Being organized, getting ahead of the game, being prepared for all the things is a wonderful feeling. But sometimes, all those things that you are responsible for, begin to be more than it feels like you can even handle.
What to do, right?
Can I be a little open and honest about something right now? I am way more stressed about the upcoming week than I’d like to be. There are to-do’s on my plate that I’m not entirely sure I want to be there...
But the reality is: THEY ARE. For now at least...
So I’m sharing my plan on how I'm going to get past the 'it's not even Monday (and I want to cry and give up already)' feeling. Maybe it can help you if you are in the same boat??
What are you doing with your day? Where is all of your time being spent?
Take a few days to a week writing down how you are currently spending ALL of your time.
Jot it all down in a notebook or in your planner - doesn't need to be fancy, just keep it visible so you remember to track your time.
I think we'll all be surprised at the pockets of time that are available to get things done!
List them out from what is most important to you, down to the least important items. Yes, you will have things on there that have to happen (feeding kids/getting groceries/etc).
Those have to be included on the list since, regardless of your feelings about how much you are in the kitchen, it's reality.
This is totally easier said than done. I realize that. So if there are things you can’t eliminate with one swift crossing-off-the-list motion, figure out the steps you need to take to get that unimportant, time-stealing item off your list.
If you can cross something off though right away- oh my word, DO ITTTTT!!!
Hate grocery shopping? Order online & pick up your groceries. Or, better yet, have them delivered!
Not a fan of vacuuming? Get a robot vacuum (ps. There are less expensive brands that work great!!)
Tired of cleaning up the toys all.day.long?? Create a toy rotation system!!
Be creative, even if it's a little unconventional or people think you're weird. Who cares!! This is about what works for YOU - not what works for someone else!
I’m really talking about the things that have to stay on the list, but there aren’t great hacks for.
Such as meal planning (although technically there are hacks for this!), but if you don’t want to pay for something like eMeals, then you have to create a system that makes it easy to get the meal planning done.
I do “themed” days for my week to make these other must-do items happen. Mondays are for planning, Tuesdays are for errands, and so on. This is a huge help when it comes to getting tasks done, but not feeling like I have a huge amount to-do every single day. Because there is already a plan for it.
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It can totally work for some people, for a period of time. But it’s not a place that is easy to stay in for long. And as your family grows and everyone begins to have their own schedule, having a day that is dedicated to all things planning, will help keep you organized (and keep your sanity!).
I think the importance of having a planning day, where planning is your only focus, can be super freeing.
And that’s because your focus is on planning, not stressing over running to the store, or getting all the laundry done, or even huge amounts of cleaning.
You will need to do all the things anyway, at some point. Usually, you just end up stressed, late, and exhausted.
But when you implement a planning day, which really is probably just a couple hours of your day, you can alleviate some of the crazy that comes from doing everything on the fly and last minute.
1. Start with comfy clothes & coffee
This is not errand day, sister!! You are staying in and planning your week. Keep your comfy clothes on and coffee warm in your cup!!
2. Get out your planner
Each week for my planning day I bust out my most favorite planner system, my Happy Planner. I religiously fill it out on a weekly basis, because it sets me up for having my "you know what" together for the rest of the week.
It helps me focus on the daily tasks I need to accomplish, without feeling the need to try to do everything all at once. Because there is a scheduled time for (almost) everything.
You can get a Happy Planner system like the one I have, or just grab yourself a copy of my Perfect Weekly Planner for Moms (the one pictured above is in my Printables Library, you can get access by clicking below - for free!!).
3. Get to Planning!
The specific items I "plan" on my planning day are:
Planner work: This is the time I take to actually write in everything into my planner.
Things like our schedule, appointments, my daily tasks, and menu for the week. Plus any website or Etsy related tasks.
Meal Planning & related tasks: Each Planning Day (Mondays for me!) I figure out the meal plan for the upcoming week.
In addition to the Meal Plan, I create my grocery list and "shop" online using Walmart's Grocery Pick-up service (It's truly a dream come true!).
You can get a Meal planning Printable in the Printables Library as well! (Don't forget to grab it by clicking the image below!!)
Errand Planning: Since I have an "Errand Day" in my weekly schedule (Tuesday's for me) I plan out all the errands I have to do so I am only running around dragging my 5-year-old twins everyone one day, instead of 3 or 4!
Errands you could include on your Errand day would be: picking up groceries (since you've got a meal plan + grocery list), Post Office, Pharmacy or other needs, taking donations, or ???
The list is whatever things you need to accomplish - just on one day!
Chore/Cleaning Planning: I just write in the tasks I need to do each day to get the cleaning and chores done for the week.
To be completely honest here, the last thing I want to do with my time is clean. It's the worst.
But with 5 kids, certain things HAVE to happen for us to function, and leave the house with underwear on, as a family.
Writing in specific tasks on each day helps me to not feel overwhelmed by it all, get things done, yet still feel like I am not only running around and cleaning up after everyone else.
I don't think you need to kill yourself trying to get everything perfectly clean each and every day. Just write in the tasks you need to do each day to keep your house running, plus one weekly item that will help in the overall cleanliness of your home.
