I am so excited to finally be back into a (semi-) routine around here!  My littlest has her first full week of preschool this week (her first year going Monday-Thursday!), my older two are in school, and my prayer is that I'll be a more organized mom, run a more organize site, 🙂 and just have a more organized life.  (Doesn't that sound fantastic?)
As it's time to re-start our five minute challenges, and really begin the unofficial “new year” I thought it would be great to just get our lives in order this week before really digging in to cleaning. Â This week we'll work on getting our homes, calenders, and schedules in order. So today, take five minutes (maybe longer!) and determine what you'd like your day to look like. Here's the schedule I'm hoping to keep (somebody please check back with me next week to see if I made it even one day . . . )
Daily Routine
5:00-6:30 AM Â Quiet Time/Exercise
6:30-7:30 AM Big kids off to school, quick tidying of bedrooms and beds made, bathroom & kitchen sinks cleaned, load of laundry started, shower (Reagan has started helping with our morning cleanup and has picked out different toys to play with on our bed while I shower, making our mornings so much more peaceful!)
7:30-8:30 AM Check email, post a few deals (Reagan is usually right next to me, playing a game or watching Disney Channel!)
8:30-9:15 AM Spend a few minutes with Reagan before getting her off to school
9:15-12:45 PM Blog
12:45-2:00 PM Pick up Reagan, handle phone calls (today I was on the phone with the AT&T guy for 30 minutes – arghhh!), put load of laundry in the dryer, get other miscellaneous “mom-stuff” done
2:00-2:30 PM Check emails, handle any extra posts that need to be finished
2:30-2:45 PM Prepare for big kids to get off the bus and read a quick book with Reagan (this is huge – I'm hoping to re-vamp our afternoon schedule to make for more peaceful afternoons around here, I'll let you know how it goes in an upcoming post this Friday!)
2:45-4:00 PM Snack, homework, catch up with Jackson & Caroline
3:45-8:00 PM Kids activities (tonight we have way too many!), dinner cooked, family time
8:00-8:30 PM Kids to bed, quick cleanup of house
8:30-9:30 PM Blog
9:30-10:00 PM Read/Time with hubby
10:00 BED! Â (My favorite . . . )
Have you made your schedule for the new school year? As I was exercising this morning I realized that I unintentionally ordered my day the way that I want to live my life:  beginning each day with my quiet time first, then taking a little care of myself (I've hated letting go of exercising this summer!), taking care of my family, and finally working on PPP.  I will tell you that things already have not worked out as planned . . . this morning I had a meeting at my children's school for an hour, and tomorrow my friend Shannon and I are speaking with a group of ladies about couponing. But, I think just having a general idea of how I want to approach my day will help me to live more purposefully each day.
So, if you haven't already, stop hunting down the deals for a minute or two and take five minutes to create a schedule for your day. (I promise the deals will be here when you get back.) Â I'd love to hear what's on your list, and if you have any tips on time management I could definitely use them!
Debbie says
I actually just downloaded an app to my iPhone today. It’s called “Seize the Day”. It lets you set tasks and alerts you when you need to complete them. Best of all, if you don’t complete them, they automatically go onto your list for the following day. 🙂 We’ll see how well I stick to it!
Laurie says
I’ve got to go check that out! I added a weight loss app today (I tried it once in the summer but it was too much!) I do love having everything right there to check off (this one let’s you add foods/exercise/etc. & keeps a running total.) It’s amazing what those apps do for us 🙂
Jodi says
Here is my daily plan:
5:45am Dress – Mom
6am Bible Reading & Prayer – Mom
6:15am Wake/Dress – Kids
6:30am Breakfast/Make Lunch
7am Brush Hair & Teeth – Kids
7:30am School D/O
7:45am Workout – Mom
10am Shower/Get Ready – Mom
10:30am Day’s Activity – Mom
-MON: Bible Study @ 9:30a
-TUES:
-WED:
-THURS: Food Shop @ 10:30am
-FRI:
*Chiropractor, School Volunteer, Haircut, Pedi*
12pm Lunch – Mom
12:15pm Clean – Mom
-MON: Sweep
-TUES: Vacuum
-WED: Dust
-THURS: Bathrooms
-FRI: Sweep & Mop
12:45pm Laundry – Mom
1pm Bible Study Homework
1:45pm Computer Work
2:45pm School P/U – Mom
3pm Snack & Homework – Kids
3:30pm Play Time – Kids
4:30pm Dinner Prep – Mom
TV Time – Kids
5:30pm Dinner
6:15pm Baths – Kids
6:45pm PJs & Stories – Kids
7:15pm Bed – Kids
TV Time – Mom & Dad
9:30pm Bed – Mom & Dad
Laurie says
Wow Jodi – I love that you even have your cleaning days scheduled! I do my bathrooms daily (they need it!) and hit vacuuming, sweeping and dusting on Fridays when Reagan’s home all day, and whatever doesn’t get done gets added to the weekend list. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Bree says
I tried doing this in 30 minute intervals, but that got too complicated and discouraging when I didn’t stick with the schedule (which was often). I never really thought of doing it like you, no set time required.
Laurie says
I’ve tried doing it in 30 minute intervals also Bree, but struggled with keeping them up! I finally decided to put it in larger chunks and get what I can done – my trick is going to be determining to quit one item when the next one comes up (usually meaning turning OFF the computer!!!)