I am a third year Ph.D. student. I am also Mum to three kids, ages seven, two and one. Thus, my attention and time is always being split in multiple directions. 
 
Here are a few things I have picked up on how to Ph.D. with kids:
 
Plan out dinner time. 
I only cook three times a week. The day after I cook, we eat leftovers. On the seventh day, we get takeout. This helps with decision paralysis and fatigue. At the end of the week, I decide the three meals I am going to cook the next week, so I have the entire weekend to get the ingredients if needed. Having a plan for dinner relieves stress. It also saves me money because takeout is always so tempting when I cannot decide on what to cook. 
 
Skimp on laundry if you can. 
Luckily, no one in my household wears anything that needs to be ironed. I time laundry with TV shows so I can watch them as I fold clothes out of the dryer. Honestly, many of our clothes do not even make it to our closets and dressers. They end up on our blue couch in our living room. We pull clothes from the couch as needed. When we are able to see the seat cushions, we know it is time to do laundry again. On the rare occasion we have company over, we take everything on the blue couch and hide it in a bedroom. Freeing myself from the pressure of having every item of laundry neatly tucked away in its proper place has been very liberating.
 
Focus on yourself in the mornings, and then the kids. 
No matter how much I prep the night before, I find I always have numerous things to do before I can walk out the door. I have found it easier to let my kids sleep and to get myself organized and ready for the day before waking them up. Since all my tasks are taken care of, I can give my full attention to getting my kids ready for school and daycare. On the rare occasion they wake up before I am ready, my kids watch Cocomelon. 
 
Make checklists.
Willpower and self-control are exhaustible. I used to use to so much brain power and energy trying to remember small things. Now, I put things on lists and just follow the list. Adding detail to checklists can decrease future decision making too. If I plan to spend a couple of hours on stats, I write down what exactly I will be doing in the two hours so all I have to do is execute the list. I also use the alarms on my phone to remind myself to drink water, call the pediatrician back, bring forms to daycare, etc. The more things I get out of my head, the easier it is to pay attention to my coursework, research and family. 
 
Use the Pomodoro Technique... for cleaning.
Sometimes cleaning seems like a waste of time when things are going to get messy again soon. To get me through tedious chores, I use the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes of work, plus 5 minutes of break time). You’ll be surprised at how much you can clean in a 25-minute period. I strive to do one cleaning Pomodoro a day to maintain some order in my house. 
 
Save the hard work for the office.
I devote my time on-campus to things that require my serious attention. This helps me feel accomplished by the time I get off work and pick up my kids. I save the smaller tasks that do not require as much focus for the evenings. This way, I can complete them while my children play and watch YouTube. 
 
Get enough sleep.
There have been a few nights when I only received four hours of sleep. Fortunately, they were on days I had low maintenance tasks. Sleep really does help your overall health and well-being. Make it a priority to get seven to nine hours of sleep a night. You may bemoan the loss of the extra time to get stuff done. However, you will gain more energy, drive and clarity, which will lead to stronger work productivity. 
 
These are just a few of the things that have helped me juggle all my responsibilities. 
 
If you have children or dependents, what are your thoughts? How do you make it work?


Sakina Dixon is a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.