Creating Cohesive Family Schedules

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I’m a planner.

That’s not to say that I stick to my schedule 100%. I mean, let’s be real – I’m the type who plans, sure, but I’ll most likely change my schedule at the last possible second.

For instance, I planned out my final semester a few months back. Pretty much as soon as they released the course schedule for spring, I knew exactly what classes I wanted to enroll in. Once enrollment opened, I got into the four I had chosen.

And the day before the semester started, I dropped my finance class and picked up a literature class because, well, #itslit LOL. (If puns aren’t your thing, you’re probably in the wrong place.)

So you could say I enjoy planning, but only if I have some flexibility in my schedule.

When it comes to family schedules, things can be a little tricky. Not only do I have to plan around my university schedule (for now, at least), but I have balance schedules between my full-time office job, both of my blogs, and my daughter.

I’m not here to lie to you and tell you balancing work and home life is easy, or even possible for that matter. Because honestly, there’s always give and take. You have to sacrifice a little on one end to get a little on the other.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it work in your favor.

Here’s how I make scheduling family and work less stressful and more fulfilling. Whether you’re trying to balance multiple obligations of your own, or simply coordinating the schedules of a big family, my method can help!

Step #1: Choose one good planner.

Here is the criteria you’ll want to consider when choosing a planner.

• Accessibility:
  • How easily can you (and family members who may use it) access it? Is it a paper and pen planner that you carry with you? Is it a wall calendar hanging at home? Or is it electronic, so that it’s always with you no matter where you go?
• Layout:
  • Does it make more sense for you to use a monthly calendar? A weekly planner? A daily task planner that breaks down each day by the hour?
• Medium:
  • Paper or electronic?
• Location:
  • Will it stay in your office? In the car? Maybe in the kitchen?

The idea here is to consider what type of planner would be best for you and/or your family. I use this personalized Erin Condren planner. It’s large enough to keep track of all my daily to-do lists, but easy to carry around with me.

Step #2: Consider color coding.

Before we actually write anything in our planner, we need to plan. Yes, I am telling you we must plan to plan! It may sound silly or juvenile, but color coding is a great way to visually organize tasks and obligations.

For instance, when I look at my calendar and see purple, I know it’s a task for Kristangible. If I see blue, it’s Belles & Bucks. Pink is for my daughter, red is my office job, green is family, and orange is school. I can look at my calendar and see exactly how my day/week/month is scheduled out by type.

If you have multiple children, color coding can make it easy to remember which child had which function to attend. Coming from a home with four girls, believe me when I say it could get confusing trying to remember who had a choir/orchestra concert or sporting event and when.

The biggest trick to color coding is to choose colors that you would generally associate with those specific tasks or people.

For me, I chose my brand colors for each blog. Pink for my daughter because #genderstereotypes and I couldn’t help it, red for our company’s main color at work, green for the growth I’d like to see in my family, and orange because of my school’s mascot. (If I have dates with B, I use yellow because he is my sunshine, and I’m just plain cheesy like that.)

Step #3: Write down your non-negotiables.

The time has come to start planning! We want to always start off with non-negotiables. For me, it’s things like doctor appointments, vacation time, family events, major deadlines for school (i.e. finals), etc. It’s important to get these down first because they are least likely to change.

Side note: Go ahead and add in birthdays, anniversaries, and any other annual events that you and your family celebrate. For bonus points, grab birthday cards early in the year so they’re ready to go when the time comes. No more rushing for last minute birthday cards this year!

Step #4: Add in everything else.

For me, this is when I break down my days for specific responsibilities. I’ll write down when I: plan to publish a new post on the blog, need to set aside time for reading or writing, have to clean the house, go shopping, etc. I keep these pretty general in my paper planner, but I utilize Google Calendar to schedule specific tasks.

By using Google Calendar for time blocks, I can visually see how my day and week is planned out. Plus, it helps me stay on task. I’m more productive when I can look at my schedule and see exactly what I need to work on right then.

P.S. Don’t forget to schedule family time! Dinner together can count on some nights, but set aside specific blocks of time to just bond with your family.

Step #5: Leave some empty space in your schedule.

Sometimes our tasks take longer than we expect, or we make commitments (like baking cookies for a school event) and forget until the night before. And honestly? There are times that we just need to take a freaking break!

Leaving some room in your schedule for adjustments and relaxation is so important. And if your schedule is so full that you can’t find time for a break, then you definitely need to make room or you’ll drive yourself crazy!

I’ll tell you a secret. I schedule tasks by time blocks, but often end up switching the order around throughout the day. I may put that I’m going to do homework from 8am to 10am, work on my blog from 10am to 12pm, and have free time from 12pm to 3pm. Then 8am comes around and I am exhausted and just want a little extra sleep. So I take an hour from my free time to sleep until 9am, blog from 9am to 11am, take a break from 11am to 1pm, and then do my homework. As long as I stick to the same amount of time for a task that I scheduled, it still counts. The important thing is that I finish what I tell myself I’m going to.

Conflicts will occur at some point.

It’s inevitable that you will have two or more obligations conflict, especially if you have multiple children. There is no way to avoid this if the conflicts are externally scheduled (i.e. school events). But when it comes to personal obligations, all you can do is manage them to the best of your ability. Prioritize the conflicting obligations, and reschedule as needed.

What tips do you have for managing schedules? Tell us in the comments!