Are you a working mum or a stay at home mum?

Photo by Djurdjica Boskovic on Unsplash

Are you a working mum or a stay at home mum?

In 2020 research has showed a vast increase in working mums compared to previous years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published data revealing that the number of mothers in the labour market has grown substantially over the last 20 years, with 66.2% of mothers in employment in 2000. However by 2020, that figure rose to 75.1%.

The reasons for this increase is due to many factors such as:

• More flexible hours are available
• More work from home options are available
• More shared care of kids with both parents
• Increased availability of after school childcare available  

To make life easier and more manageable,there are also more facilities, apps, support programmes, tutorials and gadgets available to assist with the work. With the advance technology, it is easier to connect from home for hosting meetings and consultations too.

Photo by Emma Matthews Digital Content Production on Unsplash

Five apps that will help you organise your life.

There is a reason why working mums are sometimes referred to as superheroes (mums generally). It is because a working mum's most essential skill is multitasking. If you are a working mum you already know what it's like to achieve a work-life balance. It is not easy to take care of the kids, do house chores and still go to work to conquer the day's tasks.

However, working mums do not need to be overwhelmed by the weight of the tasks that are lined up at home and work, and this is where apps come in. Here are the main apps that can make your life as a working mum a lot easier by simply helping you organise your activities and make you more efficient.

Voice Over Self Direction

This is an important app for mums who are voice-over artists. This app can be considered a personal voice-over or voice acting coach which can be taken with you to the recording booth. The app is great for mums who are just starting a voice acting or voice over career. The downside of the app is that it can take some time getting used to. Voquent.com is a website that lets you connect with advertising agencies and clients in need of voice over services.

Photo by Emma Matthews Digital Content Production on Unsplash

Cozi Family Organizer

This is the ultimate mum app. Cozi is an organiser created for the family. This app will help you coordinate your grocery lists, schedules, to-do lists, activities, and provides a platform for family communication. It is a fantastic calendar app.

Rescue Time

This is a great app that monitors how much time you are spending on the internet and mobile apps. Even though you are a busy mum with a lot of things to do and work, you may find yourself stuck on videos of cute dogs or cats doing crazy things on Instagram. Sometimes you may have planned to check something out on Amazon and end up spending more time than you have planned to check other products. An app like Rescue Time is a great way to help you manage your time better by setting goals for your app and internet use.

YouTube

Every busy mum needs quick fixes and solutions for every task. This is where YouTube comes in. YouTube is the ideal entertainment app for busy mums - here you can watch your favourite music videos, makeup tutorials, DIY ideas, and keep your little ones busy with cartoons while you do something important.

Easy Voice Recorder

There are many things that you can do with a voice recorder from taking voice notes during meetings at the office to making voiceover demos if you are a voiceover artist. Easy Voice Recorder app has a simple user interface making it user-friendly. You can use the app in the background while doing other things on your mobile phone.


Are you a stay at home mum or are you a working mum? Do share in the comments below how to manage to get a happy home and work life balance.

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2020 Graduation Plans

Image by Vasily Kolada on Unsplash

Going to university or college is a big step for both parents and their child. It is a big transition as often the child has to move away from home, fend for themselves, manage finances and become independent. As much as it is exciting, it can be daunting too. However all this is definitely worth it when your child completes their education and it's time to graduate.

Seeing your child graduate is probably one of the proudest moments any parent will experience in their life and it is the perfect occasion to go to town and celebrate this achievement.

With the current lock down it seems strange that I am sharing this post but whilst we are all at home social distancing its good to have a positive attitude and use the time at home to plan things for the future and make a bucket list of all the things that you would like to do and achieve. It gives us all a hope for better things to come.

 Photos by Freestock on Unsplash

Some of the things you can do to commemorate the occasion are:

• Buy a special gift as a keepsake memento 
• Get professional photos taken
• Host a party

Photo by Alvin Mahmudov on Unsplash

For the special memento a bracelet or a locket or a nice watch with the date engraved is a lovely gift together with a photo book with all the photos of the journey. Most universities offer professional photographs and DVDs of the ceremony. These are good to purchase so that you are free to enjoy the day without having to act as the photographer or risk blurred photos of the special occasion.

