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.

Trello, trello and more trello.... synced to our calendars (and synced partially to my brain I think).

Everything for all of us on there sorted into boards per type of activity, dated and with built in reminders. Colour coded too per family member which is always easier on the eye.

Honestly, whoever invented it needs this award!

I order all the boring non perishables online- pet food, toilet paper, multipacks of socks, cat litter etc. Not only are these things boring to shop for but a huge pain with a baby in tow. I don’t faff around going to this shop and that shop, all my grocery shopping is done at one nice supermarket down the street once I week. All my banking is done online. I clean the house in the morning when the baby is happy in his playpen, then we get on with our day.

Shared online calendar. Online lists. Me time

Routine and organisation is key in our house.
Friday after school children present all school uniform and sports kits to the washing machine.
Friday evening I order online food for Saturday delivery.
Weeks menu goes up on fridge weeks diary plan goes with letters from school or scouts with instructions for outings are taped to back of front door.
Weekend washing drying ironing gets done.
Sunday afternoon school and work bags packed a weeks uniform is in their drawers.
Floors hoovered.
Weekday mornings I shower whilst boys and Dad have breakfast, boys empty dishwasher dad hangs up washing.
Dad has shower whilst I breakfast with boys and stack dishwasher and clean up after breakfast.
Boys have 15 mins down time before school run.
When we are back 5-6pm I cook. Boys homework. Dad home 6-6.30. Dinner stack dishwasher put on washing load.
Order things on tablet in the evenings for costume days or things boys need.
Want to use tech but nervous as non tech system working quite well.

Gin, a really good shag and a sister that baby-sits. All these things at least once weekly.

learning times tables on the walk to school.
cleaning the bathroom while DC in the bath.

Teach children to tidy up from the start! My little boy is nearly 2 and loves putting things away and vacuuming!

Have a whiteboard somewhere in the kitchen so if anything essential runs out you can write it on and it’s more likely to be picked up quicker!

Sling so you can carry baby, one handed tray to carry in lunch and mail to the living room, coffee in the other hand and use my nose to turn the light on!

Post it notes on everything. I have three forgetful men so have to do their thinking and mine.
Lists.
Phone call whilst cooking three different things for tea? Bluetooth headset saves it dropping in the pans when it slips from the shoulder squish.
More lists.
Ingredients list for tomorrow's food tech gets plonked down at 9pm the night before? A list of mates who may just have that vital piece of galangal for man 3's dish and who stay up late watching box sets and reruns of SITC so will pick up your hastily written text.cloth
Yet more lists.
Three diaries: work, family and online combo that nags relentlessly until I sort it.
Never completely having a day off. Any annual leave is divided into 2 hour slots which are allocated to all the jobs that need to be done that have not been because there is a Y in the day. Decorating, gardening, jobs for the oldies, sorting that drawer that we all have but only Michael McIntyre admits to, cleaning out the unknown sticky goo that always appears in the bottom of Man 2's wastepaperbin, recovering the teaspoons that mysteriously disappear etc.
Writing lists on the steamed up glass shower screen when something makes a fleeting visit to my addled brain when abluting.
Blue tack...a parent's best friend together with a kitchen cupboard right by the kettle/snack cupboard to stick letters from school, reminders, timetables, shift patterns, invitations etc .
A frost free freezer...My gift to myself. Exciting, I know but wonderfully satisfying to know that I will never have to use a flamethrower, four kitchen rolls, a bettaware super absorbing cloth and an icepick ever again.
A water softener so kettles, coffee machine, glass and chrome does not require a pneumatic drill to descale.
A list to remind me of the other lists....A sort of "list of lists"

My finest multitasking moment was rocking DS to sleep in the pram with my foot, while applying a full face of makeup and calling British Gas on speakerphone about our boiler.
Meal planning and batch cooking is a lifesaver, and I'd be lost without my calendar and list apps.

I swear by bath books to get washing and storytime out of the way in one go 😁

I have a few tips because trying to juggle family life with a job and a husband is like spinning plates sometimes!

• shared calendar on phones with your partner. If its not on the calendar and you need childcare cover tough!
• online shopping if you can or try to go for supermarket opening if going to lidl or aldi
• meal plan and if you have time batch cook
• when the children are in the bath clean the bathroom. Its a hateful job but if you have to be in the room might as well clean.
• always have a charity shop / bag for the tip on the go and that way you shouldn't ever have to do a big clear out but its happening all the time

I hang out wet washing while supervising DC’s breakfast, and check emails on the phone while he’s in the bath.

Let children choose the cleaning products to use when they make their (small) contribution to daily/weekly household tasks. Rhubarb Method is a favourite.

Doing my on-line shop has been a life changer for me - it remembers my regular items, saving me time to listen to reading books whilst having a load in the washing machine, the shepherds pie in the oven. My wipe clean family planner is attached to my fridge with all of our appointments, out of school clubs (before and after) colour coding swimming and PE days, and stickers on book bag days.

I do various admin tasks whilst on my work lunch break - reply to school emails, play dates, meet ups, clubs and so on. Each day has a theme - Monday and Wednesday are for DD related things, Tuesday and Thursday for DS, and Friday is for me and home life (which doesn't involve quite so much military-level planning!).

This, combined with an hour on Sunday, means if I have overlooked anything, it's only for a day before it gets picked up again - and no late night panics about a forgotten activity or themed school day!

My freezer is my lifesaver. I batch cook and freeze individually then we always have something we can eat after a long day. The juggle is a struggle though, not going to lie!

Batch cook, order online, try to always look a few weeks ahead in the calendar to know what’s coming up in advance. AND get up extra early whilst everyone is asleep for some reading/yoga time to myself - juggling modern life with energy requires investment in yourself first, even just for a few minutes.
You can’t pour from an empty cup!

Yesterday I was doing spelling with one DC, reading alien words with another whilst sweeping the floor.

Not leaving things until the last minute, so bags packed the night before, dinner prepped while giving DD her tea, replace items when they run out rather than waiting until they're next needed.

That way, where there is a mishap or delay it doesn't tend to derail the entire day.

O

Its using all the little bits of time that you get whilst doing something else. Put in a wash before you do a school run, do a click and collect shop to pick up on your way back from a swimming lesson, use kettle boiling time to wipe out the microwave. Rigorously file household papers whilst on the phone, basically if you never just relax you can stay on top of it all.

I sort out all of my banking stuff whilst feeding the youngest a bottle in bed with me. I also pay off bills eg Very or order things on Amazon at that time. I only shop in Aldi so take the youngest with me and sometimes my autistic son has to come but he can sit in the car.
I usually bribe them with a drink and a biscuit.
Single mum of 4, never get to do anything without them. You just do.

Multi tasking for me and mine has changed over the years but one thing that hasn't is stopping to talk & listen. No matter how busy, how much needs doing I find it definitely gives me chance to catch my breath and reconnect if necessary or just to have that feeling of being listened to.

My husband likes to talk on the phone whilst he's driving home from work, which is a problem for me as it means 30 minutes of doing nothing when I could be doing something! So I've started putting him on loudspeaker while I make dinner, then it's usually ready when he gets in!