For those who thought that the ‘stay-at-home’ moms have an array of privileges that commoners are missing out on, the pandemic was quite a reality check. With the office work chain aligning itself to the work-from-home mode, people who somewhat had a degrading attitude towards ‘stay-home-mothers’ could closely see what a stay-at-home mom schedule; or a 24x7x365 ‘in-attendance’ schedule looked like.
Though it is not possible to put a price tag on motherhood (some surveys do suggest moms technically should charge $115,000 for rendering their services), having a schedule that fits in ‘some me-time’ is necessary for them. Additionally, in current times, with a couple of work-from-home opportunities, they could just work in one of those to ensure they use their skills professionally.
This article will briefly introduce you to the schedule, the factors behind forming one, and some quick ways to make cash!
Table of Contents
What can a stay-at-home mom schedule look like?
This is simply a tentative schedule that the family experts have curated for a ‘stay-at-home’ mom. It has been divided into Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night sessions. Let’s see what it has in store –
Morning Schedule
6:15 AM – Time to start your day! You might think you will simply not get up until someone pulls you out of bed. As noble as the thought is – it is a recipe for disaster. The first thing in the morning you need for yourself is the ‘me-time.’ Once your kids are up, and as the day goes by – you will be breathless. Hence, wake up early, meditate and kickstart your day with coffee! As you try to fit this into the stay-at-home mom schedule, you can already hear the alarm ringing from the kids’ room.
6:45 – 7:00 AM – Kids waking up. You must rush them for the bath as you prepare some quick breakfast. As soon as they are out, they will have breakfast and get ready for school. The bus is on its way!
7:30 AM – School drop-off. You have walked them up to the bus, or they have managed to walk off by themselves. Take a breather of 15 minutes in your stay-at-home mom schedule before you catch up on your morning shores.
7:45 – 10:00 AM – Morning chores are done. This is the time within which you will have to finish a lot of work. As far as experts are concerned – they suggest you do laundry thrice a week. Within this time, you do the dishes and on specific days, adjust the laundry into your schedule. You can also go in for a quick shower.
10:00 AM – Your breakfast time. Again, you have just half an hour before you start with another set of tasks. Eat up full and get set for your work routine.
10:30 – 12:00 PM – You have the time to yourself. This is the golden period, and you must highlight it well in your stay-at-home mom schedule chart. If you have a part-time job, you have this time to catch up on your pending work. If you are still not working, you can use this time to pursue your hobby, take up a skill-enhancing course, experiment with some new dishes in your kitchen, watch the latest episodes of your shows or catch on some sleep!!
12:00 – 1:00 PM – It’s time to cook the afternoon meal. With the kids arriving between 1:00 – 2:00 PM, you will have to prep lunch for them. Keep it moderately heavy and doubly nutritious. Add a salad dish.
1:00 – 2:00 PM – With the kids coming back anytime now – set the table. As soon as they are back and have changed their clothes – all of you can sit down for lunch.
Afternoon Schedule
2:00 – 3:30 PM – Nap time for you and the kids. After a long tiring day, it is time to take a nap break. Indeed the kids will have a lot of things to tell you. You guys can keep talking and then drift off to some sleep, or sleep well first and then continue talking.
#Sleep maximum for 1 hour.
3:45 – 5:00 PM – Once up and refreshed, you can add a playtime or an extra-curricular activity to your schedule. Experts suggest you alternate class timings with game time throughout the week.
Evening Schedule
5:00 – 8:00 PM – This is the most crucial time of your routine. You must manage your child’s homework and check on the dinner. You could set up some work for the child while you finish the kitchen chores. We would also suggest that you set the child’s homework space in your kitchen top area – so that you can handle both the work simultaneously.
Night Schedule
8:15 – 9:00 PM – Dinner time and catching up with the family. There are loads to catch up on! With the parents present and the kids having their whole day’s worth of stories to tell – you wouldn’t know how these 45-precious minutes would fly away.
9:00 – 9:30 PM – Dishes and bedtime preparation. You could allocate the job of doing the dishes to your child and spouse collectively. If you do it, you can always ask for help from your kids. This will bring a sense of responsibility in them and, without a doubt, ease your workload.
10:00 PM – Lights out! Once the dishes are done – brush your teeth, and put on the pyjamas – it is time for the lights to be out!
10:30 PM – You can switch off yours now! Well, you can extend half an hour more since you are the ‘parent.’
If you do manage to follow this schedule, you will hopefully be able to brace up with the ‘mommy – job’ in a better manner.
What to keep in mind before forming a schedule?
The first thing that you will have to keep in mind before framing any such schedule is that – the mother will be exhausted (always!) – do not put on any new activity that will exhaust her more. Rather, choose activities that will give her some resting time – both mentally and physically.
Also, you have to prioritize the worklist of the mothers. Before figuring out the schedule, you will have to ask them about their priorities and then chart out the schedule.
Make the chart flexible, and ensure that you have put in daily, weekly and, if needed, monthly tasks.
Why is this schedule so crucial?
For those who are a little less updated, the biggest challenge that stay-at-home moms face is severe deterioration of mental health, leading to borderline depression. A 2018 survey shows that the concept of intensive mothering beliefs impacts a woman’s mental health negatively.
Also, a factor that most people would not agree with – but is definitely a crucial aspect adding to this depressive modality is – the ‘loss of identity for a woman.’ With society moulded to think that women are carved out for motherhood precisely, women face an identity crisis wherein they – from a woman transformed into a mother overnight, with no way to move forth. The graph tragically stops there.
With a stay-at-home mom schedule, mothers will be able to fit in their needs and wants – thereby enabling them to work towards a better life for themselves.
Wrapping up
Being a mother is a full-time job without an iota of free time. Under such conditions, the job would become a tad easier if the interested mothers followed up on the stay-at-home mom schedule. Since it is a professionally curated schedule, it not only takes into account the regular affairs – but also ensures that the mothers get some spare moments to themselves.
Do you have a way to upgrade this schedule? Then do leave some of your tips in the comments section. Keep watching this space for more updates like this.
Monalisa Mukherjee is a content writer, copywriter and editor with 4 years of experience. She has written for websites like Biography Talk, The Rich Net Worth, Contour Cafe, He And She Fitness and Fiction Pad. She is currently associated with a noted Digital Marketing Agency and specialises in writing press release, guest posts, articles on travel, entertainment, food recipes, celebs, lifestyle, tech, health, and fashion.
