Balancing Motherhood and the demands of the Marketplace: Here are my five top productivity tools

Motherhood is not a leisurely walk in the park and it seldom gives breathing space. The early stages of cleaning after the babies and toddlers followed by the phase of standing your ground and insisting that the teenagers take charge and clean up after themselves; there is always some form of activity.

Thankfully, technology has come to the rescue with loads of productivity tools that can assist in ensuring that one enjoys the parenting ride. From time management applications to finance solutions, from culinary help to fitness advisory; the list is endless and it is my pleasure to share my top five productivity tools that have helped me greatly.

YouVersion Bible Application: As a firm believer in the grace factor, I am deeply persuaded that success in life is not entirely dependent on the strategies I embrace as an individual. My preparation is desirable but when God is made the pivot, then the result becomes immeasurable. Despite endless streams of conflicting engagements in the home and at work, making time out to study my bible is paramount. My favorite translation is the Message Bible which breaks down the word is simple everyday language that is enjoyable.

The Notepad: I unconsciously have this feeling of achieving goals halfway when I write them down. Each morning, I ensure to note down all that I intend to achieve for the day and then work towards achieving them. Before the close of business for the day, I review my notes to be certain that I have reached all or a large amount of the target for the day. I also encourage folks to reward themselves daily if they are able to reach the set target. The reward system can be just about anything; from a cup of hot chocolate to a soothing and leisurely soak in the bath tub. You should define it yourself.

The Pomodoro Application: Technology plays a huge role in my time management strategy. The Pomodoro technique is quite easy to embrace as it allows one get so much done at intervals, typically 25 minutes in length, and you get rewarded by a short break after each interval. The break affords you time to walk around, grab a cup of coffee, rejuvenate with some fresh air or even check out what is trending on social media.

Trello Application: This is one fun application that I greatly recommend. It is showcased as boards, lists and cards that you can embrace to organize and prioritize your projects in a manner that appeals to you. The awesome thing about Trello is that you can showcase your projects as texts, pictures etc. This makes it visually appealing and chances are that it takes the laziness that might come with the thoughts of doing boring tasks, away from you.

CBN Radio: I am at my productive best when I have music playing in the background as I go about my daily tasks. The CBN Radio application is my top favorite as I genuinely enjoy grace filled songs. From gospel to contemporary to praise; just name it, you can just tune in and be pleasantly blessed with amazing body of songs.

There are other favorites but these five above are my top choices. Discover what works for you and find a way to embrace them. The exciting thing is that data cost in Nigeria is daily becoming affordable so you can do it as Nike reiterates at all times by telling us all to just do it. My plan for the month is to solidify my project management skills and find a way to be my productive best at all times. My good friend, Taopheek Babayeju has endlessly teased me that I act like a project manager in almost everything I do including my parenting style. I will just probably take his words and get a project management certification. Fortunately, his organization has an affordable training that one can subscribe to here.

About Blossom Ozurumba:

Blossom is a writer, compère and public servant. She co-founded, Digital Media Development Initiative, a non-profit that contributes to sustainable development of Nigeria’s individuals and organizations through the innovative use of Digital Media. She has increasingly become known as a gender equity advocate with her core messaging that demands non-compromise in valuing competence, capacity and character. She currently works as the Technical Assistant on New Media to the Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources. She lives in Abuja Nigeria. To relax, she plays golf, dabbles with photography for www.applausenigeria.com and reads African Literature. She hopes to write a book one day while sharpening her writing skills on www.blossomozurumba.com.