Plan your days so that you will avoid disaster and that your days will run smoother and you will have less “Oh no” moments. Oh No moments are when there was an important deadline, meeting, zoom call, birthday, event that you were supposed to do, call or go to but for one reason or another you got mixed up and didn’t go to it.
Recently I started looking at our upcoming 2 months and the special events that will happen, going away for a few days to spend time with family made me look at our calendar closely. I want to plan my weeks, and then my days leading up to Christmas.
Family Culture
When we face the Holiday events, special gatherings we do so with a game plan. It is important to my husband and I to have ‘wonderful’ Thanksgivings and Christmases. Not just good, but wonderful and even incredible. Our family culture is full of people that serve people. From teachers, to pastors, to hospice chaplains and caregivers. This is a culture that was taught by our older relatives, and several that have passed on. Our culture that we have, and we teach our children is to make people feel worthwhile. Loved and cared for.
And this culture spills over into our everyday lives. So planning ahead, not being a hot mess is important to have wonderful gatherings and days.
Plan Your Day
To plan your day isn’t hard, but it does take a little focus. Getting up and getting dressed and going to school or work isn’t hard, it is all the other things needing our attention.
Here are a few tried and true tips to help you plan your days.
- Be mindful of your time and what you realistically have hour wise to deal with.
- Make a general plan and then a more specific plan based on the general plan.
- Use a calendar that you can write or enter your information.
- Print out the Monthly planner overview I am providing you to write in.
If it is important to you write it in. If it is not as important set the event or activity aside to be added as you see fit. You are helping yourself plan and accomplish the important. The best schedule is one you won’t dread.
Think about what you want your days to look like. Plan for those kind of days.
Write it all down
First write everything down that you know you need to do. Work hours, school hours, sports practices, church activities. The solid schedule hours that are what you do weekly.
Next write down days that you can have several hours available to you to work with. Begin adding your necessary activities to those days.
If you have company coming a couple days prior to Christmas then your important activities might look like
- Buy groceries, breakfast and snack food items. Coffee, creamers, extra drinks, etc.
- Clean bathrooms and stock with supplies
- Put extra shampoo and conditioner, body wash in bathroom
- Add more towels to guest bathroom
- Clean guest or kids rooms. Change sheets weekend before company comes
- Vacuum key areas.
- Stack papers and put away to deal with later. Bills, receipts, things I need to tend to
- Clean clothese that need to be worn on special event days. Place in closet so they are acdessible
- Shake rugs, wash and then set out again
- Make sure there are extra hangers in the guest room
- Place basket in guest/kids room for guests. Add small hand cream, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste. Add card with internet name and password for them to use while they are at the house.
- Make sure there are additional pillows and blankets for guests.
These are a few things I have done in the past. When we have Christmas at our house I try to plan ahead and think ahead what will people need when they are in our home? Usually it is the internet, coffee, and a soft throw to cuddle up in while they are on their computer or reading!
The easiest and the most important part of planning is to write and track what you have to do, and then track your time that is workable. The worst thing is to face the night before a big event and have to clean cook and prepare and not have what you need or the time to do it.
Hence the Plan
Plan now, to help yourself in the next few days and weeks.
Write everything down.
Fill in your calendar and look at your days.
Do not give days away that are your ONLY days to accomplish what you need to accomplish so that you can have a WONDERFUL special day or special few days. Give yourself time. Accomplish what you need to do now, or in segments.
Create a successful plan for yourself. As a believer I pray and ask God for wisdom, and His help to navigate my days. Then I pray for Him to help me and do what only He can do. I know I have to do what only I can do.
One year our granddaughter who had a massive Leukemia CarT Cell therapy right before Christmas had to have the entire house disinfected before she came home. We couldn’t have company, our other grandchildren couldn’t come and be together because our one granddaughters immune was at zero. This took different planning. It was emotional. She came home. Had no hair, felt bad, and could barely engage at Christmas but we treated her like she could. We dressed her up, loved on her and gave her gifts. It was different. The planning wasn’t easy and all the other activities paled because she was home and she was alive.
The good news is she is completely disease and cancer free at 8 years old and this year we will celebrate till the cows come home. All of us together.
That is what is precious to me and I am planning now to do the hard work so those few days we are all together I will sit back and play with grandkids on the floor.
Stick to your plan.
Remember you are helping yourself when you plan your day. You will be less frustrated and frazzled.
The most important thing I always work at remembering –
I do not give away time that I do not have time to give away. Planning for interruptions. Not every minute is tightly cemented into my schedule. I plan on babysitting grand babies, and playing with little ones at my house.
But 9 times out of 10 I have a plan so that I can accomplish what I want to accomplish and enjoy my days.
Blessings,
Debbie Booth
For more articles on planning your day and having a game plan see my posts on my blog below. For more printables, planners, Christmas planners and Productivity and Organizers please visit my shop! It is awesome. Everything I talk about here I probably have a planner printable there to start writing your schedule in and helping you get things accomplished! My Christmas Planner is my favorite so far. Click on image to see more 🙂
