Getting Back on Track: Part 1 - The Schedule
This week and next, my main focus to help me get back on track with home organization for this new year is our household schedule.Due to recent changes with my husband's job situation, I've tweaked our schedule yet again and am hoping this schedule lasts for at least a few months - though I am learning the art and quality of flexibility at this season of my life!
Here's what the tweaked schedule looks like:
| Crystal | Kathrynne | Kaitlynn | ||
| Kaitlynn up/Nurse/Quiet Time | Sleep | Nurse | ||
| Exercise | Sleep | Play on floor | ||
| Shower/Dress/Start Laundry (Monday-strip beds) | Sleep | To bed | ||
| Breakfast with Jesse/Make his lunch | Sleep | Sleep | ||
| Switch laundry/Make tea/take vitamins | Sleep | Sleep | ||
| Check email/moderate comments | Sleep | Sleep | ||
| Check deal websites and post on MSM/Computer off | Sleep | Sleep | ||
| Girls up and dressed/Kathrynne potty | Wake up | Wake up | ||
| Kathrynne breakfast/Kaitlynn nurse/Read Genesis 1/ABC verse book/Kathrynne's Bible - one story | Breakfast | Nurse | ||
| Clean up kitchen/Sweep floor | Tracing sheets | Swing or play on floor | ||
| Fold and put away one load of laundry (Monday - make beds) | Potty/Reading video | Watch video with Kaitlynn | ||
| Put Kaitlynn down/Daily Jobs - Listen to sermon online | Help mama | Nap | ||
| Monthly job | Play with Legos or a game | Nap | ||
Make dinner/lunch | Help mama | Nap | ||
| Extra baking or cleaning/Switch laundry | Play with blocks | Nap | ||
| Pick up/School and lunch ready | Read books | Nap | ||
| Kaitlynn up/Nurse/Lunch/Alpha-Phonics/ Numbers chart/ABC cards/Nature story | Lunch/school | Nurse | ||
| Kathrynne to bed - 2 picture books/Nurse Kaitlynn/read | To bed | Nurse | ||
| Kaitlynn to bed/BW Blogging | Nap | Nap | ||
| More blogging or website work | Nap | Nap | ||
| MSM blogging | Nap | Nap | ||
| Answer emails (MWF) Orders ready (T TH) | Nap | Nap | ||
| Quick Pick up/Get dinner ready | Nap | Nap | ||
| Girls up/Nurse and Work with Kathrynne | Violin (MWF) Sewing (T TH) | Nurse | ||
| Time with Jesse/Sewing | Kathrynne set table/Play with Daddy | Play with daddy | ||
| Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | ||
| Baths and Kitchen clean up | Baths | Baths | ||
| Family worship and reading time - sewing/nurse | Family worship and reading time - sewing | Family worship and reading time/nurse | ||
| Girls to bed/Evening routine | Sleep | Sleep | ||
| Reading/bedtime | Sleep | Sleep |
I put in a blank two-hour time slot on the spreadsheet from 1-3 p.m. which you can't see here. I've left this open for either errands we need to run, extra things which come up, or our Friday trip to the library. I'm testing this out to see if this is a help or hindrance.
I found with my previous schedules that if we needed to run errands or had something come up, the schedule would end up going out the window for pretty much the entire day. So I decided to plan for these interruptions ahead of time. If we don't have any, then I have two extra hours in my day!
Next up in this series: I'll be sharing more about our household cleaning schedule and daily and monthly jobs.
Do you have a schedule or routine at your house? How do you deal with interruptions that come up so that they don't throw your whole day off? I'd especially love to hear suggestions and ideas from seasoned mothers.
Graphic from Art.com
Labels: Getting Back on Track, Homemaking
posted by Crystal Paine at 7:54 AM
32 Comments:
Ah the fabulous schedule when everyone took a nap....I miss it! lol. Keep up the great schedule, it looks like you are doing a fabulous job mom!! :)
My schedule is a bit more open since God has not blessed us with children yet but I also find that unless I plan for "disruptions" on errand days, that day is pretty much lost in terms of staying on schedule. :)
We find routines and schedules to be vitally important. I stay home with our three daughters (ages 4,3 and 2) and everything is easier when they know what to expect (and what is expected of them) next.
I try to keep all errands for one day. I plan shopping, Dr appts, visits as much as possible for that day. Of course, sometimes someone is sick or something comes up, but one day is my goal. Helps with gas costs too.
I struggle with the computer- sometimes spend too much time reading blogs, so I need to tweak my schedule to allow time for the computer for me. I've been just fitting it in when I can but I think I stay on too long when I do that.
