How to Make a Schedule for My Family

Family time

An ordinary day can easily become hectic and chaotic when there are numerous responsibilities and obligations that have to be met. A well organized family schedule provides a number of benefits. It will allow you and your family to better organize and manage everyday tasks and help to avoid headaches and frustrations. The primary goal of a family schedule is to ensure that everything gets done efficiently and effectively and that there is plenty of time for family members to relax and enjoy spending time with one another.

Instructions

1. Make a list of your family's daily activities. Write down all the daily activities that have to be done such as meal times, watering the flowers, driving kids to school, recreational activities, music lessons and bedtimes.

2. Estimate the time for each activity. If it takes 15 minutes to water the flowers rather than 30 minutes this gives you 15 minutes to complete another task. Estimating time is not a science, it simply requires paying attention to how long it takes to perform a task. People tend to be late for appointments because they underestimate the time involved in performing a particular task. Always take the time of day into consideration when driving is involved. When traffic is heavier it will obviously take longer to get where you are going.

3. Prioritize the everyday activities in terms of time and goals. For example, if it takes 45 minutes for homework to be completed and you want homework finished before dinner, then schedule the time accordingly. If you have three children and it takes 20 minutes for each child to take a bath then organize bath times to fit into the rest of the schedule.

4. Make special family times part of the regular schedule. In addition to accomplishing daily tasks and chores more efficiently a family schedule should also ensure quality time for the family. This may involve a special movie night or time in the park or playground.

5. Coordinate different parts of the schedule. If the grocery store is close to the park or playground then combining both tasks is a way to get things done and help everyone to be satisfied.

6. Post the schedule on the refrigerator where everyone can see it. This will help you and your family to stay on track and get things done.

7. Tweak and update the schedule when necessary. Don't forget that the schedule is a tool to help you organize family time and tasks more efficiently. The goal is not to become a slave to the schedule but to use the schedule to better manage your time.

References

• Organized Families: Create a Family Schedule
• Parenting Ivillage: Making a Schedule That Works for You