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.

My life is a weird mix of being totally in control of day to day life, having everything in a calendar app and keeping track of who is where and when. But also, being married to a soldier and not even knowing where we'll be living by Christmas!
I also work in a job with super flexible hours so I need to be sure I block off work hours and plan what I'm going to get done in that time. I carry my laptop and iPad with me just about everywhere so I can fit work in between grocery shopping and school runs!
It's a constant juggle but I think that's just normal family life these days!?

I find that this juggling act is much more about which balls you allow to drop to the floor rather than trying to superhumanly keep them all going round at once! So, I skip a lot of the beauty crap routine I used to follow pre-kids, I jog rather than gym (40 min later I can be back on shift rather than the 1.5 hours involved I getting to the gym, changing , showering there, etc.) and gone are the days of aimless nights out or "pick me up" massages. Yes, when time is short and money is even shorter, you do need a way to find a more streamlined, more polished you. A lot of the time this is painful. But I can't help think that by the end of it, I'll emerge a more agile, more efficient and altogether a more human human being. And, if it matters: I am a full time working mother, the main breadwinner, the only driver and the key family organiser. I live too far from both sets of In-laws to have help. I have taken one sick day in the past two years.

I have been known to, when oldest (5) is in the bath, to clean the bathroom or do/put away laundry. Online grocery shopping is a must while the kids are watching tv.

Full time working single parent here. Washing/drying/folding/putting away clothes is the bane of my life. Keeping on top of it all by doing one load a day, even if the machine is not full has made my life much better I do feel bad about the non eco ness of this but I just can't cope with an overflowing washing basket, it makes my mind overflow!!

If I couldn't multi task in my house I'd turn grey or pull my hair out. Luckily only 2 of my kids live at home now 9+12 yr old girls the boys are older and flown the nest ( thank God) but my granddaughter is living with me so I have to juggle calming down 3 girls of different ages all arguing about pointless things and all shouting at me to be heard above each other I've now got a system if it works at school it can work for me... hands up and I decide who speaks then that hand comes down and the other hands wait until I say and whilst this is usually happening I'm almost always trying to cook dinner and ironing so moving between kitchen and front room. The phone always seems to ring during these lovely multi tasking, life juggling moments so I can then also have to do a time out on the argument resolution to deal with my caller ( 9 times out of 10 it's my mother ) so parenting/grandparenting for me is never simple but until I lose the ability to juggle more than 1 problem at once it works and I'm sure this is the same for many of us !

I think parenthood necessitates all sorts of flexibility like this. Ocado shop whilst travelling to work/watching child’s activities etc using the app. Adding shopping to the basket using Alexa whilst cooking dinner etc. Turning hard to reach lights on for ds whilst mopping the kitchen floor - thanks again Alexa. When he was smaller I used to MN on the phone down the side of my leg whilst listening to Biff and bloody Kipper being read aloud.

Picture this, I can wipe a bum fresh off the toilet whilst b-feeding a sleeping baby, whilst on the phone. Not pleasant and most of my other multi-tasking exploits are less ridiculous. The usual, I'll make next days lunchbox as I cook dinner and dip in and out of cleaning floor, downstairs bathroom and stick my head round to see how little dcs are getting on in garden.
I really value periods of not doing things so would rather have a burst of multi tasking so I can spend an hour doing very little.
I try in vain again and again to get dh on board with sharing his schedule but he just is not organised enough so I have a wall planner and have to remember his stuff. I write all school dates on as they arrive and have alarms on my phone for everything.

For me this means using 'dead time' effectively. So, cleaning counters whilst waiting for kettle to boil, wiping over basin whilst bath fills, making tomorrow's packed lunch whilst pasta boils etc etc

I question every single appointment in the family diary - is it necessary? Is it a priority? Does it make us feel positive or negative? These questions help me not to waste time on tons of commitments filling up the week, and to focus on the things that matter.

Teach the kids to make cups of tea and make toast. That way you can get on with stuff while they wait on you!!

Download Netflix on a tablet and then you can catch up on boxsets while you fold laundry/cook etc

Buy everything online.

Oh and now the kids are in the juniors I’ve discovered they don’t mind testing each on thier spellings while in the car on the way to school!!!

I've driven a combine harvester whilst breastfeeding the baby in a sling!

Have a reliable schedule and good systems that deviate when necessary but essentially are the same from day to day. If I’m away for work, I know my partner will be doing what we always do - children thrive on routine and know what to expect. Then, any deviation can be accommodated because the basic systems are sound.

