Keeping on a Schedule/Organized

I’ve been working on this post for what feels like forever, but haven’t felt like I was practicing what I’m about to preach and well, that’s important to me. I want to be a firm believer and actually doing what I’m writing about rather than just preaching it but not actually putting it to use. SO obviously I’m human, somedays are chaos – but I do feel like I finally have somewhat of a routine down. The only wrench that has been thrown in it lately is well – Blake’s done taking naps, but we will conquer it and figure it out again! Isn’t that what life is all about? Figuring out new challenges and turning them into successes.

So you can kind of see my daily routine and how I do things, here. The only different thing in there is welp, nap time has now officially turned into quiet time – but I do stick to the rule everyday that she has to have some sort of quiet time. I think it’s good for both of us to take a little space and welp, I need some serious time to work. ANYWAYS, so what’s the trick to keeping with a routine and a schedule? To keep things organized in a calendar?

Well, I’ll tell you what, one it took me like all three years of Blake’s tiny life so far to figure it somewhat out. SO here are my tips and tricks for you:

• GET IN THE ROUTINE. I mean it, it’s going to take time but the minute you start mastering what your everyday is going to look like, the better. For me – I get up every morning and the very first thing I do (well, after getting my kid a snack) is I GET READY FOR THE DAY. This starts me off on the right foot, I feel better about myself and it just starts things on the right note. Then my day continues, literally in the same flow and motion as it does every weekday. Obviously weekends are different. Now that sentence sounds REALLY BORING and trust me it’s not – I feel like my life is chaos, even with routine – but like my schedule shows – mornings, I do errands, work and Mom things, early afternoons are prime work time for me, then evenings I’m JUST a Mom. Then I add in whatever needs to be done each day in those areas.
• MAKE A TO DO LIST. And I don’t mean your typical I’ll write things down and lose it to do list. I have a master list in my notes section of my phone and every night before bed (again routine) I go through it, I look at my calendar for the next day and I think back to what I saw that needed to be done around the house earlier that day – then I write it all down. I write things down in order from most important to least because welp, reality-not everything is going to get done, so it ensures I get the most important done for sure and I can move the ones I didn’t to the top of the list for the next day.
• CALENDAR IT ALL. I mean this quite literally and you’ll probably laugh at me, but EVERYTHING goes in my calendar and I’m not kidding. I mean everything down to grocery shopping. I want my days planned out and mainly because this is what keeps the chaos to somewhat of a minimal, especially with three busy schedules (and most of you more). M works late most nights, so I need things written down or my brain (which turns to mush by 1PM) isn’t going to remember it. So writing things down in a calendar gives me the chance to look at it every morning and go – OH! That’s what I have going on today! Then I can prepare mentally and plan accordingly.
• BE OPEN TO CHANGE. Now that I have just told you how important a calendar, to-do list and getting in routine is, let me un-tell it and remind you that CHANGE IS OKAY. I mean, we’re all Moms right? Like our day is actually going to happen perfectly according to our calendar. That’s laughable. It’s not, no way in hel*. Roll with the punches and just remember you’re doing your best. If life isn’t chaotic then where’s the fun in that? 😉 Seriously though, if you’ve been running around like a mad woman all day only to realize that it’s 7PM and that potato soup you had on the dinner menu for the night hasn’t even started – GO GRAB SOME CHICK FIL A and let it go. I think that’s something we could all use a little more of – forgiveness. Mainly in ourselves. 😉

Welp, there’s my two cents for you. Happy organization 😉