Ever woke up on Monday
morning and could not remember a thing you accomplished over the weekend?

I'm sure you have. Between
household chores and errands that have been waiting for your attention all
week, it is often hard to fit in some family fun and personal time during the
weekend. We often feel like being on a schedule during the weekend takes away
from the freedom of being on our own time. However, it takes as much
scheduling, planning and organization to have a fun and productive weekend as
it does to have a productive work week. Here are some tips to help you get the
most out of your weekend:

1. Plan. Take some time during the
week to make a list of things to accomplish over the weekend. In planning, set
a realistic schedule. For instance, you would not want to plan a long project,
such as painting or gardening, on the same you have to attend a birthday party
or wedding. Estimate the amount of time that it might take to complete each
task and include start and end times in your schedule. Be sure to include
family activities. Afterall, the whole point of planning is so that you can
have more time
for family time.

2. Prioritize. Outside of making
time with your family, be sure the most important tasks completed first. For
instance, if you expect to have clean clothes to wear to work during the
upcoming week, you know that the laundry must be completed by Sunday night. If
it does not fit your current weekend schedule, do not plan for an activity that
could be done during another weekend.

3. Get an early start. Lying in bed
until noon sounds great for a Saturday morning - especially after having to
wake up extra early during the week for work. However, giving yourself the same
early start that you have given your employer all week allows you to have more
time to enjoy with your family. If you normally wake up at about 8 am on the
weekend, try awaking 2 hours earlier to get your day started. Set the alarm, as
you would for work during the week. Afterall, being on time for your family is
just as important as being on time for work. We often ignore this truth, since
the consequences aren't as quantifiable. Because we don't see the loss of
family time in our pay checks, we tend to take it for granted. However,
ignoring the need for family and personal time can lead to added stress
that we, as working moms, can do without.

4. Focus. Whether you are doing
household chores or running errands, stay focused on the tasks at hand. Resist
the temptation to turn on the TV while doing chores, or to stop at the mall for
leisure shopping when running other errands. You can do these things during
your personal time, once you have gotten all of your important tasks out of the
way.

5. Get help. It's okay to admit that
you cannot do it all alone (many of us have a hard time acknowledging this). Go
through your to-do list and delegate. Get the rest of the family involved in
the household chores. If you have older kids, assign some chores to them and
give them a time frame during which to complete each task. Ask your hubby to
run some errands that you may not have time to get to. This sort of team work
will not only take some of the load off of you, it will also help you to get
things done faster, leaving extra time for the fun stuff.

So yes, having a productive
weekend requires some of the same measures we take to be productive during our
work week. Having weekends off is a privilege that some working moms do not
have at their discretion. If you do enjoy this privilege, don't take it for
granted. Make the most of this time so that you can start your Monday mornings
feeling refreshed and completely rejuvenated, knowing that you've had an
enjoyable weekend.

Making
Time For Family Time

Ten
Ways to Make More Time for Your Kids

The
Value of Family Routines