Episode 34 – Tip Tuesday – How Can I Do It All and Not Drop the Ball?!? The Key to Managing Schedules, Calendars, Activities and To Do Lists for a Busy Family - Intentional Edit

Work schedules, school calendars & assignments, projects, parties, social life, appointments, and sports schedules can seem like a lot to keep track of for a busy family! This episode is full of ideas on how to manage it all and be more efficient with your time so you can say goodbye to overwhelm. Another listener question is answered on this episode of The Intentional Edit Podcast.

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Full Episode Transcription:

Work schedules, school calendars and assignments, projects, parties, social life appointments, and sports schedules can seem like a lot to keep track of for a busy family. This episode is full of ideas on how to manage it all and be more efficient with your time. So you can say goodbye to feeling overwhelmed. Another listener question is answered on this episode of the intentional edit podcast. Hey friends, quick tips that make a big impact in your daily life are my favorite ways to implement systems around the house. I’ve been sharing easy strategies and my go-to organizing products for tip Tuesday on the intentional edit Instagram feed for a few years. Now I’m excited to bring it to the podcast with short episodes, answering your questions every Tuesday day. If you want me to answer your questions, go to the podcast page on intentional, edit.com and submit your questions there.

(00:48):

Let’s get started on this tip Tuesday episode of the intentional edit podcast. Hey friends. Welcome back to another episode. We are at episode 34 and it is at tip Tuesday episode today where I will be answering a listener question about schedules and how to manage the calendar without feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. And like you’re gonna forget something or drop the ball all the time. But first, unless you are driving, I want you to stop whatever you’re doing wherever you’re listening to this podcast class, click on that, scroll down and click on the link to my website. It will say intentional edit.com. Click right there. When the website opens a little button pops up on the bottom that says record. Now, I want you to tap that another box will pop up and it will say start recording. You can press start recording and leave me a question.

(01:43):

I want to hear your voices and receive your questions for future tip Tuesday episodes. That way it could not be easier in the last couple of days, I am receiving so many tip Tuesday questions, and they’re all through email where you have to find out where my email is. Write the question out, all of that. I appreciate that you doing that. I will answer those questions, but I really wanna hear your voice connect with you that way. So I have this little button on the website where you can just leave me a voicemail. It’s the same as if you were to call a friend, but all you have to do is click and record. Leave me whatever you’re struggling with. Ask a question. If you think it’s stupid. I promise it’s not. If it’s something you’re struggling with in your house with scheduling or routines or lack of routines, think about what part of the day do you feel overwhelmed with?

(02:35):

Where are you feeling stressed out? Where are you irritated? We can create a system around that or some kind of time management tool or do something that will reduce that stress. If not completely get rid of it, click on the link in the podcast description or go to intentional, edit.com, click that record. Now button that pops up and then a second button will pop up for you that says start recording and you can leave me a question. And then I will answer that question on a future tip Tuesday episode, let’s start simplifying your life and getting rid of the overwhelming stress. I wanna answer your questions. So go there and leave me a question that I can answer on a future episode. Speaking of question, let me read you the question that it came to me by email for this week. The question says, hi Lauren.

(03:23):

My schedule is full with three kid kids ages four to 10, all have school and activities. My husband and I both work and participate in extra commitments. Outside of work. We have a demanding extended family that likes to get together often. So every free minute seems to be taken. Always afraid that I am one step away from dropping the ball and missing an important event or a school assignment. I can’t tell you how many times I’m rushing to get a birthday gift on the way to a party or scrambling because we don’t have the supplies for my kids projects and they’re due the next day. What ideas do you have so that I can get myself together and not be so overwhelmed. And with all of these schedules, that is a great question. We can all relate to calendars and schedules, appointments, managing all of these things.

(04:09):

The more people that you have in your family, the more schedules that you have to manage. And as your kids get older, it just gets busier and busier and people are going in different directions. So you have more things to manage all the things that need to be done on a calendar appointments to make for your kids and yourself school projects. When you see all of that, that’s when the overwhelm creeps in, you can easily get your schedule under control so that you can stay on top of it. Without the stress that comes from feeling like you’re always behind and about to drop the ball. Like she said, when she submitted the question, when you have a good calendar system, those feelings of overwhelm around these things are eliminated. So what can you do? What action steps can you tape you to think about being intentional with your time?

(05:01):

The first thing is when do the schedules come out at the beginning of the school year, when the school calendar comes out, if you have one school calendar to manage or five, it doesn’t matter. Plug in every single thing that is on that school calendar that pertains to your child or you, if there’s three days of half days, and then conferences are in there, put down that in your calendar, because whether your child takes the bus, you pick them up, you need to arrange carpool. It’s all happening at a different time. You need to know these things. Sometimes there’s a little bit of information on school calendars that is irrelevant. So you pick and choose, but every single date, there is not school there a half day. There is an early out, a late start assembly, a project, a school event, whatever it is, the science fair, that is not until April.

