The seven habits of effective business people were outlined by Stephen Covey some years back, but specific coaching for women can reinterpret the seven habits for single mums – those who can overcome the obstacles, but yet be highly effective in their daily lives.

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 one – Master the clock.

We all have the same amount of time in a given day, but how we use it dictates how we will feel after the sun goes down. Will we have been productive and feel good about ourselves, or will we feel as if we have been bouncing back and forth with little to show for our efforts?

Those who are very effective and fall into the first category are time masters and have set out everything they need to achieve in a given day. 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.

Just dump everything out onto paper, all the tasks that you need to achieve on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis and marshal all this information 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.

You’ll also find that as you stick to your timetable you become more used to these tasks; you will achieve them in less time and free up a bit more personal space at the end of each 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 number four – Plan for your 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.

While these rainy days may certainly throw your clock mastery out of sync, the highly effective single mum has planned in advance as best she can.

Habit five – It’s 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 number six – Be fit.

The most important thing in life for you and your family is health. Don’t turn your alarm clock off and snooze for 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. Stephen Covey talked about how each party must “win” and this is what you’re investing in 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. In this day and age, online life coaching can help you look even further into the seven habits and to prepare your action plan for your successful life ahead.

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.