3 STEPS TO CREATING BACK-TO-SCHOOL ROUTINES THAT WORK
ARE YOU READY TO MAKE 2022 THE YEAR WHERE YOU GET MORE DONE, ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS, AND STILL HAVE TIME FOR YOUR FAMILY? LET ME HELP YOU GET YOUR TIME BACK WITH MY FREE PRODUCTIVITY PLANNER!
It’s that time of year again…
Time for the kiddos to head back to school.
For some of you, this might be a blessing. You’re used to being able to work on your business at home in silence during the school year, and the fact that the kids (and possibly husband) are home + are also demanding your attention makes it like working 2 jobs at one time. So, having them head back to school means you get your house + time to build your business back to yourself.
Or, maybe you’re dreading your kids going back to school because it means earlier wake-up times, trying to get yourself + your kids ready, and rushing to get out the door on time + in one piece…
...WITHOUT yelling at your kids or having a mental breakdown.
The struggle is real my friends.
I am personally in both camps. While I make it a point every summer not to wish the summer away, I am looking forward to being able to fully focus on my work without 500 interruptions or being the chauffeur for the various camps + friends' houses I need to take my kiddos to.
But, mornings are touchy in our house… there was a time when I yelled at my kids every single morning. And I’m pretty sure I’m not exaggerating.
I’d get so frustrated when we were rushing to get out the door or to the bus stop in the morning, and I would ultimately end up screaming at my kids for dragging their feet and putting us so far behind.
Here’s the reality…
It wasn’t their fault. It was MINE.
I didn’t take full responsibility for the things that needed to get done before we needed to get out the door. I didn’t take full responsibility for choosing to sit on the garage steps after my run, scrolling through Instagram, instead of heading inside to get in the shower. I didn’t take full responsibility that my kids were still little and couldn’t do everything on their own.
It was MY fault we constantly rushed to get out the door on time every morning.
And that’s where “perfecting” and streamlining my morning routine came into play. Once I learned a few things about my routine and what would help me get things done + out the door on time - WITHOUT yelling at my kids - everything changed.
However, my kids, my life, my schedule DOES NOT look like yours. Seldom do I find a person whose day looks exactly the same or even slightly similar to mine. Never have I found children who act EXACTLY like mine. And I doubt our parenting styles are remotely similar.
In Control Your Calendar, I don’t teach you a one-size fits all program. I teach you how to take the basic foundations of time management and apply them to YOUR life. So, while you might see my routines for the school year, applying them to your own life might not work for you. But, you CAN take the basic strategies below to apply them to YOUR back-to-school routines!
Here are the 3 things to help you create a routine (morning, evening, etc.) that works for YOU…
DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AHEAD OF TIME
I get it… the last thing you want to do before heading off to bed is pack lunches. It’s annoying + time-consuming, and does anyone really enjoy packing lunches for their kids?!
But, if you are able to get things done (like packing lunches) the night before, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy in the morning.
For me, I’ve had to add these things into my routines + habits. For packing lunches, I do it right after dinner. After I put the dishes away, I get out the things I need to make their lunches BEFORE I wipe down the counters + table. I pack their lunches, stick them in the fridge, and then they’re ready to go in the morning.
And actually, last school year was the first school year I committed to doing this every night and stuck with it - and it made a HUGE difference in how our mornings went. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I had to yell at my kids in the morning simply because I did this one simple thing the night before.
Other ideas to prepare ahead of time:
Setting out the kids' clothes the night before
Putting out a “snack tray” so they can choose a snack for school or when they get home
Packing up their backpacks the night before
Getting dinner prepped before they come home
Whatever can save you an extra step when you typically are strapped for time, do it ahead of time!
DELEGATE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
I’ve gotta admit, I’ve raised some pretty co-dependent children. We probably do too much for them, and we know that we do. But, this summer has been the one where I’ve been forcing giving them more responsibility around the house and for themselves. Is it working? Meh, that’s debatable – but I’m tired of doing everything for everyone.
Plus, my kids are older now. I have one in middle school now and she can do all the things to get ready for school on her own. My son is in 3rd grade this year, and he’s gotten much more independent, so getting them out the door in the morning (and at 2 different times this year) is a lot easier.
