Time Management for Student Mothers: Tips to Thrive in the Midst of Chaos

A story of one young mom who balances career ambitions and patenting.

We’ve all seen those memes about night owls and early birds who irritate each other but always happen to marry.

I should tell you that student mothers are neither of those:

They are exhausted pigeons, always eager to sleep but failing when an opportunity arises.

Still, I have good news for those who relate to the above. If you have read my previous article on being a student and a mom, you know that chaos is an intrinsic part of parenting.

In this text, I’ll share some time management tips that have helped me stay effective amidst all of that. The approach below can make your motherhood experience more pleasant, particularly if you are a student mom.

Tip #1: Mind Your Chronotype

I’ve seen many influencers recommending you wake up earlier than your kid and do the chores. That never worked for me because:

1. My child wakes up at 6 AM;
2. If I arouse earlier, he follows my example and breaks his sleep cycle;
3. I feel devastated and numb for the rest of the day.

Then I learned that each person has a chronotype that is hard to change by practice. It is responsible for how alert or sleepy you become at certain times of the day. This factor also influences your core body temperature, appetite, and ability to exercise.

Everyone belongs to one of the following chronotypes:

• A lion is a tell-tale early riser (6 AM is okay for them). Your peak productivity is between 9 AM and 2 PM, so make it to bed before 10 PM. Only 15% of the human population is like that.
• A bear wakes up one hour later than the lion, at 7 AM. This chronotype follows the sun. It is most active between 10 AM and 2 PM and retreats to bed at 11 PM. I won’t surprise you by saying that 55% of humanity are bears.
• A wolf is the equivalent of a “night owl.” They open their eyes after 7:30 AM and fall asleep at midnight. Their activity peaks between 1 and 5 PM. On average, 15% of people, including myself, are wolves.
• A dolphin is the rarest type, making up 10% of the human population. Such people can remain alert while in bed, which results in their broken sleeping patterns. Dolphins are most productive between 3 and 7 PM.

Research indicates that chronotypes vastly depend on our genetic background. During sleep, our ancestors became more vulnerable to predators. There is an investigation of sleep patterns in Tanzanian hunter-gatherers who maintain a traditional way of life similar to that of people who lived thousands of years ago. It demonstrated that any group of people has chronotype variability.

In simpler terms:

Members of the hunter-gatherers group fall asleep at different times to ensure there’s always someone vigilant enough to warn the rest of a loitering predator.

What does it mean for us?

The fastest route to enjoying your studies is taking your chronotype for granted. If you prefer staying awake longer, adapt to this reality by organizing your routine.

Tip #2: Build Your Daily Routine

Once I understood I was a wolf, all that urge to plan anything for the early hours dropped off. I felt free to enjoy myself and motherhood in the morning, leaving the tough stuff for the afternoon.

1. I built a morning routine.

Okay, If I don’t do XYZ, what do I do? Scrolling the feed while chilling in bed is not the correct answer. I left three options for myself (because I’m not a robot and cannot do the same thing for days on end):

• It’s a productive morning. I make myself a large mug of coffee and immerse myself in a task that thrills me. My partner is in charge of the kid on such mornings.
• It’s a lounge morning. To wake up, I make a 10-minute yoga. My son thinks it’s a fun performance for his majesty. I have another 10 minutes for journaling and planning when the show ends.
• It’s a beauty morning. I do skincare or full makeup, depending on the mood. It does not require that much focus, and I can watch if anyone’s fingers plan to go into the socket.

The rest of the day depends on my schedule, but the basic things stay the same. I totally recommend scheduling them. A well-structured plan prevents you from starting many things at a time.

2. My pre-study routine includes feeding the cat and emptying the dishwasher. If I have time, I do the laundry.

3. My after-study routine implies hanging out the laundry and doing some random cleaning.

4. My evening routine consists of cooking the dinner and filling the dishwasher.

5. My bedtime routine always contains some beauty procedures and cuddles. I avoid screen time before sleep at all costs.

Tip #3: Block Your Time

You spend half of the day studying and the other half parenting. You rarely get at least 8 hours of sleep or go out with your husband.

