No matter what time of year (or what major catastrophic global conundrum you are facing) one thing is consistent, you need to get your daily, weekly, monthly schedule under control so it doesn’t overwhelm you.

Here are my top tips on how to conquer your daily schedule:

1. Write everything on your calendar. Wether it’s a digit calendar or physical, paper calendar, make sure everything you need to remember to do is on it. We are 70 times more likely to remember the things we write down. This also helps with preventing double booking activities and appointments for yourself and your family.

2. Set reminders in your phone or personal device.

   It’s not enough to just write down your activities on a calendar. Sometimes it’s beneficial to set reminders - multiple if necessary. At one point, I even had a to set an alarm to remind me to

3. Review your calendar weekly and daily.

   While writing things down may help you remember what’s on the schedule, a regular review of what you have coming up will help reinforce the appointment as well as give you a chance to re-evaluate if you want to keep the appointment or not. It’s also important to review your calendar regularly with your family, if that’s a factor. For example, I’m not going to schedule a hair appointment when my husband has a curling tournament.

4. Find a system you will actually use. 

   It does not good to have a calendar or set alarms, write things down or have your Alexa chirp in your ear if you self sabotage. Make sure whatever system you use is something that works for you and something you will actually use. Don’t be afraid to pivot if and when the system you use no longer works for you.

5. Set boundaries for your time.

   Refine your schedule by adding or removing things to adjust to the level of chaos you can sustain while still keeping your sanity. Only you can establish the boundaries you need, and you may need to evaluate that each season or adjust as things start to feel overwhelming. This means establishing limits for extracurricular activities, events, parties, sports, etc. We have a two activity per person rule in our household. So our kids can choose a sport and a social activity (scouts, clubs, etc), but two things is the limit.

   
   

   BONUS: Enlist support. If you need a friend, assistant, or artificial intelligence (see no. 2) to help you get your schedule under control, do it! Give yourself some grace while you adjust to your schedule and the new system you’re using.

How do you control your schedule? I’d love to hear your strategy!

I can’t wait to cheer you on,

Shannon