Making It Work

There is a lot of behind the scenes planning that I have to do to make things flow for our family. Thankfully, planning is one of my favorite things to do! I've had many people ask how I make things work and how I am able to do so much with the kids while working full time, so I will let you in on my secrets!

Step One: Divide Your Year
Yes, I do know that there are seasons that do that, but I follow my own seasons! As a teacher (and now preschool director) I divide my time a little bit differently than most. My "year" does not begin in January, it begins in August. I have four seasons in "my year," but they are not necessarily the same as winter, spring, summer, and fall. My seasons are divided like this Start of School- Christmas Break, January-Spring Break (mid-March), Spring Break-End of School and then, Summer Break.

Step Two: Plan Ahead
I try to plan my "seasons" before they begin so that I am on track. In order to do that, sometimes I will take a vacation day from work and make my plan. I'm telling you, my one vacation day to spend some time by myself and think makes a world of difference for me! I take all of my calendars out and start compiling a list. You will learn that I have a great love for list making! I take the school calendar, the church calendar, my personal calendar and start planning. I break down the planning into different areas: Work, home, kids, church, holidays, appointments, and other (there always has to be an other- I can't stand stuff without a category!).
Work: I think about what major projects I need to accomplish, work out a timeline for completion, and then put it on the calendar with tasks needed to accomplish each day. I take big events- programs, parties, etc.- and figure out what needs to be done for those and get that on the calendar.
Home: I like to do random projects around the house, so once again, I make a timeline of how to complete each task.
Kids: This is where I include anything that is pre-scheduled (well-checks, dentist, etc.). I also include when I need to do shopping for clothes, birthday, Christmas, or other holidays.
Church: We know that we are there Sunday am & pm, and Wednesday nights, but there are other occasions that we attend, as well. I also make sure that I know what is going on around the church during the day for scheduling purposes, etc.
Holidays: I like to make a plan for what we are going to do and have it set, so that we can make sure that Jason gets off work if he needs to, etc.
Appointments: This should explain it itself!
Other: Anything else that we do that I need to make sure I have included.

Step Three:
Review, Review, Review! This is where I make sure that I didn't leave anything out!

Step Four:
Compile a master list. I love to make tables and charts, so this is fun for me! I put all my projects, etc. on to the list for me to keep during the "season" and make sure I get things finished.

Step Five:
Fill out the calendar. This is the hard part. I try and schedule things on the calendar that it does not get too overwhelming for me! I try and leave one day a week empty for my "catch up day" this is usually Thursday. I don't schedule anything big for Tuesday, because that is our staff meeting day. I like to make sure that each day I accomplish something and have time to catch up, without totally feeling overwhelmed before I even start!

Step Six:
Take a nap!

I know this sounds a little excessive (or maybe crazy), but this is how I have to do things so our schedules run as smooth as they can. Now, I don't panic when things come up that I didn't plan for...ok, I do panic, but having the plan makes things easier. I don't forget what I need to do or get sidetracked too much! If Jason hadn't taken my camera to be cleaned, I would take pictures of the charts and stuff (but, you would probably be bored to tears!). So, if you actually finished reading this post, maybe there is something that you can take from it to make your life easier!

Big Blogging Breakthroughs!

Since I seem to be changing, updating, and organizing most things in my life, I have decided to attack this blog! I have wanted to do this for quite a while. I just feel like I can maybe give you a glimpse into our "real life" and show you how we do things. By we, I really mean me! Being a mom is a hard job, being a wife is a hard job, running a home is a hard job, and add in a full-time job (which is actually the easiest of all the jobs) and you have mass chaos. Or at least I do! It is a battle every day to try and keep things calm around here and if you've been around my sweet little family, calm would not be one of the adjectives used to describe us!

I have done some tests on my strenghts and mine are:
Strategic- I always have a plan and I am always planning what my next plan should be!
Discipline- I set my own deadlines, I make sure I get things done, etc.
Belief- My core values are the most important and they cannot be changed
Responsibility- I feel responsible for each thing that I am held accountable for. I also bite off more than I can chew sometimes!
Focus- I can concentrate on a single task until it's done

So I want to use my God given strengths to His glory in all that I do at home, at work, everywhere. So that is what this blog is going to become. And yes, there will still be plenty of pictures of the kids!