Mom Life

Inside: Want to find out the EASIEST way to master you#momlife schedule PLUS track your baby’s activities?? Find out how a daily hourly mom planner can help you organize your time!

Motherhood took me for a ride.

As a new mom, I found it hard to not only just make my own schedule but actually follow it. All of my regular routines got thrown out the window and it left me feeling like a chicken without a head.

On top of making my own schedule, I was trying to start a schedule for my baby too! I had no idea what to do and felt like with each passing day I was being buried by the number of things I needed to not only do but to track.

Then, like an oasis in a desert, I started using an hourly planner.

Using a daily hourly planner can help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by a million different schedules and things to do.

It can simplify your tracking process and help you plan and track you and your baby’s day simultaneously. Once I figured out that I needed a daily hourly planner for me and my baby I realized that I needed it on ONE sheet, not two.

This daily hourly mom planner is built to help you plan your day and be able to track your baby all in one place 🙂  Make every day, and easy one!

So that’s why I created the Mommy & Me Mini Planner! It’s a daily hourly mom planner and baby tracker combo. Click the download button above to get it for FREE now!

4 Reasons you need a Daily Hourly Mom Planner

Multitask Heaven

A daily hourly mom planner reduces the need for 2 planner sheets

There are 2 things you need to do during your day: 1) plan your tasks and 2) track your baby’s activities.

This means, essentially, you will be needing 2 different planner sheets. Not necessarily!

With a daily hourly mom planner, you can plan your day and also track your baby’s daily activities all in one sheet. You have no idea how much of a headache saver this is!

When I first started tracking my baby’s activities I used a separate sheet of paper and then I had a separate sheet of paper for all of my daily tasks, my “to do” list, my chore list and so on.

When I started using a daily hourly planner it reduced the need for 2 sheets and combined all of my lists and things to do.

To a busy mom, one less sheet of paper is a victory!

Hello Organization, Goodbye Chaos

The best thing about a daily hourly mom planner is that it helps you plan your day.

Using a this type of planner helps you definitely plan your day in-depth and allows you to get everything you need to do in your day done.

One of the most satisfying things you can do after a long, hard day is to be able to check off everything on your to-do list.

I usually take 5 minutes every morning to think about what I need to get done, including what time I have any appointments, what time I have to leave, what time I have to start getting ready, and so on. Then as my day goes along, I pencil in things I need to do bu hour.

It helps me see what I did, and what I still need to do in real-time.

When my daughter was first born I used to just “wing” things. But then I started to see a trend that I would be late to absolutely every place I needed to be. Soooo I started to plan my day by the hour.

If I need to be at the doctor’s office at 1:00 pm then I have to leave the house at 12:00 pm because the office is 45 minutes away and I want to be there 15 minutes early to do paperwork….

So at 11:00 am, I’ll write that I need to start getting the diaper bag ready and make sure my daughter’s clothes are all ready and picked out.

See? Wasn’t that easy??

Not every hour of the day is filled (thank goodness!) but having my day segmented into hours is really helpful.

It helps you track your baby’s day

It’s so important to track your baby’s day, such as what time they ate, how long they napped, and what play activity they did.

These activities you track will begin to form a pattern and schedule for what your baby’s day looks like.

Once you know your baby’s schedule, then you’ll be able to understand their nap schedule, feeding schedule, and so much more!

(If you want to read more about why schedules are so important to check out my post “Why A Schedule For Your Baby is So Important.”)

Tracking your baby’s day can be tedious and can be something that you forget to do. But having it with the daily hourly planner of your personal tasks can help you track your baby’s day so much easier!

You learn to share time with you and your baby in a stress-free way

As a new mom, you realize real quick that your time is not your own anymore.

ALL your time is ALWAYS all about your sweet little baby.

But as you learn your baby’s schedule and become more familiar with being a parent you begin to fall into a rhythm and see that your time can be perfectly shared with your baby.

In fact, when you completely lose yourself and your personal time you can begin to fall into a downward spiral of depression, confusion, stress, and overwhelm.