We try not to commit to too many activities or play dates for the kids. Aside from making it tricky juggling everything I also think our kids benefit from having some down time at home. Everything we do is written in the calendar in the kitchen so whoever is at home knows what is on that day
All bills are paid by direct debit. Banking is online as well to save time. Big shop is done online - often if kids are watching some TV that I like to supervise but am not watching for enjoyment.

All work/home/school/social events go onto my O365 diary and I will invite DH to anything that is home/school/social; that way we both have all reminders.

I use work 'downtime' to get household jobs done quickly. E.g. I will do an online shop for food or clothes in my coffee break, or make essential calls. It's also easy to do that sort of stuff whilst watching swimming lessons or football training. I am lucky in that my employer is very flexible so I can juggle certain things by going to sports day in the afternoon and then catching up on work in the evening.

Online grocery shopping is the best thing ever! I can sort the washing, cook, empty the dishwasher and shop at the same time. I also love a good ‘to do’ list which I cross off as I go along.

Sharing the jobs equally with DH
Get DD5 involved in button pressing to buy her clothes
Breastfeeding and online shopping back in the day
In the evening I never 'just' watch telly. I'm on the laptop doing my own business work, paying for childcare, sorting out our new house etc
It's also amazing how much you can get done on the loo if the kids leave you in peace!

I am terrible at jiggle by and multi tasks bag but I have mastered cleaning the rest of the bathroom whilst supervising a child having a bath, so at least that’s one area I manage.

I always take the opportunity to clean the bathroom while bathing the kids. Saves me time later and then the bath gets a once over when their out and my DH dresses them. Teamwork is key. I also work long hours and drop to kids to and from pre school so it's a long day for us but my DH will have dinner and pjs ready as we walk in the door as he's in before us so everything runs like clockwork (so far).

Whenever I’m cooking curries, pasta dishes, chilli, whatever I make double then freeze half. I usually get a good cooking session in on a Sunday afternoon, or an evening once the kids are in bed. Means I’m only having to cook once or twice a week (barring oven food), so that means I’m not having to wash up all the stuff that I use for cooking from scratch every day, just the pot I’m heating tea in.

I have alarms and alerts on my phone for everything. I’m very forgetful! I’ll often do online shopping while I’m watching DS1 at football, and I’ll plan click and collect for when I’m passing the shop so I’m not making special journeys for just one thing.

We have a rough routine of who's in charge of what when, and an online calendar to keep track of when I'm working evenings, or someone other than usual needs to pick up the kids and so on. Multi tasking is endless and so automatic I'm struggling to think of examples.

Eating breakfast while getting kids dressed in the morning comes to mind..planning lists of things to do in my head whilst making tea.. I think I multi task so much it is second nature and there are probably loads of other examples I could give ...

A calendar in the kitchen with separate columns for each person and events. Then every Sunday I complete one of those weekly planning pads. This also allows for none urgent jobs to be carried forward to the next week. At least I know what I have and have not done!

A mix of technology and old school works for us.

Old school - An A3 weekly planner entitled "The ... Family - Who's Where and What's Going On" is written up (by me obviously) on a Sunday night. Everyone has their own columns, and there's a what's for tea column too. It shows where everyone needs to be and what they need eg Rainbows,
Football, 9am meeting in Beverley, needs gym kit today, take £1 for none uniform day etc. Stuck on the Fridge. Too rushed in a morning to remember everything without it. And too lazy to pre-prepare at night. Honestly it's my short term bible.

Tech - A family planner app that I adore. On all phones and tablets and computers. Filled in the second anything is arranged or tentatively arranged, however far in advance. Family members all separate colours within the app. Best thing - it emails my DH (who is lovely but utterly shite at organisation and has a terrible memory) every Monday morning with the next couple of weeks schedules and reminders. Saves him ringing me to ask if he can go out with the lads on such and such a date - he just checks his version of the app for what the plans are. Also has a shopping list function that we add to through the week (anyone can add to it) and I do the online shop from that list. And a to do list that functions the same. It's utter genius.

Two full time working parents , 2 young DCs - organisation is vital!!

I just do everything one handed and try to get my toddler involved as much as possible.
She’s brilliant at cleaning with a baby wipe and feeding the cat, if a little over enthusiastic.
All other jobs are done during nap time and after she’s gone to bed