Those of you who make schedules and stick to them...

[SueQ]

how do you do it? I make schedules but then don't stick to them. I guess I am undiciplined. :blush I have goon intentions though.

On the bright side, I am sort of taking a break from the internet or at least cutting my time *way* back and my house is looking nicer, the boys are fighting less, so now maybe I am beginning to find something that works for us. Still if I could stick to a schedule, it would work wonders, I think.

Can an unscheduled person stick to a schedule or is it a loss cause? On the proside, not liking schedules is what turned me off to the Ezzos when my cousin gave me their stuff as a baby shower gift when I was pregnant with my first. ;)

[Winkie]

do you mean a daily schedule or a weekly schedule? i'm fairly (ahem) anal by nature, so i love making lists for routines, etc. no, i dont always stick to it. i'm pretty good about my weekly duties - mon is bill paying, tues - groceries, etc. not too long ago i made up a schedule for the day where i listed a time for everything -- meals, snacks, dishwashing, arts&crafts, video/computer time, reading, cleaning, etc. it was AWFUL - i tried valiantly but i was always running back to my list to see what i "should" be doing next. :P i've re-written my list, dropping the stuff i'd do automatically - meals & dishes. and just listed the main things i want to accomplish in a day. i find myself actually getting *more* done in a day, because i can be flexible about whether to do X in the morning or the afternoon, depending on how the day is going. make sense?

[akmyilee]

I am kinda with winkie. I have a routine, like between the hours of 9-12A I will get done a list. But if I decied to stay on the computer until 11 then I have to rush around and stuff but I give myself a dead line to have a chore or whatever completed. I too have had to put a limit on the internet/TV (I am accually wheaning us off ofthe day time TV which is cool). So it works the opisate way too, like between the hours of 12-5 there is no TV/internet or whatever. It is flexable but it is an accountablity thing. I also post my rountine in a visable place and discuss it with my dh so when he come home on Thurs and the floors aren't done he will usally notice it then I,....well I kinda feel bad and it modivates me to get it done. hth

[Allison]

I don't know how, but I do know that I can't relax until my to-do is done. Somedays I have more things on it than others. I get most of my chores done before 10am. Then I can bake or read or do schoolwork or play until lunch. This week is odd for me because my guys were out of town last weekend and I don't have much to do this week. Hence the extra computer time this morning! LOL

[Singingmom]

I've recently made a daily schedule for the first time, and it's working really well. My dh gave me some good advice as I was making it, and I'm glad he did. He told me not to micro-manage it. In other words, not to make the blocks of time too tightly structured. He knows I wouldn't be able to stick to a tight schedule. For example, we set the alarm for 8:30 and begin school around 10:30 (on a good morning :smile). I don't have a set time for breakfast, getting dressed, putting in a load of laundry etc. That keeps me more relaxed, and it allows for some catching up throughout the day. I think if it suits you and your family, a routine is just as good as a clock-watching schedule, but for us this is working really well. Before, I was letting some important things go undone each day. Best of all, it prevents my 8 year old from trying to argue with me about how he doesn't want to clean up yet, or have "Quiet Time" right now. He really has very little to argue about! Well, that's what helped me, a formerly unscheduled mom learn to love a schedule. I hope it helps. :)

[erinee]

I'm with you. I actually love making schedules. I loved putting together my Flylady control journal -- and it sits on my counter largely unused. I'm enjoying filling out my MOTH schedule now, since I purchased the book at a HS curriculum fair, but once the fun part is done, I'm sure that will get set aside, too. :shrug When I'm desperate, I pull out my control journal and start at the beginning, when it's really overwhelming, but I've never gotten to the point where everything is running smoothly like she says it should. Not sure what to do about it, it's just me. :think

[Soliloquy]

I write each task on a separate post-it. When I complete the task, I get to throw the post-it away. It feels good! If it's a task for DH to do, I put the post-it on his computer monitor so he CAN'T miss it ;).

[shilohmm]

Can an unscheduled person stick to a schedule or is it a loss cause?

I'm very unscheduled but I have better luck with routines, if that makes sense. Which it does, going on some of the other responses here. :D What seems to work best for me is to have blocks of time assigned to this or that but not give every chunk of time a specific assigment. Eldest son is far more routine oriented than I am, and if he knows we normally do whatever whenever he'll hold me accountable, which helps. I tend to "hyperfocus" on things so I need to kind of get knocked off track sometimes or I'll spend the whole day doing whatever I started it with. I work with that a little bit - I'll assign specific days to specific projects instead of trying to do things a little at a time - but I still struggle with things that have to be done a little at a time day after day. You can't usually teach a kid to read in one day. :P

Something that really helps me for some reason is to review a "to do" list right before I go to bed. I don't do it every night, but when I do it I'm far more likely to get those things done. :shrug A lot of organization books recommend reviewing your schedule/to do list morning and evening; I guess there's a reason for that. :)

Posting a schedule helps, too, I think - the accountability thing, again. I've yet to find anything that motivates me to stick really closely to a schedule - currently I'm trying to move in that direction gradually by scheduling just certain chunks of the day or assigning things to a particular day of the week. I think for a lot of us it's impractical to expect to go from "pretty much unscheduled" to "seriously scheduled" overnight. I've seen people do it, but (a) it's hard on the kids (who're used to a more lackadaisical approach) and (b) no one I've known who pulled it off pulled it off for more than a few months. I think it makes more sense to shift from one style to the other in baby steps - maybe lists would work better than a schedule, or maybe scheduling the week is more practical than scheduling the day, or whatever.

Sheryl

[Micah]

I too prefer a routine! :tu
Schedules are too controlling for me. ;)