Falling Into New Schedules :: Back to School
We’re back to school and that means a complexity of activities, after-school functions, running around after four kids, and homework (my least favorite of all). As I checked through the school calendars for the year, back-to-school nights, and fall football games, I decided to really dig into my trusty calendar and set myself up for success this year!
I really am one of those people who live and die by my calendar, but I realized that leaving out a few essential elements in my planning was causing a lot of stress in my day-to-day life. I do commute a good bit so driving is a big part of my week, and being late really throws me off my A-game. So timing (and planning is everything)!
Things I Added to My Calendar This Fall:
- Days school is closed and for which kid
- After-school parent nights
- Fall sporting events for school
- Expected travel for me or my husband
- Days I know I need help transporting kids (and the name of the person who is helping)
- Drive Time (this one is huge!): When I know I’ll be in the car a while, I mark that time off on my calendar so that I make sure I leave in enough time to be there, and that I don’t let something else fall into its spot.
- Date Nights: I’m committing to every other Friday, even if it’s just a quick 1-hour dinner to have an adult conversation and be together.
- BIG CHUNKS: Sometimes I have a really important meeting, a call with my business coach, or a project I’m really invested in. This means I need to save big chunks of time on my calendar, usually 2-3 hours, to make sure I’m allocating enough attention in my week to process and work.
- All the doctors, dentist, and orthodontist appointments (and I even moved some around to get multiple kids to the same place on the same day) – WIN!
- Fall semester holidays: Fall Break, Christmas Break, etc.
- Hunting Season dates (I won’t be caught off guard if I’m prepared)
- Time to schedule fall family photos for my Christmas card. Seriously, it’s ridiculous but at Back-to-School, it’s only 14 weeks from Thanksgiving, and I know I’ll run out of time.
- Anything else that you know is going to catch you off guard over the next four months.
Here are a few things I haven’t yet figured out, but I’m thinking about adding in too: exercise time (3x per week), meal planning (I hate figuring out what’s for dinner), and friend dates. These are equally as important as the rest, but I’m just not quite there yet!