(05:52):

And you’re receiving the calendar in July. You still put it on the calendar. You plug it in because once you’ve done that, you don’t have to think about it again. If your kids participate in sports or extracurricular activities that have a schedule, as soon as that schedule comes out. And you know, when those things are plug it in, don’t just plug in next week, plug in every day event with sports, I know tournaments and things can be ever changing. You don’t know if your child is going to need to be there on Friday night through Sunday, or if it’s just a Saturday thing, these things change process of elimination, all kinds of things. Block out that time with a color. I love to do color coding, and you can determine what is best for you with whether it’s the type of activity. Or sometimes it works out great where each family member is a different color.

(06:47):

So you can just glance at that. And one family member’s pink, one family, member’s green, one family member’s purple. And you know who that pertains to get the thing is in, when you get the email or you get the printed copy, whatever it is, when it comes to you, take the time to put it in so that you don’t have to waste your time rescheduling something because you’re double booked. That’s the first thing you can do when the schedules come put them in. When you are at the dentists office or the doctor’s office, and you schedule an appointment for weeks into the future, put it into your calendar right then. And this applies whether you use a paper calendar or a calendar on your phone, like a digital calendar, there are some things that you will participate in that a calendar or an email never comes to you telling you when it is, it’s a discussion and you, or, you know, you have a certain meeting every Monday or there’s something you participate in.

(07:44):

And that’s something you plug in when you use a digital calendar. What’s nice. If, if you have the same event every Wednesday at 9:00 AM, you put it in one time and you set those parameters and it is there indefinitely every Wednesday at 9:00 AM. And you can easily delete the events where if it’s canceled or not happening that week, you have to plug in all the non-negotiables work calendar, school calendars, the sports, the extracurriculars, the workout classes that you’re doing. Anything that you’ve signed up for has to go into this one master calendar that you have put in didn’t right away. Once you do that, then you have the basic framework of how your schedule runs. What happens in your day to day life. And you can easily add in things like doctor’s appointments, dentist, appointment, things that come up. If you have a child that has an orthodontist appointment, you are leaving, they say, okay, we’re scheduling you in weeks and you schedule the next appointment.

(08:43):

You look at your calendar, you know, when you can schedule it for, because all of the things that can’t be moved around are already in the calendar. You schedule it done. And then they tell you, you have to get x-rays before the next appointment. Here’s the information. This is the place you need to go to call this number, set up an appointment, do that right. Then do that within the next 24 hours. That is a phone call that will take less than five minutes. And anything you can get done in five minutes or less, you wanna take care of right away. Take the time, time to book that appointment. And you know that it has to be done within those six weeks. You schedule the appointment, it’s checked off your list. Your brain doesn’t have to keep track of these things. When you put them on the calendar, they’re outta your brain.

(09:27):

You don’t have to think about it anymore. When your schedule is organized, you aren’t juggling all the things in your head anymore because you’re on top. It, your calendar is keeping track of it for you. You’ve brain dumped all those things. You eliminate the overwhelm coming from this part of your life, because they’re in the calendar, the calendar or the schedule is keeping track of it for you. It’s a simple way to get things done on time. And ahead of time, I stay on track. Instead of the scrambling that you explained in the question where you feel like you are about to drop the ball at any given moment, this is a practice. It takes time to get in the rhythm, but just keep going. If you mess up and you forget to enter a schedule, it’s not a big deal. Do not beat yourself up over it.

(10:11):

That’s just going to set you back. Just keep going. When, remember that you forgot to enter that schedule for that new activity. Put it in right. Then take the time to spend the few minutes, enter it in. And then you’re good to go from there. Once you’ve done this, your schedule’s on track. The non-negotiables are included. You have the ability to manage everything else that comes up in life. Every invitation you get every birthday party. If you want to plan a trip because your schedule is now in one place and it’s all there. What about things like a school project? Your child comes home. This book report is due. You have to buy the book. So you place a quick Amazon order. You purchase the book and then you realize they have to do this elaborate project. Now you have a month, maybe a more to do this assignment.

(10:58):

You know that it’s gonna creep up on you, talk to your child. What do they wanna do? What do they wanna build? What supplies do you need? Do you have to run to craft store or do you just need to place an online order? Get those things done ahead of time. If it’s not something you can do right away, because they have to read the book and it will take a few weeks before where they know what they need for this project. Put that in your calendar. As a little reminder, if you are all digital, you might wanna just set a reminder on your phone. If you have five weeks until the book reports do two and a half, three weeks set a reminder, or put a note in your calendar to order the supplies at that time, then you will have them in time to do the pro project.

