Healthy Parenting Handbook with Katie Kimball

114: The Truth About Time Management for Moms (It’s Not Your Planner) with Anna Dearmon Kornick

Mar 31, 2026

Anna Dearmon-Kornick, time management coach and founder of It's About Time Academy, shares practical, non-perfect strategies for overwhelmed parents. She explains mind sweeps to clear mental clutter. She covers how to decide what truly deserves your time, involve kids and family, and use the CURVE approach for unexpected chaos. The tone is kind, realistic, and focused on progress over perfection.

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ADVICE

Time Management Is Choosing What Matters

Define time management as the ability to spend your time on what matters most.
Anna Dearmon Kornick urges choosing presence with people over being five minutes early to appointments as the real priority.

INSIGHT

Values Drive Time Choices Not Tools

Effective time management starts with clarifying vision, values, and priorities, not new planners or apps.
Anna argues that knowing what matters makes every time decision simpler than color-coded calendars.

ADVICE

Start With A Mind Sweep Weekly

Do a mind sweep to empty your head onto paper so you can make decisions.
Anna suggests categorizing items (life, work) and creating visible piles instead of a chaotic brain dump.

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If you’ve ever thought, “Why can I not get my life together when it comes to time?”—you are absolutely not alone.

This conversation felt like such a breath of fresh air because we’re not talking about rigid schedules, perfect planners, or waking up at 5am (thank goodness). Instead, we’re digging into what actually works for real moms with real lives… you know, the kind where kids interrupt everything and plans fall apart before lunch.

I had so much fun hearing about Anna’s real-life experiences in the professional world, SO different than my life, and wait until you hear what we both have in common when it comes to being POOR at time management! I couldn’t believe her confession about getting in trouble at work for a time-related issue…

What I love most is that Anna brings so much grace and practicality to this topic. She doesn’t expect perfection; and honestly, that might be the most freeing part of all.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why time management isn’t really about your planner (and what actually matters instead)
A simple “mind sweep” method to instantly reduce overwhelm and clear your mental clutter
How to figure out what actually deserves your time (and what you can let go of)
Practical ways to involve your kids so you’re not doing everything yourself
What to do when your plans fall apart (because… they will)
A simple framework to handle those chaotic, stressful moments without spiraling

If you’ve been feeling scattered, behind, or just plain overwhelmed, this episode is going to meet you right where you are, and give you a few doable steps to move forward.

Resources We Mention for Time Management for Moms

Get Anna’s Blueprint to Balance here
Buy Anna’s book, Time Management Essentials: The Tools You Need to Maximize Your Attention, Energy, and Productivity on Amazon or Bookshop.org
When we talk about being an “upholder” or a “rebel,” that’s from Gretchen Rubin’s book The Four Tendencies.
Learn more from my interview with Megan Sumrell about managing your time, and check out her TOP program for a free training on getting your life together!

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