So often we find that we have so much to do with so little time to get it done, especially for us busy moms! Sometimes we have some kind of an idea about what our upcoming week will look like (in our heads) while other times, we have nothing that we know of to do, yet somehow, that always seems to be our busiest week yet. So how can we plan for weeks like these? We have to have a strategy. Our strategy is planning for the week ahead of time.
I’m a working Mom with multiple jobs, yet I don’t think that I would plan any differently than a SAHM. In the end, the strategy is the same but our calendars will look different. And, even though you may not know of anything for the upcoming week yet, you still need to have your calendar. Trust me, something always comes up!
I meal plan for the week before I go grocery shopping so that I know what I need to buy and possibly help cut costs for the grocery bill by not buying items that I already have. This would also be beneficial to a SAHM. I have kids who have practices and appointments, just like a SAHM does. Planning for the week ahead will be beneficial to ANY mom out there. It will help you find more time for yourself and know where you can find the time to do what you want to do, while also helping you remember everything that needs to be done.
What items can you put in your planner?
- Work schedules
- Housework schedules
- School schedules
- practices/games
- Tutoring schedules
- Meals for the day
- Errands that need to be done
- Appointments
- Phone calls that need to be made
- Maintenance due on vehicles/home
- Chores for the kids (so you don’t forget to remind them!)
- Tasks that you need/want to complete that don’t fall into another category.
- And so much more…..
As you can see above, there are so many things that a mom can put in her calendar for the week that she knows and some that she may not even realize that she could and needs to plan for. By making the time for even the smallest thing, like making a phone call, not only will you not forget to make the call, but you will also be able to see where you will have free time to take time for yourself, or to schedule, an appointment, pick up an extra shift at work, etc.
What Type of Planner Should You Use?
For the purpose of this article, I’m just going to discuss whether to use a digital planner or a paper planner. The planning industry is crazy right now with the wide variety that is available and more being designed every day, but they all have the same purpose in the end. How elaborate you want to take the basics is up to you.
- Digital Planners/Calendars
If you are constantly on the go and technology savvy, this may be the best option for you; however, if you’re like me, you still like to look at things written down too, so I actually use both. This is also a great option if you do not want to purchase anything at the moment because there is a wide variety of free ones available.
To get started, I would recommend Google Calendar. It’s online based, so you can log in from anywhere and any device and access your calendar.
Below is a screenshot of a blank view of Google Calendar. If you look over to the left column, at the bottom, you see an option to add other calendars to yours. This is for like the Holidays in the United States, Phases of the Moon, you can even add sports to it but you can’t pick and choose on that one.
Now, right above that, you see the “My Calendars”, this is where you can have multiple calendars. For myself, I have my personal calendar, a family calendar, a menu calendar, a work calendar, a task calendar, and a reminder calendar set up and I have assigned different colors to each calendar. I can view all calendars together as one, or view them separately just by clicking on the check marks on the boxes to the left.
This calendar can be fully customized by you to meet your needs! With Google being such a large platform with many different devices and apps/programs, the possibilities are crazy. I can ask my Google Assistant or my Home Hub what’s on my calendar for the day and it will access this calendar and let me know. Also, Google Keep is another app that will work with this calendar. I have this set up with mine.
Look up to the righthand corner of the screenshot and under my picture, you will see a yellow square that has the Google Keep logo. If I just click on that square, it opens a side column where I can find my notes. I can then add those to my calendar as I have time. (See the below screenshot)
Next, you can see what it looks like all filled out and how the color coding works. I can then move things from my Keep notes over to the calendar where I find the time! You can also see that as the days pass, they are somewhat “grayed out” in color, this helps you to focus on what lies ahead, not the past.
At the top right-hand corner, you see a button that says “week”. That’s because I’m viewing it in the week mode at the moment. You can also view it by day, month, or year, and you have a “schedule” option that you can use to print off your schedule for the week. (A person can print the individual calendar or all of them together.) You can pick and choose which calendars you want to print together, etc. It also has a “7-day” view that allows you to view from the day that you are currently into the next 7 days.
Above, is the “Schedule” view.
Above, is the “7-day” view. As you can see, I haven’t started planning for next week yet.
Now, I can see this calendar on my phone when I’m not home, add something to it or cancel something. This is why I love this digital calendar to help me plan out the week ahead.
- Paper Planners:
This group is huge! So I’m just going to talk about the group in general.
If you are not tech-savvy then paper planning is the way to go. There is a wide variety of these types of planners on the market today and some are customized to help fit your needs better. For example, planners for teachers. One thing I have found though is that for me, I have yet to find the perfect one to fit all of my needs. I have tried pre-printed planners that give you a day, week, and/or month view. I have tried printing all of the free printables to build my own planner in a binder, and while that was useful, it was too bulky for my liking. However, I have found that Bullet Journaling has worked best for me.
Some people just rather see things in writing or maybe they hate being in front of a screen constantly. It’s really just a preference of the individual person. Me, I use both. I can easily carry my Bujo with me to work, in my purse, etc. If I find that I can’t use my phone at the moment (we can’t have our phone in healthcare), then I just write down what I need to in my Bujo and add it to the calendar later if needed. My Bujo serves several different purposes and yet it stays organized, but explaining all of that would be multiple posts to my blog (you can probably see them coming up soon!) If not, and you are wondering what I’m talking about research Ryder Carroll, the inventor, or go watch this video:
Whatever way you decide to use to plan out the week ahead, the most important thing is that you have decided to start doing it. You will find that by doing this, your time management will be better. You will begin to understand where all of your time does go and how you are more productive. Not to mention that you will definitely feel more organized. I don’t know about you, but all of this just gives me a great feeling that I am able to accomplish everything I need and want to and I’m not forgetting important things and feeling like a failure in life. Having a busy life can be stressful and it doesn’t have to be. Planning out your week ahead of time can help cut the stress level way down!