Related Post: What My Baby’s Daily Schedule Looks Like

Most of the time when you’re having a bad day, the best thing to do is just remember that you need time to sit and take care of yourself. Take an hour to do something you love, whether that means eating a favorite dessert, taking a long bath, reading your favorite book, or going to a walk.

Learning to share time with your baby will help make your days so much more stress-free! The daily hourly planner can help you actually see the time that you are sharing and help you plan and track in an easy way.

It takes the pressure off of “planning and tracking”

I can be the first one to tell you that I was very overwhelmed by the pressure of having to track not only my baby’s day but also plan out my own.

The pressure of having to “plan and track” was ridiculous! But having one place to easily be able to plan the day has really taken the pressure and stress off of me.

The importance of having a plan for the day and the importance of tracking my baby’s day so I didn’t want to stop doing those things- I just simply needed to do it in an easier way.

I know some mothers who are not planners at all. In fact, they hate to plan and make lists and track things. But after showing them this daily hourly planner they began to use it and actually enjoyed using it! I say that’s a victory!

After all, being a mom is all about having the support and advice of others- learning new things and learning from other mother’s mistakes and successes.

And my goal at Mastering Mom Life is to offer you as many resources that I can to make mom life less stressful and more enjoyable!

Also, don’t forget to download your copy of my Mom Hourly Planner!

I created this template as a way to help me stay organized each hour and then tweaked it to be able to help you!

As I mentioned, using a daily hourly planner is SO beneficial and can really help you plan and track the day in an easy way. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

GET MY FREE DAILY HOURLY MOM PLANNER NOW!

Do you need less stress and more organization?

If you truly want to kick mom life chaos to the curb, this is the perfect planning system to help you reduce stress, save time and organize your mom life like a pro! 

The Mastering #MomLife 2020 Organizer is 50 pages of planning templates, trackers, and checklists to help you truly feel in control of ALL of your responsibilities.

• Keep track of your baby’s naps, feeding, and activities.

• Plan your to-do list and important tasks.

• Organize your family’s plans.

• Meal plan like a boss.

• Track your goals.

• Focus on your self-care

• Keep up with household chores.

With the FULL Mastering #MomLife 2020 Organizer, you can make 2020 the year of MOM.

Are you tired of having to do a million things but never having enough time to actually get them done?? This is the ultimate motherhood organizational resource!

Here’s a glimpse of all that you get in the Full Planner!

With 5 sections dedicated to making your #momlife easier, it’ll help you stay ahead of the chaos.

Make 2020 the year of MOM! Become the best, less stressed version of YOU 🙂

Interested in the full Mastering Mommy & Me 2020 Planner?? Take advantage of my LIMITED OFFER here!

KICK STRESS TO THE CURB NOW!

I hope this post was able to offer you relief from the stress of having to track and plan you and your baby’s day!

Using an hourly planner can help you:

1. Get organized.
2. Easily track your little one’s activities.
3. Learn how to effectively share your time.
4. Eliminate the pressure of “planning”.
5. Save time & energy!

Feel free to share how you plan and track your baby’s activities in the comments below.

Wait! Do you love free printables??

Become part of the Mastering Mom Life Insider tribe and get instant, FREE, private access to my resource library filled with printables + worksheets to make mom life easier!

Check out these posts too!

 

Inside: Are you tired of forgetting to do things and overwhelmed by the day to day mom life? Find out how starting to use a weekly mom planner can help!

Motherhood hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. I found myself loosing track of my days, weeks, and plans.

One day, I sat in my dimly lit kitchen with my face buried into my hands. That afternoon, I had forgotten to meet my husband at his job to go crib mattress shopping. I was going over my plans for the week and was immediately overwhelmed by the sinking feeling of stress.

Have you ever forgot to do something important because you were so busy??

The smartest way to stay on top of your plans and your to-do list is to use a weekly mom planner! (Trust me, I learned this the hard way…)

Using a weekly mom planner can help you keep track of your whole week in ONE place. No more kicking yourself for forgetting to do something or being overwhelmed by your never-ending to-do list.

So, how do we exactly plan our week??

As a mom, you have a TON of things to do!

