week #8 challenge – Organize your schedule

March 20, 2011
Welcome to my week #8 organizing challenge!  Today I have a good blogger friend (Becky from Organizing Made Fun), who is hosting the challenge.  She is an expert at planning her schedule and has lots of inspiration for us. I hope you will all join the challenge this week and create a functional household schedule for your family.  Happy Organizing!     ~Toni


Here is Becky’s Challenge…

Hi, I’m Becky from Organizing Made Fun! I feel so privileged and honored that Toni has asked me to write this guest challenge! 

Well, being that she and I are both organized-minded, I told her how I absolutely, positively feel very strong that everyone needs to have order and calm in their day – and that can happen {normally} by having your day, week, and month set up on a routine.  So many of us are afraid of that word because it makes us think of being bored…but, it can be the opposite.  Having you and your family set up on a schedule and a routine can actually FREE you to allow you to do fun stuff or to do something spontaneously.  

  • A routine is what you do on a general day to day basis. 
  • A schedule is the actual details of each day.

 

Now, I realize that scheduling every minute of your life seems daunting and unrealistic. But having a weekly routine of what you will do really helps!  Let me show you how I have set up a weekly routine for myself.  {I am not only a stay at home Mom but a piano teacher}.

My weekly routine:

Mondays – Laundry/cleaning day
Tuesdays – Run errands, afterschool activities for kids
Wednesdays – Bible Study AM, piano teaching PM
Thursdays – Piano Teaching AM & PM
Fridays – Project day {and maybe a load of laundry}
Weekends – whatever {and Sunday church}


Generally, I try to sit down each evening and look through my schedule {the details of my day} to see what the next day might look like – but realize that sometimes it doesn’t happen at all like that, so I have to be flexible.  I use Cozi and I have automatically set up things like “school” and “Bible Study” times.  These are set times that I do particular things each day. 

Now you know what I did last Friday!


This is an example of my cleaning list for my “cleaning day”


If I have a day of running errands, I try and figure out all the places I need to go and then map out my route – trying not to go back and forth across the city but hitting each one after the next in order of where they are located, but keeping in mind that grocery shopping has to be last or with a stop back at home to put away groceries.  
My kids’ schedules posted in the pantry

Here is a copy of my summer schedule and my routine, since it all changes when I have kids at home with me and different activities.  

I want to have a life that is flexible, so I can make lunch plans or help out at my kids’ school or be available to do something else.  Remember, if you try a schedule it may need to be tweaked until it works just right for you. It doesn’t have to be set in stone.



Schedule, schedule, routine, routine….I’m an avid believer in it!

Please come on over sometime and I can show you all kinds of ways I love to organize, work on home projects, or fake having an immaculate house!


Now, here’s your challenge:

  • Write down or type up your weekly routine {weekdays or the whole week}. Take a picture or post it on your blog.
  • Begin sitting down each evening {or early in the morning} detailing what you’d like to accomplish for the day, but be generous with your time allotment. 
  • If you have kids, put together a schedule of what they need to do during the morning or day {use pictures if you need to}.



Photobucket

—
Becky B.

http://organizingmadefun.blogspot.com
Organizing Made Fun
See what I’m organizing now!

2 Cor. 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

If you would like to follow along with Becky’s challenge & participate this week by creating a new weekly scheduling routine, begin a daily routine of planning out your goals & typing up a daily schedule for your children,  link up here and add a button to your post!

Happy Scheduling!

Organize, schedules, weekly challenge Posted in 17 comments

17 comments on “week #8 challenge – Organize your schedule”

  1. Amanda says:
    March 20, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    this challenge came at a great time because i badly need a routine and schedule. my life is a diaster right now. back later to post what i figure out

  2. Deni says:
    March 20, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    Ohhh, this is a good one. I am trying to have more of a daily/weekly routine….it can get crazy for me if I don’t! While I may not be as detailed as some, I will definitely be showing my way of organizing off!

  3. Robyn :) says:
    March 20, 2011 at 7:19 pm

    I have tried this in the past, but it never works, but maybe that was because I never tried to go back and tweak it!!! I will try again for this challenge

  4. Ashly@Moon Walk says:
    March 20, 2011 at 7:38 pm

    Great tips. I try to do the same thing.

  5. Kat from California says:
    March 20, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    I started to use cozi.com but never really shared with my family. Today I created a weekly routine and shared it with everyone. Gave a print out to each person and put the family calendar on the kitchen refrigerator.

    Now to follow thru…

  6. Toni says:
    March 21, 2011 at 2:11 am

    I love this challenge. I am challenging myself to create a daily schedule. Something I will do the same time every week. i have never really done that before. NOw is a great time to start!

  7. Sarah - the ARMYWIFE says:
    March 21, 2011 at 3:45 am

    This is so timely, thanks! My husband is getting ready to leave on deployment to Afghanistan(his 4th… you’d think I’d be used to this by now.. .lol) and I desperately need to get a written schedule. We recenly had our 4th child and I feel like this addition has thrown me totally off kilter! lol Thanks for the challenge this week! 🙂

  8. Amanda says:
    March 21, 2011 at 11:12 am

    tried cozi and love it!! thank you

  9. Mr and Mrs Kelly says:
    March 21, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    I am so excited to try cozi. Every day I have an idea of what I’m going to do, never thought of actually having a set schedule. I think this will save me time in the end!

  10. Cara Jones says:
    March 21, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    I have been working on scheduling my time better. This post was jsut what I needed!

  11. Amy says:
    March 21, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    Thanks for the great ideas. You are amazing.

  12. caramelchica says:
    March 21, 2011 at 11:51 pm

    Oooh, I really like this Cozi site! I’m afraid to try to schedule my day more specifically than a general routine because it really depends on my 8mo old son’s naps and mood…

  13. Heather Johnson says:
    March 22, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    I am a huge believer in schedules. My saving grace, and the kids.
    familyvolley.blogspot.com

  14. Alexis says:
    March 22, 2011 at 10:14 pm

    WOW! i like this challenge. I can always improve in everything I do and this helps focus on certain things on a weekly basis. This is my project for the week!

  15. Heather says:
    March 23, 2011 at 5:11 pm

    Oh yay this post went perfect with the Cleaning Schedule Chart I made!

    Toni your blog is amazing. I just started a new blog that is very similar to yours (I hope it would be even 1/2 as good as yours too).

    Becky from Organizing Made Fun refered me to your blog and told me to submit my cleaning schedule. So now I’m a new follower and can’t get enough! LOVE IT!

    http://www.decorganizecrafts.blogspot.com

  16. Carol at Cozi says:
    December 6, 2011 at 7:00 am

    Hi Becky and Toni,

    This is Carol from Cozi. Thanks so much for sharing Cozi with your readers! We are so glad it helps with setting up routines and schedules to help master busy family life.

    I don;t know if this is helpful, but Cozi actually has a special feature just for setting up schedules. I even did a screencast showing how it works, here: http://www.cozi.com/coziblog/use-upgraded-schedule-feature-get-even-busiest-fall-calendar-under-control

    I hope this helps and would be delighted to answer any other questions. Find me anytime on twitter @CoziFamily or on our Facebook page.

    Happy organizing!
    Carol

  17. Artistic31Mama says:
    March 4, 2012 at 2:48 am

    Thank you for this! 🙂 I have tried writing out so many “perfect” schedules only to see them fail because I wasn’t being realistic with my time estimates. I love the concept of just creating a basic schedule that is flexible enough for changes and allowing some room to move. 🙂











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