How many times did I post last week? What should I post this week? What's on the schedule again for Christopher's "preschool" learning? How am I going to fit Gymboree in this week? What events are coming up? The rapid-fire questions come barreling towards me as it just dawned on me that as my kids grow, so does my schedule! Having my babies get older means routines to plan, food to schedule a week ahead of time, mommy-and-me classes to make it to, activities to set up, and A LOT of stress on this mama. And it's VERY easy for all of it to become easily overwhelming but thankfully I have implemented a planning routine to keep my family organized, scheduled, and on time!
Our Busy Family
Let me start with the low-down on our family, so you can get a feel of what craziness I'm talking about...
- Two kids: A crazy 2, almost 3 year old boy and a rambunctious just learned how to crawl 7, almost 8 month old little girl!
- We are currently looking into putting our son into t-ball for the spring while I also do daily preschooling at home with him.
- We just started my daughter in Gymboree (kind of like a mommy-and-me class) that she will go to at least once a week, most likely twice though. I did this with my son who loved it and also gained a lot of learning from it. But it also needs individual time so I will have to hand my toddler off to my mother-in-law during this time.
- A husband that works Monday - Friday, while also in the middle of going to school for a shift in career and has a lot of time coming up where he will be away for the army. I mean A LOT - he will soon be gone for one month, return for two days, leave for three, be gone for two weeks, and then will move to a different state to start our future before moving the rest of our family up there.
- Since we currently live in an apartment and our lease will be up soon, we will be packing up to move in with my mom for a couple of months until we figure out our living situation in the new state.
- And I am finding stolen moments in-between it all to sit down to drink some coffee and write all of these posts!
Pick the Perfect Planner
It's okay, go right ahead and treat yourself with the perfect planner. Trust me you deserve it, for you and your family. Because as us moms all know, the best way to calm the craziness, stress, and confusion is to get things a little more organized!
My personal favorite are The Happy Planners. They come in three sizes: classic, big, and mini. I always opt to chose the classic size which is around 8″ by 10″ because it is easy to carry around and fits in my daughter's diaper bag or purse really well. It comes with laminated covers, which I appreciate a lot because usually my planners get pretty destroyed throughout the year plus my kids tend to want to check out everything in their sight - destroying things in another way. I chose the one above, which reads "It's the Little Things" with a cactus design.
Most of the planners come with an 18 months worth of pages, but I chose to go with a 12 month one, extending the entire year (January - December). It also comes with monthly and weekly spreads bound by discs that I love because I think that they are easier to navigate through, provide a great opportunity to take out and put back, and also put in some add-on pages. I use the weekly spreads, which is divided into three sections, as main focus points for that day. Usually using the top as any activities/events/appointments that I need to make it to for the family, the middle for anything having to do with the blog (posts to publish, social media to act on, etc.) and the last as extra family planning (food planning for that day, etc.). And for the monthly spread, I usually write down any large events going on, things that I CANNOT forget.
I also love the pretty aspect of it. It has a lot of space for decorating, which I don't often do but I do like the fact that I have the option to. Because I would love to be someone who decorates her planner, but if I’m being honest, it’s not something I really want to spend time on when I’m busy. Each month also comes with a "pre-month" page that you can write monthly goals, favorites for the month, doses of happiness throughout the month, and an extra space for important tasks.
Whew, that was a lot of information on one planner! But I speak so highly of it because I think highly of it. It is a product that I have used for a few years now - going with me from being a Freshman in college, to working at the hospital, and now carrying me through motherhood.
How to Start Planning
Move into the planner - take the time to go through your old planner, packing up any important aspects and moving it over to the new.Writing any important information for the new year such as holidays, kid commitments (activities, clases, etc.), and birthdays. Do NOT rely on your memory, write them all down for the entire year.
Designate an area for important family commitments, business commitments, and personal commitments. Or whatever categories fit into your lifestyle. This is especially easy to do within the vertical weekly spreads.
*Pro tip: Write all appointment and reminds in pencil or on a sticky note! We all know how fluid a mom and kid's calendar is. Between cancellations and sick times, being able to erase and correct entries in the planner is a quick and easy easy to keep your planner looking nice and not as chaotic as the real thing.*
Keeping it Organized
Keep two separate lists: daily to-do and long-term to-do. Write an updated to-do list every morning for the day or evening for the following day. Crossing off the completed tasks and carrying the undone ones to the next day. Remember to keep your daily list lean, adding the tasks that you absolutely need to do. Write a longer list of projects and tasks on a the side of the monthly spread that you don't have an immediate deadline for.
Carry the planner with you and use it for taking notes. It can be hard to keep track of everything in our lives, especially with "mom brain". But keeping your planner close can keep you better on track for the times that you find things on your phone, get things constantly handed to you, or when random thoughts pop into your head.
Try to keep track of the things you DO complete. I like to write a huge line through the box of the weekly spread. I can still read the content written on the page, but when I quickly glance at it, I can clearly see that I don't need to pay attention to what tasks are in that box and move on, or see that I need to carry that information onto a different day.
Comments