(11:39):

Also plug in the time to do these big projects, give yourself two hours or whatever is realistic to complete that. Plug that into your calendar. Of course, it can be moved around a little bit because it’s not a non-negotiable, it’s not like your work schedule or a dentist appointment or a time thing like school. You can move this around, but you need to put that block of time in there so that you have the time to do it. And your fourth grader, isn’t staying up till midnight. The night before the book report is due plug in things like that. And just get into the habit of doing that because things take time. It’s the same thing with the birthday gifts. Once you’re invited to a birthday party, make a note to get the birthday gift. If that party isn’t for three weeks, either order something right now, or make a note to get that gift well in advance before the party.

(12:33):

So you can have it wrapped and ready to go take care of things. When you can take care of them, don’t make special trips for things. If you don’t have to, if the craft store that you need to purchase things at for the book report is in the same parking lot. As the grocery store you go to, or the same area as the gym that you do a weekly class set add in the time, the 15 minutes that it’s gonna take you to run into the store then, because if you make a separate trip, it’s now taking you an hour. When you’re looking at your schedule, get smart about where you can add in these little few minutes here and there to conquer the tasks that need to be done. That aren’t a regular tasks that are occurring every week or every month when extra things come up that need your time.

(13:20):

And that need to be added to your calendar. It’s something that you have to do, or your kids have to do really think about if it’s something that you have to say yes to, is it it’s if it’s not a non-negotiable, you have the ability to manage everything else and you don’t have to say yes to every opportunity that comes up. Remember that because a lot of us struggle with feeling guilty. If we’re asked to do something and we say, no, if you change your mindset and prioritize where you value spending your time, there are things that you will be approached with that you can start saying no to. And instead of yes, to, and then you ha will have little gaps of time in your schedule where you can do things that are more important to you. And that’s what I mean when I say really be intentional with your time.

(14:08):

If you’re going to add something to your calendar that you don’t want to do, and it’s gonna be something that’s nagging you where you’re thinking I have to do this. It’s not something that is a desire. It will only add to the overwhelm that you already feel. Think about this, whatever you have been invited to do or asked to do, really assess the event and see if it is worth adding to the calendar, using your valuable time. The minutes of your day are valuable is whatever you’re being asked to do worth it. Sometimes it will be. And sometimes it won’t and saying no is perfectly okay. Let’s do a little recap before we end this episode. The first thing you’re going to do is get all of your schedules and moving forward from this day, any email or principal or calendar invoice, whatever it is that comes to you with a schedule, you add to your calendar immediately, get it done, get it on there.

(15:03):

And then you move on the non-negotiables have to be on your calendar all the time. Number two, add in the thing as they come like school assignments, or your kid is signed up for a new sport and you have to get shoes and equipment plug in the time when it makes sense on your calendar to purchase those things ahead of time, or to spend a few minutes to place an order, but plug those in on your calendar. So you’re getting those things done. You don’t forget you eliminate the stress and overwhelm that comes from running around last minute, feeling like you’re going to drop the ball and worrying that you’re not going to have a gift, or you’re not going to have the shoes for the new sporting event. Things like that. When you stay organized and on top of your schedule, it release, it releases you from holding all of that in, in your brain.

(15:53):

You’ve done this massive brain dump on the calendar. You have a place to look, you have a schedule that’s structured to follow, and then you can see where the time is. That is free time and plug in things there that you want to do that you enjoy doing. Lastly, which might be the most important start know to things that you do not want to do. If it’s an option, you do not have to say yes to everything. I want to leave you with a reminder, whatever you’re struggling with, wherever you feel overwhelmed, where whenever you are irritated throughout the day, with things that are going on or the physical belongings in your house, the clutter in a space click on the link, intentional edit.com. Leave me a question. All you have to do is click that button that says record. Now another button pops up to let you start recording and you leave me a voicemail where I can answer your question on a future tip Tuesday episode. Thank you for listening to this tip Tuesday episode of the intentional edit podcast. It was oh, 34. I will meet you back here later in the week. For another episode,

(17:01):

That wraps up another quick episode of a tip Tuesday. If you want to be featured on intentional edits, tip Tuesday, go to intentional, edit.com, click on the podcast page in the menu bar, and then scroll all the way to the bottom. You’ll find a button that says record, tap on that and record your question or share what is currently overwhelming to you. What is going on that you need help with? I want to know I needed to know your struggle so I can share actionable solutions to help you create simplicity in your home. If you are having this issue. I know other people are having it too, and we wanna help as many people as possible. Head over to the podcast page of intentional, edit.com and record your question for me there.

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Lauren is the founder of Intentional Edit, a home organization and lifestyle company focused on consciously editing to create efficient and organized spaces. Lauren believes that a functional home that looks and feels good has a positive influence on all aspects of life. Creating systems that allow for the home to function more efficiently, therefore, eliminating most of the clutter and chaos is her priority. While trends come and go organization is always in style!

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