Shannon
There are certain times of the day when I do not want the interruption of the telephone. Even during our evening meal, if the phone rang, some people in our family were tempted to jump up to see if it was "one of their friends"---ahhh, teenagers---! So during that half hour or so, the phone just simply is taken off the hook. When we are done, I replace it. I have found that there has never been such an emergency that it could not wait until after our supper. This time is sacred. They grow up so fast and their visits from college go by so quickly....Enjoy every meal that you are able to share together. These are the times that shape, teach, and strenthen you as a family. God bless you!
My problem with staying on schedule is that my husband has a VERY irregular work schedule. He is an ER nurse and works from 9am to 9pm 3 or 4 days a week, but the days always change. I would always get so frustrated with carefully planning out my weekly schedule, only to have it change every week. Anyone else out there with this problem? Here's what I've been trying (and it seems to be working) the past few weeks:
I wrote up a schedule for 7 different days: errand day, cleaning day, God's day, activity day, family day, etc Then I look at my husband's schedule a week ahead of time and try to plug in the days where they will work best (i.e. I do errand and cleaning days when he is at work, so we can have family day, etc when he is off).
Also, for years I've always been trying to get up really early and have devotions/get a lot of stuff done before the kids wake up. This of course means I am usually exhausted and heading for bed by the time my husband comes home. God recently convicted me of this. My husband still wants and deserves a warm welcome, even if he's walking in the door at 9:30 instead of 5:30. So, I've arranged to wake up early enough to have devotions and dress before the kids wake up--that's it. The other things can get done after they go to bed.
Hope this helps someone else out there trying to deal with a husband's erratic work schedule.
One thing that you did that works BEST for us...is creating a detailed schedule, but leaving off the times. We have a 3, 7, 9, and 14 yr. old, so everyday I have all kinds of different 'interruptions' to our schedule. I don't want to be a 'slave' to my schedule so we just try to keep going on the list after an interruption. Rather than worrying about getting behind on time...we just keep going. Usually we catch up later, by accomplishing something else quicker than planned. If I have the specific times written down, I feel like I'm off all day, if I don't go exactly by what I've written...so, it just works better for us to do a schedule without times.
Have a wonderful day!!
Christy
I don't live with a schedule! Ahhh!! Gasp!! I am a SAHM who homeschools, and works M&W at our church. I don't like schedules....too rigid for me. I need flexibility. Is there anyone else who dislikes schedules and still manages to keep their homes in order? OR Am I the only one?
Mrs. Johnson
They stay asleep while you get up and do things? That is nice! Even when they were littler, if they hear me at all, they are awake and sitting on my lap or hanging on me.
I like to keep the two hour block in the afternoon when the little ones are napping as "open time" where I don't have anything specifically scheduled. That way I can use that time for whatever is most pressing. I usually finish up whatever chores haven't been completed yet and have some time on the computer or writing letters. It works best for me to have that flexible window of time each day so that the remaining hours can be more structured.
I am so impressed. You are such an inspiration. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Mama! Im a long time lurker here. Maybe a year or maybe two, cant remember, anyway..
Great Schedule! I have mine posted on the right of my blog. ;)
Hey I was being nosey in your archives and noticed that at one time you were using Fuzzibunz. How are those working for you?
Thanks in advance for answering my nosey Q.
Vicki
Oh, I see you wanted to know how we deal with interruptions!
I find that I need to plan on interruptions, that way they do not mess up my whole day. I keep things really smply scheduled as when I over schedule it messes things up more. Keeping things loose helps so when unexpected things happen, like needing to go to the grocery store on a odd day, or I forgot to return a library book or a sick child messed up my errand day, and then frustration is kept lower.
Wow, what time do you get up in the morning?
I noticed that you have Kathrynne doing violin. Do you use a particular program for that? No one I have talked to seems to know about teaching kids instruments prior to age 5 or so. If you have any references or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
I find that making the schedule a tool is usually best. I have a 8, 6, 4, 18 mo and I homeschool and am currently single parenting due to military deployment. If something is a 10 min quick job, I schedule 15 min. If it is 15 min or more, it gets a 30 min time slot. That way, I know I have some breathing room. Everything will not get done every day, but I just keep on moving along with it.
Trying to plan errands for one day is a great one for me, too. Once I am overwhelmed with the children and running around town, I am not worth anything once I get home. "Getting back on track" hardly ever works. So, streamlining errands is great for me, too.
