A Week of Schedules

...Meant that I actually had quite a lot of time.  Seems contradictory, but it's easier to sit down and finish a short story (or take a guilt-free day of rest on Sunday) when you've already got your floor scrubbed.

Except for Wednesday.  On Wednesday I let the schedule slip for a bit...and things immediately went back to chaotic.

So.

May I suggest that if you are attempting, as a housewife or anybody else, to schedule your time, that you give your schedule a week of adherence before you decide it's dumb?  This is assuming, of course, that your schedule is reasonable and doesn't include things like "power wash the shingles" and "sew flounces to toddler's period Edwardian gown".  Unless that sort of thing falls under "hobbies" for you.  Me, I was happy to knit while the babies splashed in the kiddie pool yesterday.

Here is our basic daily schedule, in case anyone is curious/in my situation/looking for a model:

6:30 - Get up, change babies, get babies dressed
6:45-8:00 - Mama drinks coffee, calls Grammy, and checks the news; kiddos drink milk, and watch 1 episode of the Wonderpets
8:00-8:30  - Breakfast, a Bible story for kiddos, and Bible reading/prayer for Mama
Cleanup; begin any dinner prep (like thawing meat, starting the crockpot, etc.)
9:00 - Begin housework (I designate different tasks to different days--i.e. Monday I do laundry, Tuesdays I clean the bedrooms, etc.)
10:00 - Snack and homeschooling.  Miss Boo does her letters and numbers very competently, and believe it or not is beginning to sound out simple words like "Mat sat."
11:00 - Here we pick up the toys and books and get ready for a nap.  If Miss Boo has been kept active enough during the day, she's out by 11:30
12:00 - Lunch for Mama and Daddy; cleanup
1:00 - Lunch for Miss Boo, who is probably awake by now
2:00 - Playing outside/continuing housework/or Mama gardening
3:00 - Mama prays a Rosary while kiddos either play outside or play quietly inside
4:00 - Tidy up house, make sure dinner's going along like it should
4:30-5:00 - At some point in here the Husband arrives home, and we go outside to talk/walk around with him as he exercises the dog.
5:00 - Mama begins dinner prep; the kids play with the Husband
6:00 - Dinner, cleanup
7:00 - Jammies and toothbrushing for the kids
7:30 - Kids go to bed
8:00-9:00 - Free time for Mama and the Husband (hopefully); I write during this time
9:00 - Mama and the Husband pray a Rosary together, and then go to bed.
(Yes, we go to bed at 9:00.  You would, too, if you had to chase toddlers all day long.)


So there's inspiration for you, if you want to know how unintimidating a schedule is.  There are other sub-schedules, of course--there's different chores I do on different days of the week; there's a homeschooling schedule; there's a baking schedule.  But they fit in to any given day with remarkable ease.

One thing I much encourage is, when you're putting your schedule together, to put in prayer first.  Even if it's just five minutes morning and night, schedule it with as much seriousness as you do "start laundry" or "pay electric bill".

That said, however, I also want to point out that if you decide initially that you'll pray a whole psalm every night and then, after the kids suddenly both get a throwing-up flu or manage to poop on every piece of clothing they own, decide that you can only pray "Arise, O Lord, and make haste to help us", that's really ok too!  The important thing is whether you're praying, not necessarily that you stick to the forms you chose.

But if you have the time, don't skip the form you chose just because you're feeling (let's admit it) a bit slothful.  Forms are useful in that they force you to take your time--even if you talk really, really fast, and use the shorter Jesus Prayer (as opposed to a Hail Mary), it's hard to rush through in less than fifteen or twenty minutes.  If you use the form for Evening Prayer in the Book of Common prayer, it'll take you at least ten minutes.  If you memorize it, you can do it even as you're brushing your teeth and getting ready for bed, although it's awfully sweet to kneel beside your bed with your husband.

Cheers,

Breanna