Schedule...do I need one??

Our bodies are not naturally programmed for a rigid, busy schedule—at least mine isn’t! When left to an unstructured day I dither around and waste enormous amounts of time. For example,  I’ll check my blogs, lay on the floor and giggle with Son #2, linger at the park, check Facebook, wander through the grocery store at a snail’s pace, read the New York Times app on iphone, drink another cup of coffee on the porch—you get the idea! As wonderful as it is to live this way, it is not a productive work environment.  It is more appropriate for my “summer mode” when taking a break from teaching. But now I have embarked on a new “JOB!” as  SAHM! And a worthy job has a structure. I need structure!

When I was teaching, I set up a flexible schedule for the kiddos in order for them to feel safe and able to trust in the predictability. It also keeps us humming along. I think it is important to have that kind of structure at home too. Especially if you are like me and when faced with an open expanse of time, you putz around and find time sucking activities to fill the day.

As I am hammering out for my new “schedule” I am collecting some good rules of thumb for others. Hope they can be beneficial to you.

1. Be realistic. Schedule in time to relax and enjoy that time at home with and without your kiddo.     (Nap time is a great time to recharge!)
2. Remember that you are home to enjoy time with your kiddo, not to have a  spic and span house and a neglected child.
3. Spread out tasks, so that not one day is overloaded.
4. Be flexible, if a play date comes along that sounds great- combine the chores  for that day and the next day, and give you and your little one a break day to go out.
5. Know what you would like to get done while at home. Writing it down gives you a clear idea of your expectations.
6. Create a “vision” of what you want to accomplish at your time at home.
7. Talk it over with your partner. See if they think it is too much to get done. It can also give them a perspective of everything you are doing. Sometimes the things we get done at home  aren’t easily noticed.
8.  Have a start time and an end time for the day. When Daddy comes home have  down time, so that you aren’t struggling with dishes or at the store when he arrives. Plan to have that be your down time together. One needs a break after a long day at work- both of you!
9. Revisit your schedule after a couple of weeks and tweek it to meet your needs.
10. Ease yourself into a schedule. Remember you aren’t superwoman. If you worked outside the home you probably weren’t instantly great at your job, you had a training period. Give yourself some time to get use to being at home.

I also think it is important to make a master schedule of your day. This is similar to   my teaching “daily teaching schedule”,  this outlines the basic structure of the day. It is flexible and general. Then you also need a plan for the specific day. This is like a teacher’s lesson plan, outlining your goals and objectives for the day. This can be done in the morning before the kiddos get up or the night before. You then know what you want to accomplish and also what you would like to do with your child for the day and if you have materials to gather.

    Well, that is all for today, I am going back to dithering and wasting time until the official schedule is made! I can smell the coffee brewing and the porch calling! Son #2 is on noggin.com and I can feel the day just being sucked away—a few more unstructured days left to savor!!

Bye for now!