Schedules

This has been our first week back into our fall schedule. We purposely took out all scheduled activities for the summer. I was looking forward to spending days at the pool and not having anything that had to be done. While sleeping late and having a lazy summer was nice, I am enjoying getting back into our schedule.

I have said before that I work better with a schedule and I am already finding that I am getting more things accomplished and have more energy this week than I had all summer. Having things scheduled at a certain time helps me to get tasks done that I don’t necessarily enjoy. For example, today at nap time I have scheduled time to go through the stack of mail on my desk and balance the check book. Since I know that is what is on the schedule, I can prepare myself for the task and just jump in and get it done.

This can also be a good way to tackle getting started exercising. Although I usually enjoy my exercise time, not everyone does and believe me, sometimes I don’t feel like doing it! But, if it is scheduled into my day, I am less likely to skip out. After all, what else will I do during that scheduled time? Watch TV? Maybe, but then I would feel guilty the whole time knowing that I was really supposed to be exercising! Our schedule helps hold us accountable to the things that need to be done. So, even if you resist scheduling (like my husband), give it a try. Take baby steps and start with scheduling the big tasks you typically avoid. You don’t have to schedule out every minute of your day.

Another way a schedule can help is with meal planning and incorporating a more healthy diet. If you have a scheduled time that you eat dinner each night, you can also schedule the time that you begin to prepare that meal. This helps to eliminate “It is 7:00 and we haven’t eaten. Let’s just grab pizza because we don’t have time to make something.” Meal planning can also be part of your schedule. Set aside a specific time each week to sit down as a family and talk about what meals you want for the next week. This also helps avoid the “what should we have for dinner?” conversation every night.

Last but not least, schedule family time. It is important to spend time together. If it is scheduled, everyone will know it is happening and it is less likely that conflicts will arise. Try having a family calendar in the kitchen so that everyone in the family knows what is going on.

You will be amazed at all of the things you can find time for when your day is more scheduled!