I am a busy woman, just like almost all of you reading this. Sometimes, I’m too busy! Between juggling the hats of mom, wife, chauffeur, farmer, and blogger I’m on the go all the time. Today is one of those days.
We woke up at 6:00 AM (Hello daylight savings time!) to get the kids ready for school and on the bus. Jason, Nora, Ari, and I need to be at an eye appointment for Nora 3 hours away at 10 AM.
After the eye appointment, we will grab lunch (I’ve heard the rumor of The Cheesecake Factory), and start the 3 hour trek home. We will meet my Aunt who generously bought Girl Scout cookies from the two older girls, and head home to pick up kids off the bus by 4 and then back to town to grab the remaining child at AWANA at 5 PM. At 6:30 wrestling starts and goes until 7:30 PM. (We’ll be skipping wrestling tonight because I need some home time and so do the kids.)
Whew. That’s a lot of car time!
How do you manage a home, work, and all the other hats you wear when life is busy?
Here are my best tips for surviving a crazy, busy schedule.
1. Understand that everyone has the same amount of time in a day. Some people are productive and some aren’t. It’s how you use your time! (If you need to try time tracking! You write down everything you do for a certain amount of time to see how you’re spending your time).
2. Know your priorities and align your schedule with those priorities. (Need help? This post can help!). Set boundaries for those things that dont line up with your priorities.
3. Find a planner that you love and use it! Some people love paperless. I don’t. (I do put reminders in my phone to alert me.) I have always been a planner fanatic and this year I’m using an Erin Condren planner. I love it but I’ve tweaked it to work for me.
My planner is divided in 3 sections: appointments, what I need to do, and blogging. I also include my meal plan, goals for each day, and reminders to drink 8 glasses of water, etc.
Make your planner your friend and use it to fit your needs! It will help you stay organized. I love having a pretty planner. It makes me happy and using Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pens,
which allow me to keep it pretty. Many people wouldn’t care if they cross something out, I care. Do what works for you!
4. Create a list of 3-5 tasks to finish each day for your to-do list. Put these in order of importance and get to work, one by one!
5. Know what’s for dinner. Even if you plan one day ahead, it will keep you from wondering what to make and getting take out.
6. Have a night time routine. Lay out everyone’s clothes the night before (including shoes, hats and gloves). Pack lunches, backpacks, and check for homework.
7. Get plenty of sleep. If the dishes have to wait until tomorrow, get some sleep. It’s more important to get your sleep than to get everything off your to-do list!
What are your best tips for surviving a crazy, busy schedule?
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I certainly remember these crazy days from when my girls were little. Yes, a paper planner and meal planning!! I could not have survived without either of those!! I have an Erin Condren planner also, love it!!
Great tips, Jenny! I love that you mentioned time tracking! 😉 It continues to help me be more intentional with how I spend my day. I’ve also started tackling my most overwhelming or time-consuming task FIRST each day, rather than putting it off until later when I’m tired and running out of energy. Accomplishing my *worst* task right away gives me a feel-good boost and I can typically knock out several more smaller tasks while I’m still on the “hey, I did it!” high. 🙂
Great advice, Jenny! It’s all about being flexible and prepared!
Yes! All of these! Specially knowing what’s for dinner and getting enough sleep. The less decisions you have to make, the easier it is to process everything else!
I love this! I need to get back to planning out my meals for the week. That helps me immensely, but takes time and effort on my part to plan it all out. Right now, both my kids don’t have sports activities, but soon baseball/softball will be starting and it will be important for me to be organized and thoughtful about my days. Thanks for your insight. Very helpful!! Much love!
Hi Jenny – I was so glad to read this post as in my online Bible Study, we were discussing the difficulties of balancing work & family. Going to share this with the group. Thank you for the practical, yet often forgotten, suggestions.
Excellent tips! I have a planner that I love too and it definitely helps keep my life a little more together. And knowing what we’re going to eat for dinner makes such a difference. I don’t always do well at planning this ahead of time, but I’m working on it and slowly getting better!
I definitely need to improve on a nighttime routine though. I kind of have a morning one in place and I’ve seen a big benefit doing that, but for some reason can’t quite get into a nighttime one!
These are great tips! I love Erin Condren planners as well as the Inkwell Press planner I’m currently using.
I have trouble prioritizing sleep over finishing my to-do list…need to work on that! I’ll be much more productive the next day if I get enough rest. 🙂
I love this! I need to get back to putting everything in pretty colors. I have been using a pencil and it is just not the same. 🙂 I also strongly agree that crossing things off a list is very satsifying. Sometimes I’ll write things on my list I’ve already accomplished that morning just so I can see something crossed off. 🙂
Great tips! I’m all about the paper planner. I love to be able to see the week at a glance. It’s a life-saver!
I love the pattern on the paper in your first picture. 🙂
Excellent post! Time management has been my biggest challenge; I think it actually goes all the way back to my teen years! My Mom was always chronically late (much to my Dad’s displeasure), so I think I picked up a bad habit way back then, and now in my late 50s, I still struggle to NOT procrastinate and to meet deadlines.
I use a combination of organizational apps on my Samsung Galaxy Note phone, as well as paper notebooks. I have one for each of a few different endeavors, such as my freelance work, my quilt business, blogging, etc.
I also use Toggl, a desktop app to track time; and sometimes I also turn on Pomodoro, to work in 25-minute segments and remember to take short 5-minute breaks.
Thanks for sharing!
Love the idea of choosing 3-5 tasks to complete. I’m going to give that one a try. I have been working on prioritizing better so I can find my happy balance 🙂
I totally agree with having a planner, or two, or three, ha ha! Without my planner I would be lost!
Having a routine is key for me. That way know what I should be doing that day without having to remember to check the plan.
Your planner is gorgeous! I need to prioritize more. I do what is easy or fun first and then stress out when other more pressing things aren’t getting done. The other way I survive a busy schedule is being ok if something doesn’t get done and not beat myself up over it.
I so need to learn to be better at meal planning. I’m not hugely busy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to be organized. It’s easy to use up your energy on things that aren’t necessary and then have nothing left for what is important! Meal planning has never been my forte and to often that means we resort to pasta, pasta, more pasta… my waist line isn’t thanking me. lol!
Popping over from Monday Madness =) Some sort of planner is key, I agree! I used to be a HUGE paper planner person, but have been more digital the last 8 years or so. Be sure to share your recipes, crafts, upcycles & DIYs at Two Uses Tuesday (Mon 11pm EST to Fri 11pm EST) over at Sarah Celebrates if you don’t already!
I completely agree with the sleep part! I don’t care how busy my life is, sleep is my priority, because without it, then I become inefficient and irritable, and that doesn’t help the situation any!
I love planners and I love the tips you have to keep on track during the day. I dislike crossing out in my planner too! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness 🙂