Last week when I wrote about hitting my stride as a mother, as an adult, as a stay-at-home mom, I was feeling quite nervous about the fact that Joshua was starting kindergarten, and about the fact that I had, in fact, committed myself to starting a schedule that very day. I’d been so brave as to speak it out loud to the girls in my house church, and to lure my friend Cortney (who posted about her own battle with Sir Schedule here) into keeping me accountable.
So, let me just say that your comments and feedback on that post were really, really helpful. A couple of you even linked to it and said you could have written it yourself. Do you know how much it means to me that my words mean something to YOU? That I am not the only one who carries those specific frustrations? It means the world. Thank you for telling me. Your comments buoyed me as I dipped my toe into the unknown waters that day.
Although, I think it would be more accurate to say I jumped right in! (Unlike when I took beginning swimming class for PE in college, because, at 20 years old, I still couldn’t go under water without holding my nose, and on the day we were learning to dive, the teacher literally had to PUSH me in. This time, I am happy to say, I propelled myself. But anyhoo.)
I stuck to my schedule. For five whole days. And you know what? I liked it! It worked for me. I exercised, I got housework done, I played with Sophie, I picked Joshua up from school. And I even had a little extra time some days! Here’s the schedule I made for myself:
Mornings M-F
7:30-8:15 breakfast, check email, blog
8:15-8:45 exercise
8:45-9:30 shower, get dressed, get Sophie dressed
9:30-10:00 bloggy business
10:00-10:30 dishes
10:30-12:00 errands, play time
12:00-12:30 lunch
12:30 – 1:00 chores
1:00 – 2:00 OPEN
2:00 leave to pick up Joshua
CHORES BY DAY
Every Day – sweep & vacuum living and dining room
Tues – laundry, sweep kitchen floor
Thurs – dust, clean bathrooms
It needs a little tweaking (for instance, picking up Joshua from school on time has required I move Sophie’s nap time, so part of chore time is generally spent trying to get her down for a nap) – but in general, it has worked really, really, well this week. I mean, I, who ABHOR exercise, have exercised five days this week! Because my schedule TOLD me to!
One thing I haven’t done is schedule the after-school/evening part of the day. I think next week I might try to schedule time in there for dinner preparation, as so far, I seem to be willing to do whatever my schedule tells me too. Who knew?
Of course, I am keeping it flexible to allow for playdates and appointments and things like that, but overall I am super-pleased, excited, and encouraged!! If you feel like you need to give it a try, GO FOR IT! I’ll even keep you accountable if you need me to. Let’s all have adventures in scheduling together!
