Having completed my PhD in English Literature last year and during that time had two pregnancies (and births), I’ve been asked so frequently ‘How did you do it?’ I used to awkwardly laugh and mumble something about ‘having no idea’ or that ‘it’s all part of the juggling act’, but I’ve come to realise it’s because I have, and continue, to manage my time well.

Because of that, it seems a fitting topic for this blog post to provide five very basic yet effective ways that I manage my time between writing and being a parent. Managing time and being intentional about that time, is an essential part of being a parent or guardian, which this post desires to showcase. Let it be known however, that I am no expert, and that parenting/guardianship is a constant blindfolded and uphill learning process!

Number 1: Know your order of importance:

This is fundamental to time manage effectively as a busy parent or guardian. The daily predicaments rattling through my brain often include (but are not limited to): Hang out the laundry or colour in a dinosaur? Iron tomorrow’s school uniform or complete a jigsaw puzzle? Clean up the kitchen or listen to the new schoolbook being read? Even if it is really frustrating to ignore all the ‘adult’ tasks in the moment, fight against them! All those jobs (sadly) aren’t going anywhere and will still be there after your 10-15 minutes with your child/children. Prioritising the value of that intentional time over the mundane jobs will allow you to be both present and engaged and that’s what they will remember.

Number 2: Everyone in the house has a responsibility:

To partially relieve the juggling act and therefore another tip for effective time management, I recommend delegating responsibilities to everyone in the house! If this is a new phenomenon to you then fear not, assign tasks so that the more mundane of jobs are completed collectively. A two-year old can put his socks in the sock drawer, a four-year old can wash his lunchbox, a seven-year-old can empty the dishwasher. In fact, it's not about age at all, it’s just about repetitive training to get the jobs done in a speedier time to make way for those golden minutes of quality time.

Number 3: Routines:

My third top tip for creating intentional time with your child/children is to establish and implement routines. On the surface, routines might make you think of monotony, but they are such an effective way to be wise with your time. Routines provide structure and stability in the household, while allowing children to become responsible and cooperative. A simple routine in my house is as follows: after dinner we all put our dishes in the dishwasher, the children get their own pyjamas, we head to the shower, brush our teeth and then have a story before bed. This routine happens every evening and allows us to always have the intentional story time at the close of day. Here is some fantastic research undertaken on the psychological effects of routines in children.

Number 4: Screen time is not intentional time:

Ah, the ongoing contentious issue of children and their devices. What are they watching? How long for? Is it bad for their eyes? Whilst I fully accept that devices do have their place and absolutely can be used, this is not a conducive tip for creating intentional time with your child/children. At the end of a busy day, the desire to allow usage of screen time is strong, the struggle is real! Instead of 10 minutes on the screen however, why not a 10-minute chat about their day? Or a 10-minute dance around the kitchen while dinner is cooking? This article explores further on how to effectively navigate the time children spend on screens.

Number 5: Surrender perfection:

My final tip to help aid the juggling act of time management as a parent/guardian is to surrender all ideas of perfection. This may be earth-shattering news to you (hopefully it isn’t), but perfect parenting/guardianship absolutely does not exist. There are many things which don’t go to plan and that’s okay. On a bad day, aim for a few minutes of conversation amongst the chaos and always end the day well, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Parenting/guardianship of children will never ever stop being the most demanding yet rewarding thing that you will do, and we are constantly figuring it out as we go along. Whilst we invest time into building our careers and building ourselves, there are also children in the mix who need intentional time spent on them too.

Have to stop writing now, it’s time to make dinner…

The Juggling Act: Intentional Time Management Tips for Busy Parents and Guardians.

Ted Hughes, the Chthulucene, and the Child Audience.