Week at a Glance
About a year ago, I started a Sunday afternoon ritual that improved our family's week, and I haven't stopped since.
It's quite a line to start a blog post. It's like I'm claiming I am about to tell you I discovered a magic spell that puts away laundry or a genie who empties the dishwasher. And while I promise to bring such information forward as soon as I find it, it won't mislead you. The machines I use to put away laundry have to be fed three meals a day, and when they unload the dishwasher, they put things in the wrong place. You do get a small tax credit for them, but you must provide food, water, and transportation to their many, many sports practices. Anyway, I digress- back to my week-altering ritual.
I have four children ranging in age from 7 months to 15 years. While I was expecting my fourth daughter, I was reviewing our schedule for the week and noticed my oldest had three places to be at the same time that Thursday. If we split this practice in half and packed dinner for the car and I grabbed my husband and mom, we could get all the kids to the appropriate place in a timely manner. I relayed my complex plan to all parties involved on Sunday. Thursday morning, I straightened the plan in my own mind and sent a reminder text. Thursday afternoon, I fielded a call or two confirming who was to be where at what time.
Even as someone who thrives on planning and scheduling, I was overwhelmed! The following week, I had an idea. We take advantage of electronic calendars for all monthly scheduling, but we needed something more detailed for the individual week.
Thus was born "Week at a Glance". I put pen to paper and started jotting out the crucial categories my family needed to know. Here are the categories we use:
DROP: who is taking the kids to school
PICK: who is picking them up
DINNER (duh!)
AFTER SCHOOL: a category specifically outlining practices, times, and locations
TO DO THIS WEEK:
Because I make mine on Sunday afternoons, I start with Monday and end with Sunday.
Thus was born "Week at a Glance". I put pen to paper and started jotting out the crucial categories my family needed to know. Here are the categories we use:
DROP: who is taking the kids to school
PICK: who is picking them up
DINNER (duh!)
AFTER SCHOOL: a category specifically outlining practices, times, and locations
TO DO THIS WEEK:
Because I make mine on Sunday afternoons, I start with Monday and end with Sunday.
I made a standard format I use to convey these details and selected a notebook and a bag of pens to make it every week. I love to doodle, so I draw from scratch every week. Once I have it all drawn out, I fill in the details for the week, snap a photo of it, and stick that sucker on the fridge. I send the picture out in a group chat with my husband and daughters and they reference it throughout the week as they have questions.
Guess what? I have included a few different ones for you to print and fill in yourself! Whether you have kids in school or are just an adult with a busy life, this is for you!
I made a standard format I use to convey these details and selected a notebook and a bag of pens to make it every week. I love to doodle, so I draw from scratch every week. Once I have it all drawn out, I fill in the details for the week, snap a photo of it, and stick that sucker on the fridge. I send the picture out in a group chat with my husband and daughters and they reference it throughout the week as they have questions.
Guess what? I have included a few different ones for you to print and fill in yourself! Whether you have kids in school or are just an adult with a busy life, this is for you!
Some of my favorite parts of it-
It lets you easily assess what day will be the "hardest" that week and allows you to plan accordingly. Aka, have a GBM lasagna that night!
It helps me draw out some excitement in my kids. Whether it's seeing a favorite meal, or finding out we are riding the creeper trail that weekend, they enjoy seeing what's going on!
It saves me the frustration of having to repeat myself over and over. It also helps me make an organized text with relevant information to send to anyone who is helping me take care of the kids that week.
Before she ran off to live in Australia, my little sister used it to scout out what nights she wanted to attend dinner, which I loved!
It gives my older daughters a touch of independence and lets them plan their week in an informed way.
I would love to see you use this idea to plan your family's week! Use the links below to choose which format suits you best- then print a few to keep on hand!