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As a mom to five kids, I totally understand how hectic it can get - especially as kids are getting older and begin to participate in different activities.
And the last thing you want to do is forget to get someone where they need to be or show up late for an important appointment.
We went for years without a "Family Calendar" but with anywhere from 3 to 5 kids having something going on, it became very apparent that a "Family Calendar", visible 24/7, was exactly what we needed, and you may just want to make yours too!!
We chose to go with a Large Wall Calendar (there is 7 of us!) that would leave plenty of space for me to write in all the things!!
A Large wall calendar is a great option so that you and your family can easily see what's on the schedule each day.
If you don't have the wall space or aren't in love with the idea of hanging a giant wall calendar, just print yourself a simple, blank monthly calendar!
**you can also snag a FREE Printable Calendar from my Resource Library of Printables**
This is key right here.
You are going to assign every person in your family a different color for their various activities or schedules.
That way when you begin to write in an activity, appointment, or meeting you'll be able to quickly see who it is for.
These are similar to the ones I love to use!!
*We also have assigned a color for just the general family schedule (black). Plus, a color for all of the kids combined for items that involve all the kiddos, such as no school (orange).
Take some time to write in everything that you can think of that is coming up in the near future.
Be sure to use the various colors for each member of your family!
Once you have your initial calendar set up, hang that thing up on the wall!! You are going to want to keep it visible for not only yourself but everyone else in your home.
From here on out you'll either want to write new activities or changes to your schedule right away or choose a day of the week when you update your Organized Family Calendar!
If you feel like you never get anything done, that may honestly be the case. But it also may be that you aren’t getting the right things done. The important tasks that need to be first on your to-do list.
**don’t forget to grab the Printable Planner pages below to help you with prioritizing your weekly schedule**
One of the hardest things about being a mom, I think, is just trying to manage everything. There are responsibilities galore that include your children, your home, your job, etc. And usually, there are certain things that get done without you even having to think about it.
Like feeding your kids for instance. There is no way that my five will let me forget about that!!
Things like running to the bank, making a phone call to the dentist, or remembering to pick up something at the store. Those extra to-dos that don’t really matter in terms of surviving, ya know? But they still need to get done at some point, right?
All those to-dos, big and small. Whether it’s the carpool schedule you have for the week, the meal plan you need to make, errands you need to run, or even that your toilet is so past due for getting clean it’s ridiculous and should really happen soon! Write them ALL down.
Be sure to grab the Printable Task Priority and Weekly Planners below - there’s a great spot to list out all those to-dos!
And the way you do that is by categorizing your to-dos into one of three categories:
1- “Must-dos”
These are NON-negotiables when it comes to your week. They are things you cannot change and absolutely must do. I would include things that have a very definite time slot or appointment.
Some you may have on your list could be doctors/dentist appointments, taking/picking up kids from school, meetings, work, etc. You get it. The things you can't NOT do.
2-“Necessary-to-dos”
These are still high up as far as prioritizing your weekly schedule. They are items that really do need to get done, but they just don’t have a definitive time slot or appointment scheduled.
Things you may have on your list that would fall into this category could be going to the store, making your meal plan, going to the bank, or even work projects. All things that need to happen in a timely way, but don’t already have a chunk of time set aside.
3- Nice to-dos
This is probably pretty obvious how it will fall into prioritizing your weekly schedule. But the things you categorize as your “nice-to-do” items, will be things that do NOT have a definitive time slot or appointment and do NOT matter all that much. They are just the things that would be “nice-to-do”.
Things that would fall under this category of prioritizing your weekly schedule could be things like mopping the floors (on my list of “nice to-dos”😂), meal prep (like way in advance type meal prep), or possibly research for potential vacation. But you see what I’m saying? These are things that really won’t affect the outcome of your week. So they are just “Nice to-dos”.
You are just going to start with your “Must Dos”. Those items that you’ve written in your Planner Planner “Must do” section. The things that have a specific time slot or appointment associated with them. I also think it’d be very important to write that time in to be sure you have that visible!! I also like to write these in my planner in black ink. That means it is not changeable!
**I also think it’s super fun to color-coordinate my other to-dos**
After you have your “Must-dos” written in, go ahead and write in your “Necessary to-dos”. The difference with these is that you have to choose a time slot you plan on starting/accomplishing the task. I know as a mom, life happens, so you have to have some flexibility, right? And even though these are “Necessary to do”, you may to still want to keep your options open. So I would suggest writing in pencil or use small sticky notes (the flag kind) on your planner. That way you can be flexible and move things around or erase and write in later.
The last piece of prioritizing your weekly schedule is to add in your “Nice to-dos”. But to be completely honest about these, I would NOT write them into your planner. I feel like the addition of all the “nice-to-do” items might be visually stressful. Like you may look at your planner and start to panic at all that needs to be done. Because these things aren’t really important, like eating is, I would say to leave them off your planner.
What you can do instead, and what I do, is to write them on a small sticky note. Then place said sticky on the planner in a place that’s off to the side. So you still see those items, but they aren’t in a place of importance. Because they aren't super important, really.