But planning your week will help you focus on the tasks at hand and prevent the horrible feeling when you’re forgetting to do something. Ready to learn how to plan your week as a mom? Great! Let’s dive in…

How to Plan Your Week

 

• Set aside a time at the beginning/end of each week to think about the next coming week

The most important step to using a weekly planner and starting to plan your week is to actually make time to sit down, clear your head, and write everything down.

Every Sunday night I usually set aside 20 minutes after my daughter goes to sleep. Sunday is the end of my weekly planner and I always start my weekly planner fresh every Monday.

 

• Brainstorm your tasks for the week.

Use this time (the 20 minutes or however long you are allotting to plan the week) to brainstorm everything that needs to be done that week. Including the plans you already have, things you need to get done, and where you need to be.

If you forget things along the way, just add them as you remember! What you want to do is try to remember the things you need to do so you don’t end up in the middle of the week with that dreaded feeling of you forgot to do something.

I always double-check the calendar on my phone too in case I have things written there.

 

• Talk to your spouse/family about their tasks this week.

I really try to make sure my husband sits with me when I plan the week, even if he’s not giving me his full undivided attention. I always make sure to ask him what plans he has and see if they clash or compliment any of the plans that I have.

Planning your week together will take the headache out of the “I had no idea you were planning to do that” argument that is oh so common as parents!

I even recommend putting your weekly planner somewhere that your spouse can see so they are constantly in the “know” of what’s going on. Sometimes if my weekly planner shows a lot of things that my husband and I have to do together I’ll take a picture of the planner and send it to him via email or text.

 

• Write everything down! Print out your weekly planner/weekly planner template.

Now is the fun part- printing your weekly planner and actually filling it in with everything that you brainstormed for the week.

Ways to use the planner

There are a couple of different ways that I use the weekly planner template:

1. Print out a New One Each Week: You can print out a new planner sheet each week and just store them in a binder when you are done with that week. You can throw it away if you like but I found it really useful to keep them so I have a reference to go back to if I need to remember when I did something.

Every month or so I throw out old ones so I’m not adding unnecessary clutter to my house.

 

2. Print One Out and Laminate It: If you aren’t so keen on using a new weekly planner sheet each week then you can laminate it and use it as a dry erase board. After every month or so you might have to change the sheet and re-laminate it because it can become quite wrinkled and filmy.

 

3. Print One Out and put it in a Picture Frame: The last (and my favorite way) to use the weekly planner template is to print it out and place it in an 8.5×11 inch frame. Then I use the glass of the frame as a dry erase board. The glass is clear so you can pretend like you’re writing straight on to the planner sheet itself!

You can find a super cheap frame at your local dollar store or you can get a fancy picture frame and use it as décor in the house- so you’re not only being an efficient planner but it’s also pretty to leave out 🙂

The Miracle Weekly Mom Planner

When I was a first-time mom, I didn’t find a weekly mom planner that I loved because none of the planners included a baby tracker.

I was so tired of forgetting to do important weekly tasks that I created my own weekly planner template! The weekly planner is just ONE sheet- that is able to track everything that you need to do for the week. That way you aren’t juggling 7 sheets of paper for the week.

The weekly planner I created that works like magic for me is called the Mommy Weekly Planner. It includes 6 sections: Plans, Menu, Workout, To-Do List, Chores, and Notes. Trust me, it will get you organized and ready for your week within 10 minutes!

PLUS it comes with a built-in baby tracker so you can plan your day and track your baby’s naps, feedings, and activities all in one place!

Get the FREE weekly mom planner now!

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Posts about Easily Tracking Baby’s Activities

“Why A Schedule for Your Baby is so Important”

Tracking Your Baby’s Full Feeding Schedule

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How to Use the Weekly Planner

I created the weekly planner with 6 sections:

• Plans,
• Menu,
• Workout,
• To-Do List,
• Chores,
• & Notes

Let’s go over each section of the planner and I’ll also give you some examples of how I use it… but feel free to use the weekly planner in the way that works best for you!

 

Sections of the Planner:

 

Plans

This is where you will write your plan for each day of the week. For example, if you have a doctor’s appointment at 11:00 am on Thursday, this is where you will write it. You can write out your whole weeks plans right in those boxes!