I have found that timed schedules are a great tool for keeping you accountable and on track, but they also can have their drawbacks. When I used a timed schedule I used to get stressed out whenever something came up that caused us to fall behind. It was exhausting trying to rush through everything to get us back into the right time slot. I now have two schedules. I still use the timed schedule and when there are no major interruptions it is invaluable, but on days when things come up I switch to an untimed schedule. It still basically has much of the same tasks on it but I no longer feel like I am racing with the clock. I am free to just do the next thing. I am able to prioritize and do what I can without being constantly reminded of how far behind schedule I am. This has worked very well for me.
I am just re-working our schedule too Crystal. It's going to be pretty much the same as it was the past 6 months, with a few minor adjustments for shorter naps for our 1 and 1/2 year old.
I too have a 2 hour block after lunch for grocery shopping, appointments, trips to the park, etc. etc. I have kept it this was the past 6 months and really like it!
Also, our 4 and 1/2 year old doesn't take a nap in the afternoon, but she does have about a 2 hour "quiet time" in her room.
I don't like to watch the clock all day, so I guess I'm more of a routine girl, but I think some order and schedule is very important. Brings smiles to everyone’s faces!
I, too, don't like the rigidity of a schedule. I think I have a tendency to be too Type A and any minor thing could throw the whole thing off, leaving me very frustrated. Also, my husband is in school to become a nurse and I know the time will come when our days are like Phebe's. So we have daily routines, but no scheduled times for anything. Basically that means we just have an order in which we do things, so if there is an interruption we can easily modify what we're doing.
Hope that made sense and was what you asked for. :)
Catherine, I know you asked Crystal but I thought I'd add my two cents, if you don't mind. My mom started me on violin at a young age and I used to teach violin to little ones. I used the Suzuki method and from my experience both learning and teaching it was great for small children! Lots of playing, parental involvement, ear training, and easily modified for small attention spans.
I have a detailed daily schedule but have found it better not to assign a certain time to each task and rather to focus on doing things in a certain order. Otherwise it's so easy to have the whole schedule thrown to the wind should one interruption crop up. Instead I list things in order of priority and do them in that order. Some days I'm done with chores by lunchtime and others I'm finishing after supper or the next day. Oh, well!
Hi Crystal,
What our "flock" :) does is something called Calendar Time.
We have 4 boys aged 13, 9, 5 and 9months. Every Sunday evening, we all gather around our table, each with our own "calendar" (I'll lug in my huge, desk-top calendar, DH grabs his blackberry, 13 y.o. will get his school calendar from his binder, 9 y.o. brings an empty notebook that he labels each page as a day, our 5 year old helps me write things down and of course the baby just sits on someone's lap and enjoys...).
We'll then start with the next day, Monday, and each person participating will announce their plans/schedules for that day so we can all write them down. We go through the whole week doing this.
What I'll usually share is doctor's appt's, dinner schedules, kids piano lessons, etc. DH will share any obligations he may have outside his 9-5 work day, such as having to take a client to dinner, 13 y.o. announces any band concerts he has coming up, soccer schedules, etc, and 9 y.o. will share important things in his day, such as a chess game or tournament he has coming up.
After we share our week's obligations, we then talk about the things we'd "like" to get done...a time I'd like to go to the church and do some mural painting (one of the Lord's gifts to me), my DH may be interested in finding a block of time good to work on home improvement, 13 y.o. may share wanting to see a movie with a friend, and 9 y.o. may be looking to have a friend spend the night.
After we have all "syncronized" our calendars, we give our plans over to the Lord in prayer.
Not only do we feel more organized and in touch will each family member's schedule, but we've walked away with the security that Jesus holds our week's events in His hands and we've willingly given them to Him.
Kinda long to explain all that, sorry! I really couldn't figure out how to reduce it.
This is a real staple in our family and everyone benefits from it, on many levels. We love it and DH and I love the thought of sowing this seed in our boys as someday they may very well be sitting around a table heading it up with their own families. God is so good!!
~Kris
Now that my kids are 8 and 5 - our schedule has become more flexible.
Some things that pretty much stay the same are:
everyone up by 6:30
school begins at 8:00 - lasts until about 10:30
lunch around 12:00
rest time/quiet time 1-2:00 pm
finish school 2-3:00 pm
supper around 5:30
bedtime (children) 7-7:30 pm
I don't worry too much if school starts 1/2 hr later or if we skip school in the morning, go to the park on a beautiful day and then do school in the afternoon.
I think our life is simple enough that there is enough flex in it.
I think you miss out on a lot if you are too tied to a schedule...
That is part of what I love so much about homeschooling - we are not tied to a certain school schedule or school year. We can travel when we want, take time off when grandma comes to visit etc.
These replies are GREAT! Keep them coming ladies! I hope to post ours when I have more time tonight.
Forming (good) habits are essential but so is the ability to be flexible. Relationships must take precedence over tasks - we won't get rewarded for how clean our house was, but we will for how we loved others.
