Schedule burnout can happen even to the most prepared moms. With so many activities and opportunities available today, it can be tempting to think that you and your family really can do it all. The problem with this line of thinking is that it doesn’t give you or your loved ones down time. As a result, you and your family might feel overworked, tired, and irritable.
If you think your family is dealing with schedule burnout, here are nine tips to help.
- Think about your day.
Know what activity load you and your family can typically handle. If your family does best when the kids only have three extracurricular activities, then set the limit at three.
- Plan the inevitable first.
When you’re planning your family’s week, put the most important tasks first. Things like jobs, school, groceries, and cooking need to go on the calendar first.
- Don’t skip the self-care.
You and your family need time to care for yourselves and for each other. Make sure you have time on your schedule for sleep, exercise, and other self-care activities.
- Look for your drains.
Certain activities drain you. For you, it might be housework or grocery shopping. See if you can outsource these activities. Maybe you can hire someone to do your lawn work or maybe you can assign some chores to your kids that will help you keep the house neat.
- Find out what energizes you.
Which activities on your weekly calendar do you look forward to? Is it cooking, leading arts and crafts time at the community center, or helping your child with their homework? Always make sure you have activities on your schedule that energize you and your family.
- Run it by your vision board.
Before you add another task or activity to your overflowing calendar, pause to look at your vision board. Is this activity going to bring you closer to your family vision or further away? Try to only schedule activities that contribute to your family vision.
- Leave some breathing room.
When it comes to your schedule, don’t think you have to fill every space. It’s good to leave room to catch up with each other and to be spontaneous. If possible, try to keep one or two nights a week free so your family can rest and relax.
- Practice saying no gracefully.
Just because you’re asked to lead a committee or volunteer for a worthy cause doesn’t mean you have to say ‘yes’. If the activity isn’t right for your family, don’t be afraid to turn it down.
- Track everything.
It’s good to keep your day planner, whiteboard, and calendar in the same area. This makes it easy to see your week at a glance. If you prefer to go digital, you can keep track of family schedules in Google calendars or use the ‘Personal Projects’ section in Asana for a quick to-do list.
Schedule burnout can be prevented, but it does require some strategic thinking. When looking at your schedule, understand that activities and events aren’t set in stone. You can move things around to do what works best for your family.
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