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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.

Some of these habits overlap or could be reinterpreted in a different fashion, but these principles should be adopted as soon as possible if you are new to being a single mum, or beginning to feel harried beyond belief.

Habit number one – Master the clock.

There are only a certain number of hours in a given day, but how we use them dictates how we really feel when all is said and done. 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.

Layout everything that you need to do on a sheet of paper, categorised according to hourly, daily, weekly or monthly activities and start to bring it all together. Now may be the time to consider professional coaching to help you master this.

Habit number two – Be habitual.

Your highly effective timetable will be no good unless you get into the habit. 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.

If you stick to your timetable and become used to doing these tasks, you will be able to achieve them in far less time and have lots of personal space available to you at the end of the day.

Habit number three – Set up voicemail.

Distractions are the enemy, unfortunately, even though we would wish to catch up on the latest gossip with a neighbour.

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. If at all possible, see if your schedule will allow you to catch up from time to time by working an evening per week or even on Saturday mornings, so when the inevitable issue with the kids at school comes up it will not be a major concern for everyone.

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.

The most important thing in life for you and your family is health. Never be tempted to sleep in for an extra 15 minutes at the expense of your daily walk on the treadmill. This absolutely must be at the top of the list of priorities and if you don’t do this, over a period of time efficiency will suffer and you will not be able to be as effective as you might otherwise have been.

Habit 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. Help each one of your contacts by donating your resources or time and you will have kept your side of the “win-win” equation.

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 the Director of Coaching Mums and a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums across the globe who long for more time, balance and fulfilment in their busy lives. Download our free eBook especially for working mums with 5 easy ways to achieve balance.