How To Build The Best Stay At Home Mom Schedule

If and when I don’t stick to my stay at home mom schedule- it’s chaos.

Does this sound familiar? When you don’t know what day of the week it is, you’re not sure if you took your vitamins and medication, you have no idea where you left your morning coffee, and sometimes unsure if you’re even awake or still sleeping.

I have days like these at least once or twice a week.

Prior to transitioning into a stay at home mom, I worked full time as a graduate nurse for a few months. And I’ll be sharing both my working mom and stay at home mom schedules.

Working Mom Schedule

This is roughly what my schedule looked like as a new, working mom of a 3-month old baby.

4:30am: Wake up and got ready

4:50am: Ate breakfast

5:15am: Fed my daughter

5:30am: Left the house

5:45am: Dropped off my daughter

6:15am: Got to work

7:15pm: Clocked out of work

7:40pm: Got home (my husband picked our daughter up after work)

8:00am: Showered

8:30pm: Prepared dinner

9:00pm: Ate dinner

9:45pm: Got my daughter ready for bed

10:15pm: Got ready for bed

Then repeat if I worked two days in a row. I had barely any time with my daughter on days that I worked. And I definitely had no energy.

The days I wasn’t working was spent running errands, preparing meals, and trying to get as much sleep and time with my baby.

I also spent my days off trying to console my colicky baby which was mentally and emotionally draining. With this being added to my lack of sleep and time, it was easy for me to feel like my life was spiraling down.

Read 12 Working Moms Share Their Morning Routines to get more insight on other working moms’ schedule.

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Create The Best Stay At Home Mom Schedule

The strategies I list are what worked best for me. And what you could benefit from.

1. Make a list.

Making a list of things to do for the day structures your day.

We tend to have an ever growing to do list built in our mom brains. But actually sitting down to write what you need to do for the day keeps you more accountable.

I like writing down my to do list on a dry erase board that I keep on my fridge. And I get a fulfilling satisfaction by crossing out each things on it.

2. Prioritize your list.

Number them from the greatest priority to the least.

If taking a shower is the most important thing that needs to get done that day- put that on the very top of your list.

3. Lower your expectations.

Don’t start writing 50 things to do in one day. Because you’ll drive yourself nuts.

Start off with 3 to 5 things that need to get done.

For example:

1. Vacuum the living room
2. Take a shower
3. Wash the dishes
4. Give baby a bath
5. Wipe down the kitchen counters

4. Find the time of day you’re most productive.

I find myself to be the most productive right after my morning coffee.

And I die down around dinner time. So I try and get as much done as possible before noon.

5. Put your phone away.

Our phones can be the biggest barrier to our productivity.

Put your phone down in the bedroom for an hour or two while you knock things off your to do list.

6. Don’t overdo it.

Don’t think you have to do 10 things at once. Stick to your list. Make the effort to knock out everything on your daily list, day by day. And the next thing you know- you’ve set a healthy, productive habit and routine.

Another thing that worked for me was to not think too far ahead. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s best to take things day by day. When you do that, you’re less likely to get overwhelmed and more likely to stay motivated.

The Transition

Building my stay at home mom schedule has not been an easy road. I went back and forth trying to get my baby on my schedule and trying to work around her schedule (naps and feeds).

After transitioning into being a SAHM, our routine naturally ended up working around my daughter’s naps and feeds. By being on a consistent nap schedule, there were fewer meltdowns and she was overall much happier.

Stay At Home Mom Schedule

8-8:30am: Wake up, pee, brush teeth, wash face, etc.

8:35am: Let the dogs out

8:40am: Change my daughter’s diaper

8:45am: Make my coffee, add my collagen powder, possibly poop

9:00am: Take my prenatal vitamin and medicine

9:10am: Tidy up the living room

9:15am: Make eggs

9:25: Eat breakfast

9:45am: Clean up, wash dishes

10:20am: Playtime

10:40am-12:00pm: Nap time

12:05pm: Change her diaper and let the dogs out

12:15pm: Run errands, workout, or baby playdates

2:30pm: Nap 2

3:30pm: Change her diaper

3:45pm: Play time, throw laundry in

5:30-6pm: Start making dinner, sometimes fit in nap 3 (nap 3 is always very short)

6:30pm: Dinner time

7:30-8:30pm: Playtime

8:45pm: Bedtime for baby and relax time for mommy and daddy

If you have kids that are in school, this might be a great article for you I’ve Been a SAHM for 5 Years and Here’s My Stay-at-Home-Mom Schedule.

Dear Stay At Home Mama

You may or may not need this. But I sure needed it when my friend shared it with me.

I hope my stay at home mom schedule gave you a bit of insight into how I structure my days. Sign up for my newsletter and take advantage of over 20+ helpful printables!