There is also a circle in the upper left-hand corner of each box in the “Plans” section for you to write the date of the day.

 

Menu

I started planning my weekly menu ahead of time when my daughter was about 6 months old and starting to eat solids. I had a hard time planning a menu and following the menu because I would write it on a random sticky note and misplace it!

This is meal planning made simple.

But having my weekly menu right here with all of my other plans helps me stay on track and gives me relief that I don’t have to “wing it” with meals. Maybe you just want to pre-plan all of the dinners for the week instead of each meal for each day.

That’s totally fine! Use it in the best way that fits your family.

 

DON’T FORGET: Grab your copy of the Mommy & Me Planner– mom planner & baby tracker combo! CLICK HERE TO GET IT NOW!

 

Workout

It’s so important to try to get some sort of exercise in your day! I am SO guilty of not exercising. I don’t even TRY.

But having this section in my weekly planner motivates me to want to fill it in! Sometimes I’ll preplan a time I want to work out and make sure to do it at that time on that day.

Other weeks, I just wing it and exercise when I can. When I do that, I just write in the exercise that I did for that day in the “Workout” section after I finished the exercises.

That way I can look back at my week and remember what kind of exercise I did for how long.  And if you do that consistently and are saving your weekly planners, you’ll begin to see progress in your exercises! And maybe even some weight loss 🙂

(I’m still working on my baby weight…)

 

To-Do List

I love this section of the weekly planner because it breaks down my “to-do list” into what I MUST do, NEED to do, and WANT to do. This helps me focus on the priorities of what I need to get done.

Batching your to-do list into priorities will help you focus on the things you need to do instead of trying to get everything done on your list meanwhile some things weren’t even a priority.

I choose to look at this section as planning my time efficiently.

If I don’t absolutely NEED to do the 10 pieces of clothing in the laundry then I can use that time I was going to do the laundry as some downtime as my baby naps.

Usually what happens is the things on my NEED to-do list becomes things that I MUST do the following week. Using this system really reduces my stress level of trying to get everything done.

Chores

I created a separate section for chores because a lot of the time my chores end up consuming my to-do list. But when I dedicate my to-do list for things that I need to get done besides chores, I become much more efficient.

Having a separate section for chores can help you batch your time and plan what day you are going to do what chore. (As opposed to just having a long list of chores with no exact day you want to have it done by.)

When you put one or two chores in a chore box with a date on that box, it helps you feel like completing that chore is so much more manageable! Sometimes as a mom you just have to take things one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time!

 

Notes

This section in the weekly planner is just for you to jot down any notes you have as your week goes along.

Maybe there’s something you couldn’t get done and in the notes section, you make a note that it needs to be done next week. Or maybe you realized that you’re out of an ingredient for a meal that you planned for that week’s menu. Here’s the place to write any notes that you need!

I LOVE having a place to jot things down because odds are that if I don’t write it down then I won’t remember it!

Don’t forget!

Be sure to grab your copy of the Mom Weekly Planner! I also created a whole 15 page FREE Mom Planner that has the Mommy Weekly Planner in it!

Get it now!!

And there you have it!

Being a mom can be overwhelming but finding ways to reduce stress, such as planning your week, can help you in such a great way.

I hope I was able to equip you to be able to plan your week easily and efficiently!

Say bye-bye to that sinking feeling of stress and overwhelm!

Wait! Do you love free printables??

Become part of the Mastering Mom Life Insider tribe and get instant, FREE, private access to my resource library filled with printables + worksheets to make mom life easier!

As a first time mom, there are A LOT of things you experience that you never experienced before. Sometimes we feel like we are in this journey of motherhood alone when in reality all we have to do is look around and see the countless number of women who have been through the same thing!

If you are a first time mom and are trying to figure out exactly what to do or how to adjust to motherhood, I strongly suggest looking to a seasoned, experienced mother (who you trust!) to help you, guide you, assure you, and offer you mom life wisdom!

