Life is busy, especially with little ones running around. Add in a part-time job, full-time job or any curveballs like a sick family member and you have the recipe for what can feel like a disaster to your life, sanity, and home. As a blogger with a full-time job and a baby at home, I know the importance of finding tips, tricks, and strategies to keep all the pieces together. The single best trick I have found is the 10 Minute Task routine.
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What is a 10 Minute Task?
A 10-minute task is exactly what it sounds like, a task that takes 10 minutes (or less!) Having a well-run household can be very daunting! I find that breaking tasks into small increments that can be done periodically throughout the day helps keep your household running smoothly!
Sure there are going to be longer tasks that need to be done such as cooking dinner, grocery shopping etc but breaking other tasks into 10 minutes enables you to get the little things done throughout the day so that when you have longer chunks of time you aren’t spending your longer chunks of time working on the minutia.
This strategy can be a critical time and energy saver!
Examples of 10 Minute Tasks
I have found that many, many household tasks fall under the 10-Minute Task category.
- Loading/ unloading the dishwasher
- Starting a load of laundry
- Vacuuming/ sweeping a room or two
- Folding a load of laundry
- Making a grocery list
- Light bathroom cleaning
- Empty out the car
Why you should get your partner (and kids) involved!
Think about this. If you, your partner, and 1 child all do a 10-minute task at once that’s 30 minutes worth of housework being done in under 10 minutes! Think about everything that can be accomplished! 30 minutes worth of housework done before you leave for work and school? Check. 30 minutes worth of housework right when you get home from work and school? Check. 30 Minutes worth of housework done before bed? Check. That’s a total of 90 minutes worth of housework being completed each day in under 30 minutes per person!
Example of a Morning 10 Minute Task Routine
- Get dressed, make bed, brush teeth, refill dog’s water bowls (kid)
- Start a load of laundry,
- Unload dishwasher
- Sweep kitchen floor
- Setting up your Instacart delivery for the following day!
Example of an after work/after school 10-minute task routine
- Unload lunch bags and wash lunch dishes (kid)
- Empty pump bag, label, and store
milk, wash pump parts (pumping mama) - Portion out snacks for the several days
Example of Night Time 10 Minute Task Routine
- Quick room cleanup, lay out clothes for the morning (kid)
- Set coffee maker, set table for breakfast
- Fold a load of laundry
- Sort dirty laundry for the next day
How to get your partner or kids on board
Well, I have said this before on my blog and I will say it again, if women are going to be equal partners in the workforce and contributing to the finances of the household then men need to be equal partners in the management of a household.
Have you seen the statistics that women do on average, 60% more of the unpaid tasks related to running a household? Ew. Not okay.
Well, this isn’t the case in my house
It shouldn’t be in yours either! You know why? Because your children are watching how you and your husband interact! If you are working and doing the majority of the housework your children are seeing that. If you don’t want your daughter being responsible for working and the majority of the housework as an adult then be an example to her now about how an equal partnership can look. Likewise, if you want your son to be an equal participant in the household for his wife then be an example now!
Because of this, I want to raise my daughter to expect that her husband will be an equal partner in the household and, if I have sons in the future I want them to see my husband acting as an equal partner in the household.
However, this is all easily said in theory, but what I have learned is that my husband can’t read my mind. He needs a little guidance on all the things that need to be done to keep our house running.
How to help your partner help you
My husband considers himself to be a huge procrastinator. While this used to drive me crazy we have found ways to deal with that! 10-minute tasks are one of the easiest ways we have found to manage both his procrastination tendencies and the overwhelming household chores.
While he still has a hard time thinking of what needs to be done he is more than willing to do the tasks that I ask him to do. I have found that having schedules and routines seems to be the easiest way to keep him on target. I don’t have to nag him and he knows exactly what needs to be done.
Have a list on the fridge of different 10-minute tasks. When there are 10 minutes to kill in the day direct your kids or husband to go pick something off the list. Set the timer and have them hop to it.
Lucky for you, my husband and I have also developed a little workbook for you to begin your discussion on household chores and sharing the mental load. Download it for free here!
Do you have any time management tips and tricks that you use in your home? I would love to hear about it. Let me know in the comments below!
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