We sure are enjoying these lazy summer days around the Bounds home. We are taking every opportunity to soak up sun and fun while spending extra amounts of time with family. But when we don’t have plans outside the home, it’s hard to stay motivated. The house gets messier, the laundry piles up, and we aren’t even going to talk about all the baby bottles. I feel like there are at least 25 to wash at all times!

Last weekend Judson and I took Liam to a local water park and hiking trail called Dunn’s Falls. We enjoyed getting outside and enjoyed our family time together, two things we plan for each week. In this post I am sharing 7 ways to boost productivity. Let’s kick butt and stay productive!

1. Plan your week ahead of time.

Our lives really do revolve around routine and habit. I’m a creature of routine, so being a stay at home mom has been a challenge for me at times. I’m not able to do what I want to do when I want to do it. I simply hold a baby! By planning my week in advance I can schedule “me time”, aka visits to the gym, reading, even grocery shopping. Simply making an appointment on my calendar helps me hold myself to it. It also allows me the opportunity to see where I can fit in activities with Liam on slow days. We often like to go to our local library or to the grandparents, just so we can get out and about. (Psst… I use this planner to keep our family schedules!)

2. Prep the night before for the following day.

I am the queen of to-do lists. I love paper, stickers, and cute markers and use all of them to plan my life. I like making to-do lists for the following day including: discussion board post for class, return library books, wash baby clothes, bathe Peanut. Having a list I can cross off helps me stay more productive!

3. Get up early.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t get up early enough. I got up super early when I was still commuting to work in Hattiesburg, but now with just Liam, he and I usually get out of bed around 6:45. (Let’s be honest, he wakes us up at 4 a.m. I just lay around dozing in and out till 6 something.) I find myself struggling with not having enough hours during the day – the joys of having a newborn. Getting up just 30 minutes to an hour earlier helps give me extra time to simply sit and mentally prepare for the day or do my Bible study. Don’t get me wrong, I love sleep! I NEED more sleep thanks to my cute little five month old, but I also need to be a productive human being. Showering in the morning also helps give me an extra pep in my step.

4. Get dressed.

There’s no groggier feeling than being in your pjs all day. I feel gross if I leave mine on too long. (Or perhaps it’s because mine are usually covered in spit up…). Get up, put on some clothes, even shoes, and hop to it. You’ll feel more productive by simply being dressed.

5. Meal plan.

Plan out your meals (and desserts!) for the week. Scrambling on what to cook for dinner is one less thing to worry about. I like to plan on Fridays for the upcoming week and grocery shop on Mondays. I look at the nights I’m not home (Wednesdays – church choir, Thursdays – Meistersingers) and make sure I cook a meal with plenty of leftovers the night before.

6. Go to bed early.

This might be easier for those of you with kids you can tuck in at 8:30, but Liam is a big fan of 11:00. He has to have one last bottle at 10:30 right now, and then we settle him for bed. The joys of baby days! I wouldn’t trade them for all the productive days in the world. But realistically, if you can head to bed 30 minutes earlier than normal, your following day will be more productive.

7. Have a daily devotional.

It goes without saying that the key to a productive day is Jesus. Without prayer and Scripture I’d be a mess. Above all, make sure you schedule one on one time with Jesus. Sit quietly in prayer. Read a devotional. Work a Bible study. Whatever you do, spend time daily with the Lord and you’ll have a more productive day!