by Mandy Garner

You have heard the adage about women being natural multitaskers, but it is one thing doing a few different things in the course of your working day, and another doing several things all at once. The latter is the kind of skill working mums are required to perform every day, but are there any short cuts or tips for getting more out of your day?

Here we list our top 10 suggestions:  

1. Make use of every spare second. When you are en-route to a meeting/work, spend time doing strategic planning, thinking ahead, reading, or making notes.
2. Do several things at once. Do not just drop the kids off at ballet. Take the post / shopping list / library books and cut down on journeys.
3. Be very clear about what you need to do now, what can wait for a while, and what is a total waste of time. With the rubbish: catch it, kill it, bin it.
4. Network like crazy at every opportunity. See the school playground as some sort of political lobbying ground. Get in early with playdate requests and reciprocation. Go for the sympathy vote, but do not overdo it or suspicions will be raised about your parenting skills.
5. Only do tasks that are really, really necessary or that you actually like doing. Remember, no household ever fell apart because someone did not do the ironing every week.
6. Keep a constant stream of lists going and remember to cross out all the things you have done so you feel some sense of achievement, even if the list just seems to get longer. Only look at one day at a time on a calendar, but mark events on the calendar that need longer term planning, e.g. holidays, allowing several weeks margin before longer term planning becomes emergency planning.
7. Use technology to give you the edge. If you can afford a PDA and need regular access to the Internet, it might be a good investment. You can then kill time on public transport checking emails.
8. Do not ever just walk. Always do all the organisational work. Childcare, pick-ups, etc – that can be done on the phone whilst on the move. If instructions, e.g. to partners/relatives can be texted, then this can save long conversations on the phone about family gossip.
9. Keep on top of bills and other paperwork as soon as it comes in. This stops those lingering feelings that you might have forgotten something important.
10. Cram as much as you can into the week, but allow yourself some regular relaxation time with the family or just with your partner every week or all your multi-tasking mastery will be to no avail as you will expire before your children start walking and the real fun begins.

Mandy Garner is editor of WorkingMums.co.uk which matches employers with experienced and dedicated candidates seeking flexible job opportunities.