Must-Have Productivity Tools for Busy Moms: A Back-to-School Edition

School’s back in session, and you know what that means: your life is about to become busier than it already is. Your schedule will likely be packed, making it more difficult to balance home with work life and everything in between. 

Fortunately, there are plenty of tools that can make busy mom life more manageable. Ready to maintain your productivity and be the supermom you were meant to be? Read on to explore six productivity apps for busy bees such as yourself.

6 Tools Moms Can Use to Maximize Productivity

Here are some of the best productivity tools to manage you and your family’s life, no matter how busy things get.

1. Task Management Tools

There’s nothing wrong with writing down tasks on paper, but be honest. Is it really the most convenient way of doing things, considering your on-the-go lifestyle? Why not streamline your daily tasks and see everything at a glance with management tools? 

Todoist, for instance, lets you sort your day’s tasks and break them down into more manageable subtasks. For example, if your main task is “Send kids to school”, your subtasks could be “Wake kids up at 7 AM”, “Cook breakfast”, and “Prepare kids’ lunch”. This structure makes it easier to tackle your tasks and ensures that no detail is overlooked. 

Furthermore, it lets you sort your tasks by priority and label them according to different areas of your life such as “Office” and “Home”. From work meetings to kids’ extra-curricular activities, task management tools provide a way to expertly plan your life and maximize your time. 

2. Meal Planners

If you often find yourself making last-minute meal decisions (or worse—always ordering takeout), you may want to start using a meal planner like Plan to Eat. Being able to plan your meals in advance gives you more control over your routine, while ensuring that your family eats nutritious foods. Furthermore, these tools offer a wide range of healthy meal ideas that you can incorporate into your family’s diet. That means you can send your kids off to school with clean lunches, and welcome them home with well-planned dinners. 

Through meal planner apps, you’ll also be able to factor in your budget and generate grocery lists based on your pre-planned recipes. This guarantees that your fridge is always stocked with the ingredients you need. 

3. Laundry Services

Doing laundry can be time-consuming (if only your laundry would wash, dry, and fold itself, right?). To save time and prevent your clothes from piling up, you may outsource this chore and avail of a personal laundry service. They’ll pick up your dirty laundry, wash it, dry it, and deliver it back to you within a day. This ensures your laundry isn’t neglected while giving you the chance to focus on other things. 

4. Online Shopping Services

Between dropping off your kids and picking them up for after-school activities after work, finding time to shop for essentials can be a challenge. Fortunately, services such as Instacart are real lifesavers. Whether you want to shop at Costco for groceries, Lowe’s for DIY tools, or Dollar Tree for your children’s craft supplies, it allows you to shop for whatever you want online. You can then pick up your items in-store or have them delivered directly to your door. 

5. Chores Assistance

Being a good mom doesn’t mean you have to do it all. There will be times when you’ll need a helping hand, or you simply want to be free from responsibilities for a day. And there’s nothing wrong with that! 

Did your babysitter cancel at the last minute? Need to hire a companion to care for your elderly parents? Don’t have time to tutor your kids? You can count on apps such as Call Emmy, which connect you to vetted service providers in your area. With professionals doing the work, you can free up your schedule and treat yourself to some much-deserved “me time”.

6. Family Calendars

Most moms have the task of managing their whole family the moment the day starts. To ensure mornings go smoothly and stay on top of commitments, it’s crucial to consolidate your family’s schedule. To do this, consider using a family calendar tool. 

One noteworthy app is Scoot, which allows you to see your whole family’s schedule in one place. You can create detailed to-do lists, containing information such as items you need to bring, when you need to be out of the door, and more. It also reminds you about PTA meetings, children’s plays and recitals, doctor’s appointments, and more. Plus, you can even customize your calendar and set a color for each family member, so you can conveniently manage individual schedules.

Conclusion

There’s no shame in using tools to streamline your day-to-day duties as a mom. They free up your schedule, help you get things done, and guide you toward a more balanced life. Try out the tools mentioned in this list and feel free to explore others that work for you!