Share with Intel how you juggle modern family life - £300 Argos voucher to be won!

[EllieMumsnet]

A big part of being a parent is being flexible and spinning several plates at the same time... there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do every task individually! Have you always been someone who can juggle multiple things at once or has parenting taught you the art of being flexible, Intel® would love to hear your best multi-tasking moments, as well as any tips and tricks for managing modern family life.

Here’s what Intel® have to say: “A thin and light Modern PC with an Intel® processor has great features that make it more flexible to use, so you can be more creative, productive and entertained. Cortana lets you use your voice instead of the keyboard and Windows Hello* lets you log in with your face not a password – perfect for when you already have your hands full with the children.”

Did you manage to book a holiday while you fed and bathed your children? Perhaps you helped one child with homework while breastfeeding your baby, being on Skype to your mum and eating your dinner all at the same time?

Whatever your tips or your best multi-tasking moment, share it on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher from Argos.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

* Cortana available in select markets; experience may vary by region and device.
** Requires specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors and capable devices.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

[UpOnDown]

I do an ocado shop whilst playing with dc - easy to do as they have an app.

[OhThisbloodyComputer]

I shop at Lidl - which is my preferred source for food and toiletries and stuff. And they have a mad aisle, in the middle, where they have random items, like step ladders, bike lights and arts and crafts kits.

And Aldi. They have everything there from power drills to petticoats.

But there's a problem. The Senior Partner has got a massive psychological blockage about these German discounters. Why I don't know. So to keep her happy, I then transfer the food into Waitrose bags and, when comparing like for like, into the original containers I got from Waitrose. (the pound shop sells Maxwell House really cheaply)

This bag swapping juggles my need for bargains and her need for branding.

Mind you, Waitrose staff are really friendly. ANd their self scan thing is handy. And they occasionally give you £20 vouchers.

But I like lidl and Aldi

Hope that helps

[BristolMum96]

Organisation and pre planning is key. Not down to the tiniest detail - babies always prevent that/change that! But a loose idea of my plans for the day and timings help massively. Prior agreements with partners about who is doing what at which time gets things done smoothly.

[JellySlice]

I am somewhat anti-diluvian in that I am suspicious of too much connectivity. Nonetheless I embrace some of it. I typically build an Ocado order as I use up ingredients while cooking dinner, and then summon the various members of the family to the dinner table by WhatsApping 🍲 to our group.

TBH since having dc I rarely get to just cook. As the dc have grown I've simply swapped the breastfeeding baby/grizzly toddler for a piece of tech - something that is much lighter and less demanding!

[JellySlice]

FGS illiterate iPhone! Ante-diluvian!

[Cotswoldmama]

I always do shopping online and make sure it’s deliveted either when my boys are at nursery and school or when they’re in bed! I also use my phone for everything, I feel like I buy everything online and I do all my banking online.
We’ve got a big calendar in the kitchen which I religiously use so we don’t forget anything.
Also if I have a morning before work without my boys I’ll try and cook up a couple of dinners to have later in the week when I might be working late.

[Thatjew92]

Teamwork is our best friend. I get home from work and cook the dinner, when I'm finished I take the baby so my wife can relax/bathe, I put my daughter to bed and my wife plans her day. All meals are preplanned and all days are booked in advance.

[WibbleBoy]

I'm not particularly proud of it, but I am guilty of (as surely everyone is) performing various online duties while perched upon the porcelain throne; and surely a slim and light laptop would be easier to smuggle in than a desktop or all-in-one.

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

I’ve online grocery shopped whilst feeding a baby and supervising dinner for older kids. But to be honest I find it better to do those tasks when the kids are sleeping and that’s the beauty of online shopping. Open all hours

[BaconCrispsGone]

there's nothing you can't do with baby number two under your arm ;)

[foxessocks]

Food plan, online shop, blackboard in kitchen for when we run out. Add to the food shop all week then finalise it night before. Then I have a list on my phone of any stuff I have to pick up in a physical shop during the week as and when we run out and it can't wait.

[TheWizardofWas]

Badly, always running from thing to the next, winging it. Modern life is rubbish as someone once said. Lists though are useful.