I struggled with getting things done. As soon as I sat down to write an essay or read a textbook chapter, my child requested my attention. That’s why the Pomodoro technique didn’t work for me.

Instead, I used time blocks.

This approach is more complicated but more efficient:

If you avoid jumping between activities, you can focus on one thing. Divide your timetable into specific blocks and do what you have planned during these periods.

This technique emerged from Cal Newport’s Deep Work. If I get distracted and fail to complete the planned activity, I painlessly cancel the block in question or reschedule it. That’s how I can monitor the critical time drainers and address them accordingly.

Tip #4: Get Rid of Distractions

Focused work is much more than a mere way to boost efficiency. It is the supreme form of meditation that can save you from self-doubt and rumination.

I would like to warn anyone who believes they are great multitaskers with an upsetting phrase:

No, you are not.

We never do two things at a time. We swiftly shift our attention from one activity to another, but neither gets enhanced. Switching back and forth causes you to lose your processing capacity.

If you do one thing at a time, you’ll make it faster than when you combine activities.

Now that we agree that multitasking is wrong let’s learn how to avoid distractions during study sessions.

• Silence your phone.
• Turn off the Wi-Fi whenever you don’t need it.
• When you do need Wi-Fi, turn off the messengers.
• Try background music if the kid’s game gets too loud.

Tip #5: Automate Household Chores

Some people think that in a couple of decades, robots will handle most household duties! I doubt they’ll ever sort out the heaps of toys kids evenly distribute on the floor surface. Still, let us hope for the better.

We’re not in 2040 yet, but:

There’s already a whole set of appliances to make your student-mom’s life easier. Dishwashers, Roomba vacuums, robot lawnmowers, multi-functional pots, and window-cleaning robots are there for you.

They don’t cover the entire process but make it much faster and less attention-consuming.

I recommend looking for such things on the secondhand market to save money. A floor robot was my best purchase. I only had to change the pad, dustpan, and water occasionally. Besides, it runs much more frequently than people usually clean. The result is a tidy floor, critical for a toddler who spends most of the day on the floor.

Tip #6: Plan Your Meals

• Plan your menu for the next week. Planning the following seven dinners saves me a lot of time. All the groceries are in the fridge, waiting to be cooked. I wouldn’t plan for more than a week as most products don’t last that long.
• Think of your groceries strategically but within the plan. I always buy an excess of long-term storage products. Wholesale prices are lower, and I don’t need to track the quantity of canned food left.
• Cook more and freeze the rest. I have tried freezing almost everything, and only some products taste worse after getting in the freezer. Potatoes are one of those. All the rest is just fine! Peas, meat, pies, and even soups survive this treatment perfectly. Avoid keeping the food frozen for too long, as the taste will worsen after a month or two.
• A slow cooker is a must. Thousands of delicious recipes can simmer all day. You can program them to be ready by 6:30 or whenever you prefer to have dinner. For instance, grilled chicken, sautéed vegetables, and garlic bread are excellent courses.
• Buy premade meals. I noticed that cooking is another form of procrastination when I don’t want to tackle a complicated assignment. Whenever it happens, I intentionally buy a lot of premade food. I make a salad to go along with it, but it takes far less time than a complete home-cooked meal.

Tip #7: Use Your On-Campus Time

My concentration and interest in any topic of my studies skyrockets while I study it on campus. That’s no surprise: no one is calling you every other minute. That’s why making the most out of your on-campus time is essential.

• Ask questions and engage in discussions.
• There’s no better environment for reading than at the library.
• Do your homework at recess.

Coping with all the tasks on campus transforms your distracted babysitting into an immersive quality time back home. As a bonus, you’ll start to enjoy your studies.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Time management for student moms is a tricky subject. You’ll never master it completely.

However:

Following the advice above can make your complicated life more than bearable. How do you cope with your homework while taking care of your baby? You are welcome to share your stories in the commentaries.

And remember: you will find more helpful tips for students in the IvyPanda study blog.