Well, it's been a hot minute since I last wrote a blog article. We've had a bit happening here with school holidays and some medical stuff I needed to attend to. If you don't already know, I have 4 children, so statistically, I'm going to be dealing with at least one of them getting sick during winter. Yes, for all my northern hemisphere friends, we live in Australia so we are in the middle of winter. Frankly, it's not that cold here but my measuring stick is snow on the ground so that isn't saying much.
Moving on, we had school holidays which was super fun and I could write a whole lot about that but I'll just say, we had 3 weeks. We had one activity to do each day with three rest days. The activities ranged from decluttering bedrooms to art and cooking classes. I fully embraced being home with the children and loved the quality time. I know it can be stressful for some families, but for me, I love the school holidays.
Now we are back at school and time for routine, schedule and structure. One of my main roles in our family is working out the schedule. It's important that our children are given opportunities for them to explore and develop their talents and interests but I also think they thrive on balance. I decided they can do a sport and music- just one! Even that is 8 things a week if they all do something. Luckily my youngest is 2 so he isn't needing anything more at the moment.
I have tried a lot of different ways to run a schedule. Right now, we have embraced an online calendar through google. This works as I can send all invites and details to my husband and we are both on the same page about the schedule. However, my children need a visual schedule so I make both a weekly and monthly planner chart which belongs on our fridge. The weekly chart outlines our regular appointments and activities. Our monthly chart also has these on them but it also has other appointments such as dentist or events such as parties or school meetings etc.
I have found that as a parent I am constantly making decisions and filling my brain with important information about myself or my family members. When I can write it down it appears to free up brain space and I am less likely to get decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is a real issue for many parents and learning how to schedule properly is one way to avoid this trap.
Your challenge this week is to work out a system for planning and scheduling which works for you or see if you can better the system for planning which you already have. I was super hesitant to go to an online calendar but I can see the benefits however I haven't lost the paper copy either.
What do you need to plan? Well, that depends on if you go paper or digital but you need some way to record your upcoming events. Also, by doing this you know your capacity and you don't overcommit yourself and send yourself towards burnout. I really love the block out method where you chunk time out of your week for certain tasks and then dedicate your time to that task alone.
Here are a few examples of paper planners you can print and edit. Feel free to download and use or be creative and come up with your own. I always feel slightly time poor so I try not to reinvent the wheel.
Also, stores like Kmart here in Australia have some very inexpensive planner pads. I use their monthly planner pad which is about A3 size. I have also used just a plain piece of paper and ruled up a calendar grid myself in the past which works just as well. The budget for planning tools is really unlimited so know your limits and resources.
I really like this quote from American educator and businessman, Stephen Covey because it reminds us that life is not about filling up our day with things. Life is about making choices each day which will give us the most fulfilment and joy. When you are scheduling, think about what is most important to you. Think about how you really want to fill your time. Make personal reflections to see if how you are spending your time is really reflective of the life you want to live. Are you surviving or thriving? I believe how we schedule our time will be a good measuring stick.
Reach out and send us an email at home-centred@outlook.com or contact us on socials if you would like any support with your scheduling or planning or any other home centred topic. I'd love to hear how you go with your planning. What is working well? What could be improved? Contact us today! Helping families and individuals to thrive at home is what we do best!
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