Between a toddler and a newborn, time is a hot commodity these days. There are always chores to do, business tasks to accomplish, and of course time for my family and personal care. On top of those, throw in trying to follow Trim Healthy Mama as a family (despite the suddenly picky toddler).
That would be plenty to manage alone… but I’m supposed to pump every two to three hours around the clock as an exclusively pumping mama… and multitasking isn’t the easiest when you have tubes and a pump connected to you.
Curious about exclusively pumping or my nursing journey thus far? Pump Mama Pump by Raequael Patterson gives a short intro to pumping life in a quick, easy read that also gives helpful tips and tricks. As for my (struggling) nursing journey, What It’s Like Failing to Breastfeed tackles that topic.
Tackle Your Mindset
Often our mindset is what keeps us from accomplishing the tasks we *technically* have time to start, but not time to finish. Or don’t think we have time to finish.
Instead of thinking “I don’t have time”, try instead thinking something along the lines of, “I can start this and finish when able”, or “If I start this now there will be less to deal with later”.
With this mindset we can find chunks of time where we least expect them, and maybe even develop habits that help keep our lives (and our sanity) in check.
Time Reframed
It’s embarrassing that it took so long to realize that in order to get much needed tasks accomplished, I had to reframe my thinking.
Bottles need washing? Don’t wait until they can all be washed at once.. it would never happen or wouldn’t happen nearly often enough. Instead, try washing one round of bottles, and ignore the rest of the bottles until you have another small chunk of time.
Tasks that need doing don’t have to happen all at once. With small children especially, those moments take forever to come (if they come) and the tasks build up and seem to multiply.
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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