I often have people ask me how I fit everything into my schedule. I homeschool, write, work, volunteer, and try to have some sort of life outside my home. One word describes my life: busy. Sometimes even overwhelming. But I love it and wouldn’t change a thing.
The basic truth is that no day during the week is quite like the other. With all of our activities, appointments, and obligations, it’s hard to set any kind of actual daily schedule. But I do follow some general guidelines.
6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Morning Routines
We all have different wake up times, but everyone is supposed to be up by 7. From there, everyone has an hour to really wake up and eat breakfast. The last hour is a combo of getting ready for the day and morning chores. I try not to schedule anything other than the occasional doc appt. before 9:00 as we all have our own speeds in the morning.
For me, I get up at 6:00 and have quiet time/Bible study. Somewhere around 6:40, I’ll start breakfast if I’m making something like scrambled eggs, otherwise breakfast waits til about 7:00. The next two hours, I try to work on my own projects (novels, blogs, etc.) and jumpstart the social media fun.
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The CORE of the Day
This is the general time set aside for homeschool, cleaning, and other activities. Homeschool on a good day takes about 5 hours (for me, less for the kids). Wednesdays, my oldest has 3 hours of therapy, so we do homeschool on the go for the other 2. Thursdays is homeschool co-op. The girls also have gymnastics (Monday) and choir (Wednesdays) that fall into this time block. No TV/games are allowed during this time unless it’s for school or special reason.
I try to limit my online time during this block. My computer is off limits except for about 30 minutes during lunch. I might quick check social media on my phone between subjects or cleaning. If I could wean myself off completely during this time, I might even get more done.
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Evening Fun
Depending on the time of year, there are various things that can go on in the evenings: Bible study, American Heritage Girls, church, martial arts . . . Dinnertime and evening routine are determined by those projects. Ideally, we eat between 5:30 and 6:00.
If we’re in an off-season or a day where we have nothing in the evening. The kids are usually welcome to some TV or games after dinner cleanup. After dinner, I will hide away in my office to work (usually until about 10:00). Before 8:00, I’ll work on various jobs like marketing for Realm Makers, volunteer stuff for ACFW, etc. Depending on what time I get those done depends on what time I get to editing for clients.
8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Work, Read, Sleep
The kids start to settle down around 8:00. All are required to start getting ready for bed around 8:15 and in bed by 8:30 when we’re doing school. The older 2 can sometimes stay up and read for a bit, if they’re quiet.
I’m still plugging away at work until 10:00. My goal is to give myself an hour to unwind before I need to go to sleep, and, ideally, at least 30 minutes to read while cuddled in my bed. At 10:00, I generally talk with my husband for awhile, then migrate upstairs to read. Lights out is supposed to be at 11:00, but sometimes I need just one more chapter . . .
Block scheduling is a new concept for me in my daily life. Okay, not new, renewed? I’ve just started applying it in general over the summer. But the summer was so crazy that it wasn’t exactly effective. However, since we are now back to normal, I can see how well it is working for me.
Block scheduling like this allows us to be as flexible as our lives may require. Knowing that “this” part of the day is to be reserved for “these activities,” my Type-A side is able to relax when things don’t go exactly as the schedule says they should.
As you can see, I also work block scheduling in to my work. This way I am always making time for my projects, my jobs, and my editing. Nothing ever gets completely dropped. Now, that’s not to say if I’m under deadline, editing won’t take over for a few days. Or writing. These are just guidelines.
So, that’s a peek at a day in my life. No 2 days are alike, and life keeps us busy. But amid the chaos, there is some organization, and right now it works for us.
What about you? Do you have a schedule that you adhere to? Do you “block out” your day?
wow – I so relate to your schedule! And I’m very thankful I don’t have to do that anymore. My youngest graduated college over a year ago.
I don’t really have a schedule – I try – but I have Anna, whose special needs and uncontrolled seizures kinda rule the day. I never know what to expect with her. And now we live with my MIL, who has dementia. That can be more unpredictable than Anna’s care.
I home-schooled for 9 years (my youngest daughter) and I actually got more writing done then. I’d set her to a task and wrote while she worked. Anna was in school. And her seizures weren’t as bad then.
All that to say, I do need to do better with my time now that I have more time. Thanks for this encouraging post!
I understand where you’re coming from. You have an awful lot on your plate that keeps things up in the air. The nice thing about block scheduling–if you ever wanted to try it–is it gives you flexibility. The blocks of time are wider than it is with hour-by-hour. Of course, if Anna had a seizure or MIL had a bad day, the schedule might go out the window. But, hey, that’s okay. The schedule will keep you on track on the good days!
I love what you told Emilie – setting boundaries – I’ve been working for years to understand and remember to do that. Saves a person A LOT of grief later on.
Love this Ralene! I like the idea of a block schedule but right now my block is like “8am-10pm” work…. Haha! Soon that’ll change though – just gotta edit 5k photos first 😉
Hey, but a block schedule can help you set BOUNDARIES! 😛 “My block ends at 8 p.m., so I can spend time with my guy/unwind/read . . .”