As a first time mom, I didn’t want to walk through motherhood alone and when I didn’t know what to do my mother was the one who came beside me to help me along the way. And even though I love my husband to death there are things he can’t fully understand because well, he’s never physically been through having a child and being a mother.

My mother became my role model- an experienced mom that I looked to for guidance, reassurance, and wisdom. Not only did having a role model help me through the hard times of motherhood but having a role model also reassured me what I wasn’t alone. I think all first time moms should have someone who they can look up to during this new season in their life!

I needed a role model (who was my mom) as a first time mom because she understood what I was going through, was able to guide me and comfort me with her wisdom and was able to personally relate to this new season in my life.

I had the privilege of having my mom help me and support me. I know not every first time mom has their mother around to help them or has the support of their mother but I would still encourage all new moms to find someone they can trust to help guide them through this momentous new season of their lives. Find a seasoned mother who you trust, maybe an aunt or a grandparent or a sister or in-law. Don’t feel like you have to walk through motherhood alone!

Why First Time Moms Need a Role Model

 

Seasoned mothers are a great role model to first time moms. I know this because my mom played such an important role when I became a mother. She was there for me in a way that I felt was indescribable. As an experienced mom, she was about to help me in ways that I didn’t even know I needed help. And here is why…

 

Her experience guides me

Having an experienced mom as a role model will help you because she is knowledgeable. My mom has obviously experienced what I am going through. Maybe not in the same exact way, but she still had experience from having 3 children that I didn’t have. She was able to use her experience to guide me and show me that the journey of motherhood I am on will not always feel overwhelming. There are things that I went through as a first time mom that she had more experience in.

For example, when my daughter started waking up in the middle of the night again after sleeping through the night it was my mom who first told me about the different cycles and sleep regressions that babies go through. If I didn’t trust her enough to come to her with what I was worried about then she would have never been able to tell me that what my baby girl was doing is completely normal. I would have just let my worry snowball into a full blown panic. My mother’s experience was able to guide me.

Her wisdom comforts me

Not only do experienced mothers have more knowledge about certain things than we do as first time moms but they also have wisdom from their experiences.  I can’t tell you enough how much my mother’s experience ultimately comforted me. Like I mentioned before when I would worry about something that my daughter was doing she would tell me that it’s nothing to be worried about. If she wasn’t there to let me know that things are going to be ok then I would be unnecessarily worried about something that is completely normal! Ultimately, her wisdom comforted me because it fizzled out my potential worrying.

 

She can relate to me like no one else can

When you have another mother as a role model there are things that you can share with her that no one else would understand because chances are she’s “been there and done that”- so she can relate to what you feel and what you are going through. As much as I love my husband he can’t relate to things that my body experiences because he’s never been through it. Having my mom as a role model and someone I can confide in, she relates to me like no one else can. Not only does she know what I’m going through but she also knows me well enough to give me advice and wisdom that she knows I would understand.

She helps me and understands me on a whole new level

Having an experienced mother as a role model who understands you and knows you will help you so much! For example, having my mother beside me allowed me to feel safe that I knew I wasn’t alone. There were times that all she had to do was look at me and she knew how I was feeling. I didn’t have to overly divulge my feelings- there were times that she knew what I was feeling because she understood me beyond words. This was a whole new level of understanding. There were even times that my husband didn’t know what was wrong with me but because I had a seasoned mother guiding me through this new life of motherhood she immediately knew what I was going through. You have no idea how valuable being understood can be as a first time mom.

She helps me see what true love and sacrifice is

As a first time mom, there is a whole new understanding of what love and sacrifice are. After holding your new little baby, you feel a connection that you never felt before- a love that is never ending and indescribable. After feeling this love with my baby, I was able to immediately understand the love that my family has for me and the scarifies that was made for me. Just as much as I love my new little baby girl and would sacrifice my life for her, I know that is how my mom feels about me. Because my mom was my role model I had a newfound understanding of how she really feels about me and how much she loves me. I know that one day in the distant future when my little girl has a baby I want to be there for her just as much as my mom was for me because I know I would do anything for her.

Want to remember this? save “Why First Time Moms Need a Role Model” to your favorite Pinterest board!