I’m doing a lot less for the kids than I used to, but I still want to make sure they are prepared for school as much as possible. I’ll still make their lunches most days, but 2 hands (or 4) are better than one!
I also have had to face reality and realize I have a partner for a reason. We share a lot of parenting duties, but sometimes I need to be willing to ask him for help. Rarely does he scoff or get mad at me for asking (actually, he NEVER has), so I am trying to get better at asking for help when I can.
ASK YOURSELF HOW YOU WANT YOUR ROUTINE TO “FEEL” LIKE
As a certified life coach, we talk about how you want things to feel A LOT, but knowing how I wanted my routine to “feel” was a BIG deal for me. The one thing I didn’t want in the morning was to feel rushed, but I also knew that when I came home from dropping them off at the bus stop I wanted to be able to get right to work.
Because of that, I knew that I needed to allow plenty of time to get my workout in, get ready in the morning, and do all the necessary things to get the kids ready for school.
I’ve definitely gotten more efficient over the years, and I do a lot less hair + makeup than I used to (thank goodness for DIY lash extensions + dry shampoo!), but I HATE being rushed, so if waking up at 4:45 every morning helps me get time to myself AND get ready for the day, I will do it.
Now, please note, that my kids’ school starts at 9AM, so a 5AM wake-up time doesn’t seem too bad to me. The bus comes around 8:30 (7:45 for my middle schooler, but she doesn’t need much help anymore), which means by 8AM, I want to be ready for the day, and then I have 30 minutes to make sure my youngest is dressed, fed, teeth cleaned, bag packed, etc. before he needs to head to the bus stop (love that he’s old enough to go by himself and I can avoid the freezing mornings).
If your kids’ day starts earlier than that, then you probably need to rethink how your morning needs to look if you take just as long as I do to have “me time.” (And I value that “me time” SO much in the morning!) Maybe for you, you’d rather wait until after the kids are at school before you work out. GREAT! Then, what do YOU want your morning to look like BEFORE having to get the kids ready for school? If you want to sit + drink coffee in peace and quiet, what time would you need to wake up? Do you want some time to work before getting the kids ready, how much time do you need?
And again, you DON’T have to wake up at 5AM if that’s not your thing. It’s not my husband’s thing, and that’s fine. He likes to work + exercise in the evenings when I am at my highest energy in the morning.
Afternoons + evenings should be looked at the same way. I know I want the afternoon to feel a little more relaxed and slower than the morning, but we also have soccer, Tae Kwon Do, gymnastics, Girl Scouts, choir, etc.. Oh, and let’s not forget a 6th grader with a lot more homework this year than she’s had in the past.
I want them to feel rested + get a mental break from school, but I also don’t want it to be 7PM before we are sitting down to do homework. So, this routine might be a little more of a work in progress than in years past…
And honestly, I don’t want to zone out on my phone when they get home, which I tend to do because I personally need a mental break from the day too. By adding some structure to our afternoon routine, I’m hoping we can get a mental break AND stay on top of schoolwork and anything else that comes up before bedtime.
So, here’s a look at our back-to-school routines:
MORNING ROUTINE:
4:45 - alarm
5AM - head to gym or go run
6:30 - shower
7:00 - make sure 6th grader is up
7:30 - get 3rd grader up, kiss husband goodbye, make sure 6th grader is ready to go
8AM - get 3rd grader ready + packed for school, unload dishwasher, make breakfast
8:25 - head to bus stop
8:30 - start work for the day
AFTER SCHOOL / EVENING ROUTINE:
4:15 - get 3rd grader off bus
4:20 - unpack backpacks, clean out lunch box
4:30 - snack + TV
5PM - evening activities +/or playtime
6PM - dinner
6:30 - homework + practice piano
7PM - baths or showers
8PM - brush teeth, reading
8:30 - lights out for 3rd grader
9PM - lights out for 6th grader
Are you struggling to find a balance between your work and personal life? Are you feeling overwhelmed by your back-to-school routine? I offer personalized schedule audits that will help you achieve your goals and balance your life better. I have helped many clients create schedules that work for them, and I can help you too!
