Most of us have a hard time keeping up with kids, chores, homework, me time, family, friends, and a social life. Even the most highly productive people who are totally in control at work can struggle in their home life. Do you ever wish to increase your productivity at home?

When you’re a typical working mom with school age kids, daily life can feel like a rush from one urgent task to the next. I used to wake up every day, ready to go. Then by the time I dropped the kid off to school, I’d be exhausted. The house would be a mess, and I’d be pulling my hair trying to figure out dinner options in the evening. I knew I had to pause and readjust my lifestyle so I am as productive as home as I am at work.

Since then, I’ve readjusted a few things over the last two years. I don’t have it all figured out but these consistent habits helped me tremendously in being more productive at home. Hope they help you too.

1. Sincerity of our intentions. Our success at home depends on how sincere we are in our efforts to please Allah. Start with a renewed intention to gain rewards and barakah from Allah swt for all that you do at home for your family.

2. Plan plan, plan. Prepping right after Fajr, a little before everyone wakes up is a lifesaver. Just 10-12 minutes of a head start before everyone is off the bed is immensely helpful. The calm before the morning rush boosts your energy and helps you to be on top of everything.

3. Finding small chunks of time to read Quran brings immense barakah into the day, even if it’s only for 5-10 minutes. And it doesn’t matter if you are reading in Arabic or a translation, find some time to read the Quran.

The struggles real, I know. The other day I started reading Quran and my daughter needed to go to the restroom, so all I could manage was 5 mins before clean up duties. Strive!

4. Clean the clutter everyday by taking out 5-8 minutes. I do it every evening before dinner prep and unclutter the kitchen counters. Chose a time you can do it consistently. You’ll have a less cluttered home. We like to do this activity as a family right after dinner. For each family member, we also have a rule to put 10 things in their place before bedtime. Picking up 5-10 things everyday and putting them away where they belong is tremendously helpful. If each child does this consistently, you’ll have 35 less things cluttering your home by the end of the week.

5. Teaching children to be responsible by giving them age appropriate tasks at home. From setting the dinner table to putting away their shoes to keeping the bathroom sink dry, all are helpful life skills our children need to learn and do. This also teaches your child responsibility and the art of an uncluttered life.

6. Plan your meals. Do you have that nagging feeling about what’s for dinner every afternoon? Creating a weekly meal plan over the weekend is a life saver. For starters, you are not thinking of what to feed the family everyday.  I don’t have a fancy meal planner. Just a jot down of the days and the meals we will have.

7. A head start on the weekends is another life saver for busy parents. We usually chop onions and vegetables on the weekend and just use them when needed. We also try to pre-cook, pre-bake and freeze a lot of meals for easy weeknight dinners. Planning meals in advance also saves me a lot of time as it’s less cleanup everyday.

8. Setting aside 15-30 mins for kids homework, Quran revision or just cuddle and chit-chat time strengthens the connection everyday. I like to do that before dinner or right after Maghreb prayer.

9. A few loads of laundry during the week frees you up from 5 loads on the weekend. After all, we should get some family time on the weekends, right?

I love the timer on the washer. I load up dirty laundry and set it up to run an hour before we wake up or two hours before dinner time. Either my husband or I transfer the wet clothes to the dryer, and then fold and put away the clothes. Folding usually happens when one of us is cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

10. Sorting out laundry as they come out of the dryer is a great way to minimize future decluttering. Create a designated area to store clothes for donating and recycling. In the laundry room, I have a bin for clothes eligible for donation and a second bin for recycling stained, ripped and donation illegible clothes. As the bins fill up, we send them to wherever they need to go. H&M recycles clothes, so instead of piling up the landfills, I take the clothes to the nearest store for recycling.

And most importantly, everyone in the family chimes in to help. My husband helps from chopping onions to folding clothes and putting away laundry, alhamdulillah. The daughter also has her set of age appropriate responsibilities. After all, productivity at home also means raising responsible productive kids and everyone chipping in to get things done.

Please share your tips on how to become more productive at home insha’Allah!

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