The vacation season was great, don’t get me mistaken, however I used to be very excited to get again right into a routine come January. We’re in a busy season of life with two younger children, two full-time jobs, and sporadic childcare. Each week appears to be like a tad completely different and if somebody is sick…our whole plan goes out the window!
However, we nonetheless do our greatest to maintain some type of routine round right here for us and the youngsters. And the one technique to preserve that’s with numerous prep work.
My Finest Suggestions To Prep For The Week Forward
As we speak, I wish to dive into the issues we do to prep for the week forward. These are duties that we normally get performed between Friday and Sunday. That approach, we are able to get up on Monday morning, able to sort out the work week! These won’t all give you the results you want and your life, however hopefully, one thing will resonate with you and you need to use it in 2023!
I wrote an analogous put up seven years in the past and it’s wild how issues have modified since then. I didn’t have children, I used to be going into an workplace every single day, and I used to be getting garments organized for weekly exercise courses. Ha! Now, quite a lot of my time is spent at dwelling and issues are very completely different. Nevertheless, regardless that my day-to-day is completely different, taking the time to prep and get organized over the weekend hasn’t modified! Right here’s what I do…
Take 30 Minutes To Plan
On Fridays, my non-negotiable process for the day is to check out the next week. I dive into the specifics of how I arrange my work and private to-do listing in this weblog put up about Trello. Briefly, I have a look at each my private and work calendars and write all the pieces on my Trello board – physician’s appointments, haircuts, work calls… I wish to be certain I’ve a superb sense of what’s to return earlier than I end my work day on Fridays.
That approach, once I sit down for work on Monday, I do know what to prioritize and I can dive proper in!
Make the most of A Household Command Heart
Over the summer season, I wrote about our new household command heart in our kitchen and the way we have been making an attempt it out. Effectively, I’m completely happy to report that it’s been an important part of our household life to maintain us all on the identical web page.
Throughout nap time on Sunday, I whip out my Trello board (that I completed on Friday afternoon) and duplicate any high-level data onto our whiteboard in our kitchen. We have now a spot for every single day of the week and I add massive stuff solely. That features appointments for us or the youngsters, childcare plans for the week, and extra.
On the underside of the board, I write home/household duties that must get performed however don’t essentially correspond to a selected day. For instance, “write thanks notes for vacation items” or “guide a babysitter for date evening”. Right here I put issues that both Finn or I can get performed that week.
Assessment The Week Forward
This may increasingly all sound repetitive…writing down your schedule digitally, transferring it to the whiteboard, after which discussing it out loud? Why sure, it’s repetitive! However that’s for a cause. The most important challenges in our marriage come from miscommunication. To ensure we’re on the identical web page, we then evaluate what’s on the whiteboard, as soon as it’s all stuffed out.
This typically occurs throughout Sunday nap time (if the youngsters are sleeping nicely!), or we would transfer it to Sunday evening. Both approach, it has to occur so we are able to divvy up duties and duties for the week.
Additionally, we nonetheless do our bi-monthly household conferences on Wednesday nights. This weblog put up has all the particulars on how and why we do them. However, basically, it’s a time to take a seat down and discuss extra in-depth household subjects and how one can share the load as mother and father. That is completely different from our 5 to ten-minute session to evaluate the whiteboard.
Grocery Store & Meals Prep
Now, let’s discuss meals and groceries. As you understand, I’m not a fan of cooking and I go away many of the meal prep to my husband. Our children undergo quite a lot of meals and I discover that we’re continuously operating to the shop for extra bananas, milk, and recent produce.
We use the Microsoft To-Do app to maintain a operating listing of what we want from the shop. If we run out of eggs, I instantly add them to the listing, so somebody can get them on our subsequent grocery run. We normally do one massive run on the weekends after which 1-2 lighter runs throughout the week. We have now a grocery retailer a couple of blocks away, in order that positively helps!
Finn will typically take one of many children early on Saturday or Sunday morning (I imply, we’re all up anyhow, so we would as nicely be productive!) to get the products for the household. When he comes dwelling, he then cuts up veggies and fruit, grills rooster, and roasts potatoes and veggies to have available. We wish to have most of our breakfast and lunch meals prepped for the 2 of us, in addition to the youngsters, on Sundays.
Meal Plan
When it comes to precise meal planning, that is nonetheless a piece in progress for our household. We are going to peruse the fridge, freezer, and pantry throughout our Sunday whiteboard session, and add meal concepts to every day of the week. This helps us dissipate what we’ve got and offers some route to our dinners come 5 pm! My purpose this yr is to be taught a couple of simple dinner recipes that the entire household enjoys and incorporate them into our weekly routine. I’ll hold you posted on how that pans out…
Water Your Crops
Each Sunday, I’ve a timer set on my telephone that jogs my memory to water the vegetation. Rory normally likes to assist me with this process and we each go round with our pitcher to get each. It’s only a common a part of our routine and I like realizing that our vegetation are completely happy all week lengthy.
Our Laundry Schedule
I wrote an analogous weblog put up with tricks to prep for the week forward approach again in 2016 and that included a tip to do your laundry on Sundays. Ha! Effectively, nowadays, we do laundry each single evening. We throw in a load as soon as the youngsters go to mattress after which fold it within the morning earlier than they rise up. This retains us on prime of it and prevents it from getting unmanageable.
Nevertheless, I do attempt to do towels and sheets on Sundays, in order that all the pieces is clear for the week. We have now home cleaners that come each different Monday and so they’ll make the beds with recent sheets. Finest feeling ever!
Prep College Luggage & Garments
On Fridays, the youngsters deliver dwelling all of their stuff from college so we are able to wash it all around the weekend. We then set all of it out on the kitchen counter on Sunday evening. Their backpacks, water bottles, blankets, and pillows are all able to go for varsity on Monday!
Personally, I prep my garments each evening earlier than going to mattress. This prevents me from rummaging by my closet at 5 within the morning and offers me an opportunity to take a look at the climate forecast when making my alternatives. I’m making an attempt to get Rory into the behavior of selecting her garments the evening earlier than, however she likes to vary her thoughts within the morning. Toddler issues.
Take Some Time For Your self
Lastly, one of the necessary issues I do on Sunday nights is take a while for myself. For me, that usually means an extended bathe or sizzling tub. I’ll shave and exfoliate. I then hop out, tweeze my eyebrows, put in a hair masks (I simply received this one and like it!), and use my favourite facial steamer to hydrate my pores and skin. I do my full night skincare routine and take additional time to brush, floss, and whiten my tooth. Actually, these are simply all the private care duties that I don’t have time for on a typical weekday night.
I do my finest to go to mattress early on Sunday nights. That approach, I can begin the week with a superb 8 to 9 hours of relaxation.
How Do You Prep For The Week Forward?
I do know each household and particular person is completely different and these organizational ways are continuously altering, based mostly on the season of life you’re in. What do you do to prep for the week forward? I’d like to be taught a couple of extra issues to make life run a bit extra easily…
Casey
