How do you manage/organize your time?

I seriously feel like I spend the majority of my day in the kitchen. I feel like I am always either preparing food or cleaning up and this takes away from my time with the kids. I normally have very good time management skills when it comes to everything else so I dont know why its such a struggle right now. I have four little ones right now and am having two other ones start, giving me a full load (two are my own.)

Any advice or tips on what has worked for any of you in regards to managing your time so theres actually time to play with the kids for more than a few minutes here and there?

Do you have your food made before you start for the day or make it while they're playing? Hubby makes food (enough) for leftovers for the next day. So all I have to do is heat up the food and serve! I also wash the dishes (we don't have a dishwasher - I know, crazy!) while the kids are finishing up eating.

I only serve snacks here & sometimes have to prep them - cutting, cleaning fruit etc. I do wash my dcks containers too, usually wash up towards the end of lunch time - no dish washer either. When I had 3 little ones together it did feel like I was cleaning & washing all the time, and they were all in high chairs - on the ground tho'. But the ground would get so dirty and I'd have to spend a lot of time cleaning it! I'm down to two now, and they've gotten bigger they're on the kids table and a lot less messy than they were before.
Like P & L said, if you had left overs from the night before that would be easier on you to serve that...

I try to do snacks that are easy prep...fruit, cheese, crackers, ect. Lunches are always leftovers from the night before or, in the summer heat, cold sandwiches. Easy, simple, whole foods are what makes the best use of my time. I also prep a few days worth of snack at once...make a fruit salad that will serve for Monday AND Tuesday morning snack, for example.

I changed the timings for a meals since I was literally in the kitchen all day. By the time the older ones were done snack and ready to play it was time for the baby to wake up who was now thirsty and then after that it was lunchtime..... and the day wore on. I serve a very early snack that doubles as a breakfast for those that didn't eat much or tops up those that did so that is served at 8:30. Lunch is served at 11 and I start cooking at 10:30. Babies that wake get their snack in their chairs while I am making lunch and it is a drink and just enough to tide them over. That gives me a full 2 hour block of time to do stuff. Since my main playroom is in the basement it means a lot less running up and down the stairs constantly since all food is done upstairs in the kitchen. I also find doing this that the kids eat a better lunch having the longer time to get hungry and then eataing early enough that they aren't too tired to do it. In the summer we pause for a drink of water mid morning.