Usually guests are limited to parents /immediate family at the ceremony but to mark the occasion why not have a graduation party with all your family and friends. If arranging a graduation party this year, some of the things to consider are 2020 graduation announcements, graduation party invitations and graduation thankyou cards.

The stationery can be designed and created very easily using the Basic Invite website. They have a easy to use graduation party invite template and the graduation thank you card template. There are styles to suit all tastes and there is a  choice of colour combinations with the ability to customise each and every element of the invites and cards so that it's unique to your taste and style.

Immediately after the cards are created you can see the preview before you finalise the design. Furthermore, Basic Invite also have the facility where you can get a sample invite printed and sent out to you to ensure you are totally happy with the design, colour and paper quality before placing the final order.

Matching envelopes are also available in a selection of colours to make the invitations stand out.
With the invitation created, Basic Invite offers a free address collection service. You can use the free address collection service to request your addresses with using just three simple steps. You can share a link via social media or email, collect addresses, and get free envelope printing too.
Finally with the invitation sorted, it's time to create matching Thank you cards using the same on line designing service to send to your guests after the party.

Other things to arrange for the party are:

• Venue with ample parking
• Finger food and appetisers
• Drinks
• DJ/Music/Band
• Photographer/ Videographer

With everything organised, invites sent, it's time to have a wonderful day making amazing memories of the special occasion. Do share in the comments below how you are planning on celebrating your special day and what things you are adding to your post Covid bucket list.

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7 Super Tips for Making Travel Less Stressful

7 Super Tips for Making Travel Less Stressful

We've all experienced a trip where you've failed to prepare properly or where loads of little tings have gone wrong.It's frustrating! And the stress that comes with these scenarios can taint your entire holiday.With that in mind, here are seven super tips for making travel less stressful.

Use Packing Cubes

If you're travelling with a suitcase, packing cubes are a great idea. They help you to maximize your luggage space, so you can fit all of your essential items into your case and some luxury bits too. Also, they allow you to pack neatly by grouping similar items together, so you can quickly find them when needed.

Book a Lounge

From the crowds to the security checks to finding your gate, getting through the airport is arguably one the most stressful parts of travel. However, you can escape the madness by booking into a lounge and enjoying some rest and complimentary perks. To gain access to luxury lounges across the globe use LoungeBuddy - it has great deals.

Research your Destination

Whether you're someone who thrives on throwing yourself into the unknown or you prefer to plan meticulously, it's worth doing some research on your destination beforehand. Things worth looking into include, public transport, car renting options,  neighbourhood safety and culture and customs. In doing so, you'll settle in more quickly and enjoy more fun and less fluster during your trip. Start a travel savings account to put money aside for your holiday.

Meditate

Photo by Ksenia Makagonova

Meditation exercises teach you to focus your mind in order to make sense of your thoughts and feelings. So consider installing a meditation app such as Calm for your travels - it has a wide library of exercises that last for as little as three minutes, so you'll have no trouble fitting regular meditation into your itinerary.

Use Offline Maps

When you're in an unfamiliar place, working out how to get from A to B can be a major hassle, especially if you're low on mobile data. To get around this, you can use a navigation app such as Google Maps to download the maps for the places you'll be visiting in advance, so you can access them offline at any time.

Drive to the Airport

If you want to avoid hedging your bets on unreliable public transport, driving to the airport is a great idea. In your own ride with full control over your route, you'll feel way more relaxed. And for added peace of mind, you can check Looking4.com for airport parking deals for hubs from Miami to Manchester.

Plan Your Route From The Airport

When you land in your destination, you'll either be tired and eager to get to your accommodation or excited and ready to explore. By planning your route from the airport in advance, you'll be able to quickly reach your lodgings and dump your stuff, rather than faffing about trying to figure out directions and public transport networks.

Follow these seven super tips and your future travels will be stress-free and fun-filled from start to finish.You can get some good tips of 5 reasons why you should travel with kids.

What are your tips for making travel less stressful? Share them in the comments section.

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