This is what I do every week.
There are so many things that come my way that need to be tracked or worked on or engaged with. Generally, I’m an organized person even though I have four little saboteurs buzzing around me every day. But every year as my children grow older and they become more considerate and helpful around the house, my happy little list-making self is becoming more and more productive.
So I just wanted to share with you something that has been a HUGE help to me in the last year. It occurred to me that I not only needed to keep myself organized, but I also needed to keep my family organized. Mostly I found that if they can just be aware of all of the things going on in our family for the week, then they tended to be anticipating needs and jobs and activities. Even at just a glance, we can all see whether we have a busy week ahead, or if we have a relatively calm week with some flexibility. The kids are more apt to work hard on a job today if they know that we get to have a fun thing later on in the week. This has helped with simple communication within our family. I don’t always put my husband’s list of goals on this calendar because his is often changeable and flexible, but I will put his doctor’s appointments and such there. It also helps him to be able to take a glance and see what’s on my plate for the week without having to sit down every 6 hours for an in-depth pow-wow (although we do have a lot of communication usually at the end of the day to keep on the same page together).
Not every week is the same! Every week looks totally different from the last for us, so super structured permanent jobs for each member of the family has never worked for us. In the past, I had also tried posting a monthly calendar, but it was really too much for even me to deal with. Things at the end of the month were totally off the radar for me out of necessity. If I had that many things in my head, I lost track of the things that needed to happen right now. Only having one day’s activities posted was just not enough either. So the weekly calendar is the perfect balance.
I’m guilty of wanting to see so many things done and off my mind, that I run right over my husband and young family leaving an exhausted and cranky family in my wake. By looking ahead just a bit, I find myself carving out times of rest or “days off” from extracurricular activities. I’m not always successful, but I’m better than I used to be.
This weekly to-do sheet is my own version of one that I had found on Pinterest and used. I tweeked it a bit for our own purposes (mostly stretching out the Sunday slot for this preacher’s family), and it has become a life-saver! I will sit down each Monday morning (or Sunday night if I’m on the ball) and print out two copies. I have my calendar handy and my OneNote app open to the many reminders that I’ve captured during the last week. Then I begin prioritizing and spreading out the commitments and goals. I make two copies and post one in the kitchen/living room and one in the homeschool room. While I myself know what needs to happen through the rest of the month, I can safely put it out of my mind since those goals are being worked on this week. But my family, especially the kids, don’t need to have that far of an outlook. Again, the weekly snapshot of our schedule is the best thing for us.
I have three motifs available for you to print off. Keep checking back, because I might make some more motifs for your pleasure. Click on the picture to download a .pdf printable version. You can be as neat or as messy with these weekly calendars. I like to use different colored sharpies that I bought on Amazon at the link below. So it’s totally up to you how to use these for your family. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply