I've become a schedule person

Before three kids, ya'll, I honestly flew by the seat of my pants with plans and life. We would just hop in the car without prep, and bring our kids to everything.

But then boom...three kids. Our whole world is upside down! What the heck happened? 😂

It takes us almost AN HOUR to leave the house with every person's needs met. Everyone's crying. Everyone's pooping. Everyone is hungry. "Hold on a sec — did you pee before you got in the car? Alright, get back out and go." "WHERE ARE YOUR PANTS?" That's life, ya'll. 

This too is just a season, we remind ourselves, and look forward to slightly older ages where diapers aren't our reality, and everyone can walk proficiently without falling on their faces and needing 7 stitches (true story).

So, insert the scheduling lifestyle here.

I am still not a rigid planner, but I like to have a *general* overview of what our day and week will look like. Because let's be honest, I've got a lot to keep up with and I lose my train of thought on a daily basis. I will literally walk into a room on a mission, but then stop and ask myself...wait, what did I come in here for again?

I don't know about you, but I cannot stand to waste one minute. I like to feel productive, accomplished and not feel lost in my day. When I feel lost, I feel stressed and I start freaking out I'm not making the best use of the time and then I am not a happy person to be around. I know what you're thinking — I need to chill out. 😹

WELL having a schedule is how I can c h i l l.

I start by generally mapping out what our week will look like on Sunday night. It helps me orient my brain after a weekend of no schedules, and helps me ensure we make the best use of our time. I also get weirdly excited about making tons of plans and seeing them nicely fill out my squares. 😅

I break the day up into sections:

• 8-10 a.m.
• 10 a.m.-noon
• noon - 2 p.m.
• 2-4 p.m.
• 4-6 p.m.
• 6-8 p.m.
• 8 p.m. & on

Within these time frames, I will put 1-2 general goals of what I want to accomplish. Here's what a typical Monday might look like:

• 8-10 a.m.
• Bible time + Breakfast
• workout
• 10 a.m.-noon
• daily chores: 1 load of laundry, vacuum, clutter
• park play date
• noon - 2 p.m.
• lunchtime
• clean up
• 2-4 p.m.
• Mav + Hollyn naptime
• Diesel: Awanas, handwriting, numbers, spatial awareness puzzles
• me: work
• 4-6 p.m.
• me: work
• kids yoga or get outside
• make dinner: bbq chicken sandwiches & potato wedges
• 6-8 p.m.
• dinner
• family walk
• bedtime!
• (8 p.m. & on)
• work
• ME TIME!

 

*Also to note: I don't always get to the things I have on my list! And I'm good with that — as long as I get most of them. I change my mind and like I said, I'm not rigid. Sometimes it's raining, so we do a sensory activity or craft instead. (I have a whole Pinterest board of kid ideas if you want to follow, organized by focuses. I reference this board on the reg, and apparently 23K other people do too according to my Pinterest analytics, which is kinda cray cray.  Come join the party friend!)

I leave the schedule out on the counter just as a reminder in the kitchen — basically because I am almost ALWAYS in the kitchen. I reference it like an old lady who doesn't use technology. Tons of notifications on my phone/watch stress me out so I turn them *all* off. I only put major alerts in my calendar that require me to actually be somewhere, have it remind me an hour before, and when I need to leave to get there on time.

So, yes there's my process! If you think this would help you too, I'm sharing a cuuuute copy of the schedule grid I use! You can print it at home and put it in a binder or you can send it to Fedex Office or Office Depot to get it printed and bound in a spiral like this!

The cover is just a simple doodle I did, with some fun lettering, and inside it looks like this (minus the handwriting!) It is all fill-in-the blank so you can make your schedule your own in pretty little boxes.

You can get this for FREE with the code "simplifyolife" on my etsy. Enjoy, friend.

By the way, what is your process? I'd love to know. I am always looking to improve my systems and processes!