[cheekychicken24]

As long as everyone is on the same phone OS (in our case Android) make sure you have calendars synched across devices. Put EVERYTHING in the calendar, & that way there's no chance of DH taking an extra shift when he needs to give someone a lift, or DD asking a friend over when your DMil is visiting!!

[Treaclespongeandcustard]

With great difficulty. We use online calendars and do online shopping but juggling is tough.

[asuwere]

I'm not aware of any multi tasking that I do; just do it. I think modern life/technology has it's pros and cons: it makes it much easier to get things done, eg online shopping done at any time of day and no lugging kids around the shops but it also creates extra distractions, eg MNing instead of doing online shop!

[sharond101]

I am a whizz at mulit tasking and when I put my mind to something its done. I made 24 scones, 6 servings of curry for the freezer, swept the floor, ironed and cleaned the bathrooms today in 1 hour just because i needed to. Some folks have the ability, others don't.

[Hermie12]

I’m the spreadsheet queen I organise everything on excel. I had to go away for 10 days on a work trip overseas in October. I had organised extra family help and additional hours with the childminder by July! My DP had a full schedule for the time i was away printed off , with what needed to be packed in 3 year old DDs bag plus everyone’s contact details, the days he needed to be off plus Doctors, hospital etc. Some may say control freak I say organised ! Much as I love DP he has no idea on how I juggle family responsibilities with full time work until I’m not there 😂

[Sleepysausage]

I find apps so helpful for life!
Weekly shop done on an app as the week goes on, we add things as we run out.
Game apps for 15 mins distraction for the toddler.
Banking app to quickly manage our finances.
Obvs social media.
Email app to check mail whenever.
My life would be a mess without the organisation apps bring!

[Pigeonpea]

Yes, I am a multi-tasker, however, I'm also very conscious of quality time, so when it comes to people, I will absolutely give them my full attention, however, if I'm down first to breakfast, I will have the kettle boiling, loading up the washing machine, dishwasher on, starting a bolognese sauce for spaghetti bolognese and making lunch bags all at the same time (sort of!!)
I'm happy to use my kettle boiling time to get a head start on cleaning the floors, or bathrooms, or hanging the laundry out.
And yes, if i'm on hold whilst calling the bank etc, I'll be doing on-line shopping........
Time is so precious and as a Mum, you have to squeeze as much out of 'dead' time as you can......

[caprifun]

Do as much shopping for everything online as possible, normally after the DC are in bed. And absolutely everything has to be written down twice - top line bullet points on a calender in the kitchen, and then full details in a desk diary, so ocado delivery on the calender, and time slot in the diary and probably a print out of the order stapled in too. Same goes for parties, school trips, any tickets booked. If it's not in the calender and diary, it won't happen!

[cakedup]

I have bought the same diary for about 15 years, it's brilliant. Weekly view with space for notes under each day and an area for lists. I write everything down in there and could not do without it.

I have to have a routine which I stick to as I find that's the most efficient way of getting things done.

Years ago I read a book by Stephen Covey, and still loosely use the time-management matrix which helps.

Online shopping has definitely been a game-changer.

I commute to work and most of it is underground. That's a good thing I think...because if it was overground I think I'd probably still be doing bits and bobs on my phone. I'm on the tube for about an hour and I read books during that time - I don't think I'd ever get around to reading otherwise.

[SusanWalker]

Online shopping is definitely the easiest way to multitask. Order on your phone at the leisure centre whilst the kids are swimming then use the time before the delivery, when you would have been at the shop, to clean out the fridge ready to put the groceries away.

[crazycrofter]

Always try to combine trips out and kill two birds with one stone! My daughter has to go to a nearby village to do her paper round on a Saturday morning so my son sees his friend in the same village while she’s doing her round. They go to a youth club on a Friday night which is a 20 min drive away so instead of doing two return journeys I do the weekly shop at the nearby Aldi while they’re at youth club.

I also make the most of commuting time and work lunch hours to do admin on my phone - online banking, Amazon shopping etc

[ButterflyOfFreedom]

Lots of multi tasking here:
Eg. Breastfeed whilst listening to the older DC read his school book
Cook whilst talking on the phone
Hoover, dusting, tidying, polishing all go hand in hand
Eat and check emails....

[sarat1]

Breastfeeding is my time to check emails, sort bills and generally use my phone to get things done.