It is an exciting time for families everywhere! New teachers, new (and old) friends, and let’s not forget, new school clothes and supplies! During this transition phase of implementing schedules and reestablishing routines, how about including a fresh batch of organizing optimization for yourself?

Now, there’s no need for an “I can’t possibly make time now to get organized” panic! I am not talking about an entire mom-organization overhaul – rather, just one quick and easy step that may make your mom agenda a little more manageable this fall. Little steps in the right direction often get us where we want to be with a smile on, rather than stressing ourselves out even more by trying to get there all at once!

One organizational habit I have found to be very helpful over the past year is “batching”. Since we moms are in “school-focus” mode right now, let me clarify that this type of batching has nothing to do with the 3rd grade cookie sale! This batching refers to your tasks and To-Do’s and involves leveraging your time, focus, and energy by grouping similar tasks in your agenda that require the same type of thinking or actions, so you can complete them all (or at least some of them) together when you are in that “mode”.

There are many different ways to batch tasks, and it really is a matter of personal preference and what works best for your style and schedule. For instance, you can designate a certain time of day for checking e-mails (rather than getting sucked into them every time your In Box chimes), you can reserve one specific afternoon of the week for certain household chores or errands, you can block off a spot in your calendar each day solely for returning phone calls or doing social media, and so on.

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