinner on the table. 

Prepare and Organize

There are many different ways to go about this, and it is different for every family. I am going to tell you how our family and I prepare and organize and hopefully, you can apply similar strategies to your family. Every Sunday, my top priorities are church, grocery shopping, and laundry.

1. Church sets the president for my week. I love going because I am filled with the Holy Spirit, a great message, and community. 
2. Grocery shopping. I like to have the house stocked full of food for the week, so we go grocery shopping together. This helps me prepare for the week. I have a rough idea of what our choices are for dinner so I am not trying to plan dinner every day and having to run to the store. pst. This is a great way to save money!    
3. Finished Laundry. I also like to have all of the laundry done for the week- finishing it all on Sunday. That means the kids will have clean clothes and will not be scrambling to find something in the morning before school. It will all be in its place, clean and ready for them. This is where I delegate. One of my kiddos is old enough to know how to get his clothes from the laundry pile and put them away. Also, I make sure not to leave all of the laundry for SUuday, because that would be overloading me. Thankfully I have time during my week to do a few loads, and my wonderful mom who babysits on Fridays while I work, does a few loads for me. It is a team effort. 

Pack and Plan

The last time management tip I have is to pack or plan the night before! It helps to be prepared for the next day. I pack the diaper bag and my bible on Saturday night so it is ready to go for Sunday. During the school year, I have my school-aged kiddo pack his lunch, and his backpack and fill his water so it is ready for him to grab and head out the door. This helps your morning go smoother, which in return helps to make the rest of the day go well. 

Encouragement for Moms in this Busy Season:

All of us moms strive to be the best mom to our children- it is hard work. We want to be able to do it all. When we do not get our household chores done, when we do not make a homemade, perfect birthday treat, and when we do not make it to every practice, we feel like we are failing.

We have this guilt, otherwise known as mom guilt in our heads and heart. We feel like we need to be spending every second with our child, while at the same time running a perfect household. It is a lot. Every mom experiences it. It seems like we are always in a busy season when we have young children. Whether you are a working mom or a stay-at-home mom we have busy days. Just know that you are the best mom for your children. They love you and you are doing an amazing job!

Conclusion:

First, we need to remember God’s priorities. While Jesus was on this earth, we saw him go sit alone with God. We need to remember to have those quiet moments, no matter what time of day that is for us. It could be early mornings or late nights after the kids go to bed. We need to sit at the feet of Jesus. Without a healthy spiritual life, we can not give our husband, kids, or home the attention it needs. We need God’s help. His guidance, his correction, teaching, and his word in our hearts. We need to make a list, find our priorities for that day, plan, delegate, and not overload ourselves.  I hope these Practical Tips helps you, a Christian mom to manage your time wisely.

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