Season of Joy! Mega Planning ~ Episode 24
Ready to get your life organized, it is time for mega planning. It is a season of joy, no matter what time of the year, but more so near the holidays. With this season comes stress! One of the best ways to relieve stress is to plan and get ahead of your busy schedule. In this episode, we will look at to organize your time so you have more time for your family.
Thanks to our sponsor — Media Angels, Inc.
We can not get back the time we do not spend with our kids. If we have the cleanest home or the best meals and find we are not spending time with our kids then the question to ask yourself is what is more important. Let’s begin with those questions first:
- I am a planner? Yes or No?
- I have a daily check-off list and prepare it the night before.
- At the end of the day, I am happiest when_________.
- If I do not complete this one task I feel like I have not accomplished much _________.
- I put my husband and kids first: A. All the time B. Most of the time. C. After I finish my to-do list. D. Sadly I don’t.
Look over those questions and think about it. I don’t believe anyone purposely neglects their family to have a clean house or get the laundry done, but I have been guilty of allowing the kids to watch a movie so that I could get things completed when they were younger. My kids never took the long naps other moms talked about, and often I would clean up and they would proceed to mess up the house again. So, how do you stay ahead?
With prayer. Prayer is the one force in my life that I can say has kept me solidly balanced. It is the one thing that is first on my to-do list, especially now that my kids are older. However, in this simple planner, I want to share with you that I created, you will find you can easily organize your life with one sheet of paper.
I like to see a year at a glance. Mega planning begins with an overview. What dates can you fill-in?
- Birthdays
- Major holidays – will you plan to take time off?
- Special days such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Independence Day, etc.
- Vacations or Family Plans such as family reunions, anniversaries, etc.
- School dates and vacations
You can do this online in a free calendar that is provided by Gmail – or perhaps on your phone – or better yet, synch the too.
Once you have an overview of your year you can look at each month. My printed calendar is a month at a glance. I first look at a monthly planner and place all of the important dates on the calendar.
Place the following on your calendar:
- Church and events.
- Any dates for appointments that are upcoming.
- Kids schedule – any events, sports, lessons
- Date night (yes! plan it even if it is at home)
- Household
Four Square Planner – Mega Planning Fine Tuned:
Once you get your overview laid out you can begin fine-tuning the day. One of the quickest ways to do this is with the Four Square Planner. I love to take a piece of paper and divide it in four. Faith | Kids | School | Household
Take each one of these to quickly make plans for the day.
- Faith: Under faith, list ways that you pray, read the Bible, go to church, etc.
- Kids: Under kids list things they have to do that day. Chores, lessons, etc.
- School: Times, what needs to be done?
- Household: Groceries, meals, cleaning, shopping?
Here is a sample and a blank to give you an idea of how to use it: 4-Square-Planner-MediaAngelsInc.
You can add to your main 4-square planner day to day if you do not have many things going on or actually use one for each day. It is the way I plan birthday parties, kids sporting events, the podcasts I record, and more! It is also the way I plan my mega shopping or mega cooking days. I consolidate to a date and time so that I am not overwhelmed.
If you can do this your life will be so much easier! It puts your to-do list in priorities. In fact, one of my friends calls this the priority planner! It is wonderful and so helpful. It is the way I keep my life organized. I hope it helps you in your life as well!
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