Hanbag Fashion Review News

Whilst Stephen Covey may have outlined seven habits of effective people, especially from a business perspective, specific coaching for women can help us interpret these seven habits for single mums – mums who are able to overcome significant obstacles and become highly effective in their day-to-day living.

It is possible to reinterpret some of these habits in a different way as they overlap in certain cases, but you should adopt these principles wherever possible if you are new at being a single mum or are beginning to feel stretched beyond all comparison.

Habit one – Master the clock.

We all have the same amount of time in a given day, but how we use it dictates how we will feel after the sun goes down. Will we feel that we have been productive and are thereby refreshed, or will we feel that we have been bouncing from pillar to post and still seem to have little achieved?

Those who fall into the first category are generally masters of time and have itemised what they need to do in any given day to get through. It is important to take baby steps and not to look too far ahead when you have a busy schedule, as this will appear so daunting that it may compromise your ability to succeed.

Just dump everything out onto paper, all the tasks that you need to achieve on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis and marshal all this information together. Have you ever considered professional coaching to help you control your time?

Habit number two – Be habitual.

You really must get into the habit if your highly effective timetable is going to work. You may have to set up some triggers to start off with and have some fundamental goal posts to aim for as you go through each day, but through a process of repetition you will find that you get those more mundane yet necessary tasks achieved this way.

You’ll also find that as you stick to your timetable you become more used to these tasks; you will achieve them in less time and free up a bit more personal space at the end of each day.

Habit three – Set up your voice-mail.

It is easy enough to set everything down to enjoy the latest gossip with the neighbour, but distractions are definitely your enemy.

You may not have the luxury of a personal secretary to answer your random phone calls and the most effective businessmen or women do not become distracted, so you must maintain your focus and don’t be tempted.

Habit four – Plan for the rainy day.

Those rainy days will come of course and family issues may overtake what you had planned. Above all else, ensure that your personal days at work are reserved only for emergencies. See if your schedule at work will allow you to play catch-up here or there, maybe working Saturday mornings or one evening per week, so that the inevitable issue at school for the kids can be addressed without it becoming a major concern.

Rainy days may certainly make it more difficult for you to master the clock, but the highly effective single mum has planned as much in advance as possible.

Habit number five – All about me.

It doesn’t matter how efficient or dedicated you are to what you have to do for your family and your work, if you don’t allow time for reinvigorating yourself, you will suffer.

There is a time for delegation, to get away from it all to recharge your batteries, so you can come back refreshed and be able to take it all on again.

Habit six – Be fit.

Health is everything, for you and your family. Don’t turn your alarm clock off and snooze for 15 minutes at the expense of your daily walk on the treadmill. This should be an A-list priority and if you do not make it so, over a period of time your efficiency will suffer and your ability to be highly effective, will be compromised.

Habit number seven – Scratch a back.

If you are smart, you will realise that while you may be able to manage as a single mum most of the time, there will be times when you must call in for help. If you have a network of friends, good acquaintances and other family members you can turn to, you should invest a little in this support group by planning time within your schedule to help them out first. Covey talked about a “win-win” situation when he was outlining his seven habits and this is what you are doing here. By donating your time or other resources to help one of your contacts, you will have kept your side of the win-win bargain.

Yes, there’s a lot to it, but don’t despair. These days, online life coaching can help you drill even further into those seven habits and come up with your action plan for the future.

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working moms that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!