Effective Time Management and Scheduling Strategies for Busy Families

Let's get real guys

Time. I don't know how many times I have found myself thinking that there just aren't enough hours in the day! I always think that I'm going to be able to get all of the things I have to do done. The day starts out, get up, make lunches, get my boys ready for school and off to the bus stop. By the time I get back from that it is already 7:45! Seems like I should have plenty of time to get one days worth of items done before I have to get back to the bus stop right? Ya naw.

That's when I decided I needed some help. So I decided to make my way back into the time management class I took in college. I dove deep into the past in remembering what kind of learner I was and how on earth I got all of the information to stick. Visual aids! I needed to be able to see all of the things I needed to do for the day, week and even the month. I want to share with you the techniques that I use to keep our little world moving forward. Everything from my calendar setup, easy lists for the day, and my favorite color coding.

Understanding Family Time Management Needs

We all have things that need to be done during the day. I always say, " No one's busy is busier than mine, it's just different." So first things first, what are some of the common challenges that your family might be dealing with as far as scheduling? For us it's chores. We have our chickens, the garden, dogs, cats, and of course during the summer months, the weeds. Along with the chores the boys have school, homework, sports and our fun family activities that go on. To top all of that off my husband is currently attending college, which brings its own challenges.

So we needed a way to organize our time as a family to get all of these things done and still have time to just sit together on the couch and watch a movie (we're big movie watchers). I decided that we needed to start with a "month at a glance". My husband helped me turn a simple 4' x 8' piece of sheet metal into a "year at a glance". I painted it with white board paint and laid out a grid to put all 12 months on it. This way, I can put the entire year's worth of school events, breaks and games on one board. Not to mention every month's bills, appointments, birthdays and paydays. I also keep a small monthly calendar that is color coded for each family member to keep on the refrigerator. I find that this helps the boys out with their events so that they don't get overwhelmed with my year long calendar.

Utilizing Visual Aids for Family Scheduling

• Choosing the Right Visual Tools: Whiteboards, calendars, digital apps, or printed planners. We use most of these tools in our home. I am a bit old school. I like to write things down and make lists. But if the digital side works better for you and your family there are some amazing calendar apps that are great for all ages.

• Color Coding for Clarity: Assigning colors for each family member or activity type improves quick reference and organization. In our house we use our favorite colors for the fridge calendar to make it easy to locate any activity.

• Weekly, Monthly, Yearly Views: I like to keep the monthly calendar on the fridge. I like having the appointments and school activities right where everyone will see it everyday. I don't know about your household but we have a tendency to get busy and forget, so having it in a location that is a constant reminder works best for us.

• Encouraging Family Participation: Making scheduling a family event. After I get the monthly calendar set up I always bring the boys in and have them look it over and let me know if they can think of anything else that needs to be added and go over school their school schedule.

  

  
  
  

Creating a Monthly Bills Plan

• Listing All Monthly Expenses: Utilities, mortgage/rent, subscriptions, groceries, and miscellaneous payments. I am a big fan of lists. I make one for just about everything. Putting down all of our monthly bills and the date they are due along with whether they are on auto-pay or need to be called in works best for me. However, if you are more into the tech side there are so many apps that make this list easier along with reminders you can set as well.

• Tracking Due Dates Clearly: Using a calendar to mark bill deadlines to avoid late fees is a wonderful use for the yearly calendar. I have all of the bills marked in a specific color a day before they are actually due so that way I know that they are paid to avoid any late fees.

• Automating Payments Where Possible: As I said before I love paper lists and with one income I need to know where every penny is going. So I only use auto-pay on the bills that I'll get a discount for using it. However, it does reduce manual effort and ensures timeliness.

• Budgeting and Prioritizing Bills: Understanding essential versus variable expenses to help manage cash flow. We all love streaming those shows and having that food delivery a few nights a week. But lets be honest, do we really need ALL the streaming and food delivered? We took a long hard look at what we were spending on those "little stops" and the streaming we were watching. We cut out more than half of that for a month and found out we saved over $200! It does take some effort and a bit of getting use to but the amount of money that you can save by cutting out the "nonsense" will blow your mind.

  
  

Designing a Family Cleaning Schedule

• Breaking Down Cleaning Tasks: Here at our house I use a weekly cleaning schedule. I pick just four simple chores that need to be done around the house for each day. Every Sunday my boys are responsible for cleaning their rooms(vacuum, dust, folding clothes, changing sheets). Doing it this way I have found that the tasks are never overwhelming and the house stays clean. Well clean-ish.

• Visual Cleaning Charts: Using checklists or chore boards to track completion and encourage accountability. Knowing what needs to be done each day and what to expect makes the task of keeping a cleaning schedule much more manageable. Another tool I used when my boys were a bit younger was chore buckets. I put their names on each bucket and used popsicle sticks with a chore on each. Once they had all of their sticks in the "done bucket" they were free to do whatever they wanted and earned their allowance for the day.

• Flexibility: Let's be honest, even though I have all of this planning and charts, life happens. Always allow room for unexpected events or changes in routine. If something doesn't get done or an event is happening just roll the cleaning into the next day. If that seems to be to overwhelming; piece it out. Add one extra chore to the next day and so on. Most importantly, just remember if it was dirty today it will be dirty tomorrow. There is no need to stress about something that can always be done tomorrow. I have attached my weekly cleaning schedule, you can use it as a starting point or for ideas and tweak it to fit your needs.

Weekly Cleaning Routine.pdf

Download PDF • 35KB

Tips for Successful Implementation

• Regular Family Meetings: I try to go over the schedule with everyone to make sure that we are all on the same page. I know that sometimes I forget about appointments and classes that my husband is taking and adjusting schedules collectively helps us all out immensely.

• Encouraging Open Communication: Be open to suggestions from the family. There might be a chore that would be better suited for the weekend or perhaps something that the kids can do together to get it done faster. Communication is key.

• Monitoring Progress and Celebrating Successes: There is something to be said about keeping a schedule and making it work. Be sure that you take the time to recognize all the hard work that goes into keeping your schedule working. Maybe a dinner out, or for my boys, a Lego prize is always a good way to keep up the incentive to keep working hard.