Interruptions? They are a constant. I had a dear friend with nine children say once, "Interruptions were an appointment with God."
I, too, have a daily schedule, posted on my fridge. :D I've found that keeping meals, naptimes, school work, etc., on a basic routine greatly helps set the tone for the day and also lets my girls (ages 4 yrs and 18 mos) know what is expected of them. I'm not a seasoned mom by any means- I'm still learning, just like you! I do try to be flexible with routine so that interruptions don't completely throw me off. Not OVER planning my day helps a lot in this area- I make a lot of "to do" lists for the week, not just the day, so that if I don't get something done today I know I can plunge in again and finish things up tomorrow. I thrive off details, schedule, and routine, but I also strive to make room in our day for spontaneity... keeps life exciting!
This is a great schedule! Oh how I miss the days of my young lass taking a long afternoon nap!
I am so missing nappers! My littlest naps ... but my oldest three do not. And it feels like a long way back that I had a dedicated afternoon of quiet. :) I'm getting used to it ... but reading your schedule gave me a little envy! We still try to do a quietish afternoon but right now, I have one napping and three who are constantly interrupting or in trouble today. And on normal weeks we are still finishing a little school in the afternoon. So, I am REALLY missing the peace and quiet.
I think your schedule looks great, btw.
Sorry I don't have time to read all the other comments but If you get a chance can you post a little about what you sew and are you teaching Kathrynne yet?
Just interested.
Blessings
That was great to read. I just had my little one four weeks ago, and I'm beginning to see the importance of a "loose" schedule. This post really inspires me to get my life back on track. It's been so unpredictable lately.
As a mom of four who homeschools our two youngest and also runs a home business (I proofread for court reporters), a timed schedule simply wouldn't work for me -- I have too many balls in the air at once and there are too many possibilities to throw things off.
On the other hand, I do value being very organized. Instead of a timed schedule, I have flexible goals for each day. If I don't get something done, I simply reschedule it for the next day with a couple clicks of the mouse.
I use a Palm and find the "desktop" section on my computer even more important than the portable handheld device. It's a great time-saver as far as being able to calendar recurring events, like mailing birthday cards on time or scheduling dr. checkups. I have recurring reminders for everything from annual things like reminding my husband to call his mother on her b'day to ironing the Christmas tablecloth a couple days ahead of Christmas, to regular weekly tasks like washing the bedding and mopping the kitchen or planning the next week's menus. I love having these calendared permanently so I don't have to spend hours copying over my calendar from one year to the next.
I can set a timer for things like returning library books a day or two in advance so I don't forget. And when certain tasks need to roll over to the next day, I simply move it to the next date, without making a mess of my calendar. (I used to do all this in a Day Planner type book.)
I would personally be uncomfortable getting up each day feeling that I am "supposed" to be doing particular things in certain time frames...I'd feel a bit like a cog in the wheel or a slave to the clock. I'm already committed enough to getting so many things done each day without serving the clock too! But that's just me. For others following the clock may be what they need to stay on track.
Most importantly, if I need to roll things over to the next day on the schedule, even multiple times, it's important not to sweat it if it's not a critical issue (like, say, meeting a client deadline or having your taxes done on time!)...it all does get done sooner or later!
Best wishes,
Laura
Great responses. I have my shell of schedule on my site here => http://www.homemakingorganized.com/site/content/view/155/107/
It's just me and the little one while daddy is at work and she's a live wire but she does thrive on routine. There are a few moments in the day when she'll sit and read or color but if you're not hands one with my Peanut she'll find something to get into. So on that note I don't have a set time for everything just a rough order of how I would like to do it. And if it doesn't get done the world will go on. Food and clean laundry are at the top of the list.
We keep errands to 2 days a week. Saturday and one weekday, with the weekday being optional. The errand day of course is different because outings tire the little one earlier. I do my errands if possible before noon because I don't like rush hour traffic.
Children are funny too and have these internal clocks. My Peanut will let me know when it's time for certain things. She just knows. Whether through her body language or just telling me out and out "lunch!". I've seen that through 6 foster children.
Your schedule looks great! What are you teaching Kathryn as far as sewing and violin, if you don't mind me asking? Also, what sermons online do you listen to?
I need a schedule! What time does your day "officially" begin and end?
How did you get your daughters on a feeding/nap schedule? Did you use Babywise? My 6 month old is not on a nap schedule (though he does have a 2-2 1/2 hour feeding schedule), and I'm wondering if I should try to put him on a nap schedule or just put him down when he acts tired. There are times that I try to put him down and he doesn't even act tired, so do I force him and just wait until he falls asleep?
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