With all that said, lets get rolling! I have had numerous people asking about my "schedule". Oh boy! Sometimes that can sound like a dirty word. I have tried numerous times, without much success I might add, to get our family on one of those things. Well, life as we know it is about to throw us into a new category where scheduling is going to be a necessity for this next season. As many people know both Geoff and I are currently in school (Geoff should be done around the end of this year, thankfully, while I am still in for a long haul with my part-time status) and taking on the challenge of homeschooling the kiddos starting this fall.
With all of that just around the corner, I knew my summer was going to be quick and incredibly busy. To make myself aware of what truly needed done and keep myself from procrastinating I created a list of things in three categories that I wanted to see done this summer (also keeping in mind this is really a WISH list, but setting the goals high so that as much could be done as possible... within realistic expectations). The categories are: family, house and personal. These include vacations, small outings, personal obligations, stocking up for the winter, organizing and purging our "stuff and things" (otherwise known as too much junk!), preparing for the school season, etc.
I also prepared a cleaning schedule that tackles everything from the daily to-do's, to the bigger annual projects. I have researched all of these schedule making categories extensively and put together the best schedule I could with all the information I have gotten. It is specific to our seasons and schedule, so please, don't copy this exactly unless it truly will work for you.
(And please ask me for an alternate version instead of taking these images... the graphics I used in these schedules are for personal use only -not for selling or reproducing- I just wanted to share what mine look like and how I put my schedule together.)
Along with this list goes a daily schedule that is very specific to the hours of the day and what we will be attempting to accomplish each and every day. No, I don't expect every day to go exactly as planned, but it gives us a good starting point and a general routine that will get easier to "fall into" the more we practice it. I am not so hardcore into our schedule that I won't skip a day for the zoo or just to hang out with friends... this just gives us an adequate amount to keep us busy and productive each day. Mostly it helps us to balance our life so that each category is given its fair share of the week. The garden doesn't get left to wither away, God doesn't get our cranky 5 minutes before our heads hit the pillow, and school doesn't become a burden rather than an opportunity to learn.Each family, and each person for that matter, will require different schedules to make their lives productive and less stressful. For me, my day starts at 5am (no, I am not perfectly on schedule yet... but certainly making every effort to get there) and ends at 9:30pm. My children do not get up until about 7am and will be back in bed by 7:30pm. Another good reason to get myself on a consistent schedule is the sleep issue. Without this I stay up all hours of the night (when my brain is groggy and less productive) trying to accomplish what my late morning couldn't and wasting far too many hours re-doing what could have been tackled in less than half the time with a clear head. This schedule gives me my best hours (mornings and afternoons) to get through the brain work.
Because my children are still quite young, you will notice I did not block out a single portion of "school time" as their attention span is not built for that right now. So my schedule looks incredibly chaotic to accommodate their busy little minds. You may also notice that it jumps back and forth between "school" and activity/outside play. I feel this is best because I can get their minds to engage in something and then they have time to just have fun (although my idea of school is to have fun and learn while doing it!). Plus those moments allow me to get some of the chores and activities of my day done, without the kiddos feeling like mommy is not engaged enough. It will be some give and take, and the kiddos will be learning about doing their chores this year also. :) I'm glad they still love to help around the house (except cleaning their rooms.... ahem!) and I want to continue encouraging that love of maintaining our home together.
One of the best tips that I read (I'll try to update with a link when I find which blog I got this from..) was to make a list of priorities for the day. They recommended 1-3, but realistically I am finding myself with 3-5 "must do" items of the day. You will see on the schedule pictured above that there is a specific category for these priorities (and also a supplies list so I know what I need to tackle the day) on the right side of the schedule. Those get special notice and are your "as long as I have done or tried to do these things, it was a successful day" list. Let me tell you, in the few weeks that I have been doing that, I have tackled so much more of my to-do's than ever before! Knowing where you need to focus really helps you to jump in and get the job done. It stares me in the face as if to say "no excuses! this is what needs done, now make a way" and I sure do love crossing them off when I finish them. My goal is always to get to mark off as much as I can each day. (That's the fun part... well, that and knowing "I did ALL this"!) Not every day will feel as great as the days you tackle more than you thought possible, but making those steps toward your goal still feels good and you can be proud knowing that you are making your way toward the things that make you feel like you accomplished life, are living it well and to the best of your ability.
Really our schedule is about priorities and balance with a dash of spontaneity thrown in. Hopefully this creates the home environment I truly desire for our family as we dive in to our busiest season! I will try to keep you updated, as blogging is one of the goals of each week. But like last week... life does not always go as planned and you make do, and then make every effort to get back on schedule.
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