Recently I have been doing a lot of resource and inspirational reading. Maybe the new year pushed me to make some changes, get more organized, and be more productive. In fact, I even took the opportunity to write an article to help inspire other moms to get more focused during this very stressful season of our lives called motherhood.

Unfortunately, I have become one of those “listen to what I say and not what I do” kind of encourager, because a lot of what I wrote, although put in to practice many times in the past, has fallen by the wayside already. And it is only February. Apparently, I have my own set of habits forming, ones that to the untrained eye seem harmless, maybe even successful steps towards productivity. Perhaps as long as we all make it to the finish line at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter by what method.

7 Habits of a Highly Successful Mom

1. Write grocery lists, to-do lists and weekly goal lists on tiny slips of paper found in random places. This makes it super easy to find when you need them, especially if they were accidentally confused with the piles of random papers on your kitchen counter and thrown away. One of my favorite past times is searching through weeks of paper in the recycle box hoping to find the phone list of parents who volunteered for the class Valentine party.
2. Push-pin layers of flyers with important dates received through out the year on a cork-board in your kitchen. Be sure to put it where you’ll totally ignore it every time you hang up your keys, check phone messages and lay another stack of unopened mail on the desktop. This way, you can be completely taken off guard when you realize you had said yes to out of town guests during the same weekend that one of your children has a gymnastics meet and an orchestra concert.
3. Strategically place large wicker baskets, bins, and boxes throughout the house to hide everyone’s crap. The ability to store away a week’s worth of clutter in less than 30 minutes is essential when trying to put the house together right before your husband gets home from a business trip. Dust? No problem, just slip on one of those hundreds of mis-matched socks laying on top of your dresser over your hand, spray with Endust and wipe down every surface you can reach while running through the house. If you are caught off guard before being able to complete either of these tasks, simply lay on the bed naked, waiting for your husband. I assure you, he won’t notice the house.
4. Make sure everyone in the household has their own dirty laundry hamper. This helps spread around the evidence that you are behind on wash until your youngest child informs you that she has been wearing the same underwear for two days. In response, be sure to stuff the washing machine to maximum capacity, forget about it and then wash them all over again. Meanwhile, try to convince your child that wearing her bathing suit bottoms to school will be like pretending it’s summer even though it is only 11 degrees outside.
5. Manage personal time by 30 minute increments timed to the Disney Channel. This keeps your children occupied long enough for you to catch up on blog postings, email, and if you’re lucky, maybe even coloring your hair. I know exactly what can get done during a couple of episodes of The Wizards of Waverly Place.
6. Utilize your dishwasher more efficiently. Instead of unloading the clean dishes in a timely manner, it is much easier to leave it full and simply take out dishes on an as- needed basis. Even your youngest child is sure to be able to reach a glass or plate. Just be sure to thoroughly rinse the dirty dishes to make them easier to stack in your sink, and to avoid any unwanted smells from spoiling remnants of food.
7. Invest in an appropriate wardrobe. Since there usually is no time to take a shower in the morning, having a wardrobe of baseball caps that match a various selection of favorite velour jogging suits and yoga pants is essential. You can’t have a bad hair day if no one ever gets to see your hair. Plus, it eliminates the need to color over your grey as often, thus saving you money. And to complete any outfit it is necessary to get a variety of colored athletic shoes that aren’t white so they blend in with whatever jogging suit you’re sporting that day. It’s much easier to look productive if you have the right clothes on. Why just this morning I ran into a friend who exclaimed, “Oh, you look like you just came from the gym” to which a replied with a simple smile and nod.