How To Make A Mother’s Rule of Life Or Daily Schedule

Why do I think a mother needs to make a Rule of Life, or a daily schedule?  Because, we have a lot that needs to get done.  There is always so much that needs to get accomplished in a mother’s day.  We need to construct a plan so we can use what little time we have wisely.  This will clear our minds and help us have more free time for doing hobbies we enjoy.

Motherhood Is A Vocation

Motherhood is a vocation, just like sisters in a convent.  Sisters and nuns have a daily rule, why don’t we?  We have a lot to get done too, don’t we?  If you feel like you don’t have enough time to do all the important things than it’s even more important that you establish a rule.  This will help you know that at the end of the day you were able to accomplish all the things that were most important to you.

Yes, I understand that there are a lot of variables throughout the day that may cause you to deviate from your Rule.  This is okay.  All mother’s have this problem.  The important thing is to understand that we are doing our best and trying.  Then, we get back on schedule to help us with all the duties we have to perform.  I know it sounds hard to do but I promise it will help with your stress levels and you will feel like you’ve really accomplished something when it’s time for bed.

Every Rule Is Different!

I worked on getting myself on a set schedule for years and years.  I’d restart just about every New Year’s as well.  It’s a never ending process.  Again, life just happens.  This post is going to be about how to set up your own Rule and Daily Schedule.  I’m not going to tell you exactly what to put into your day, just how to set on up for yourself.  After all, even though we are all mother’s, everyone’s day is going to be a little different from each other’s.  Some of us homeschool, some work, some have toddler’s, some high schoolers.  You get the point.  It’s up to you to individualize your schedule.  At the end of the post I’ll post my schedule so you can see how my day goes (or at least how I try to have it go!).

First Step

First off, grab a stack of 3 by 5 index cards.  On each card write something you need to get accomplished, whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly.  Everything.  One task per card.  Brushing your teeth, changing your nightgown, making breakfast, reading the Bible, writing in your journal, even vacuuming.  This may take some time.  You may want to even span it over a few days if need be.  I wrote down everything I could think of and then went about my day, writing down more items as they popped into my head.

Ideas of what you can add to your schedule:

• Get up!
• Meals
• Schoolwork with individual children
• Religious reading
• Journaling
• Housework
• Exercise/Daily walk
• Shopping
• Meal preparation
• Work, including transportation
• Date with spouse
• Church services
• Prayers
• Sewing/mending
• Hobbies
• Reading to your children or having your children read to you
• Go to sleep
• Educational reading
• Sweep
• Mop
• Clean up kitchen
• Bleach sink
• Wash laundry
• Clean toilet
• Etc.

Second Step

Separate each card into four separate piles:  daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal.

 

Third Step

Now, take your daily pile and organize them into like piles.  For example, when you clean up breakfast you may also take dinner’s meat out of the freezer.  These two cards can go together.  You’ll put these into your schedule in time blocks, not minute to minute.

Next, put them in order how you’d like your day to progress, from beginning to end, morning routine to evening routine.

You may have some items that wouldn’t necessarily go to a certain time.  You can either temporarily set them aside or just assign them a time.  It’s probably best to assign them to a time-block just to make sure it’s on your schedule.

Fourth Step

The fourth step is one of the hardest for me.  Now you need to put it to paper and implement what it is you’re wanting to accomplish!  This may sound easy but in reality it’s usually where we stumble.

I have a free pdf available for you to fill in to make this step easier for you.  It has helped me to be able to accomplish my day to day tasks, having my jobs in front of me on this sheet.  The download form is at the bottom of this post.

I recommend filling out your list and then laminating it.  You can then use a fine-tip dry erase marker to fill in the section for the day’s tasks and appointments and be able to wipe them off each day.  If you don’t have a laminating machine you can also put them into a sheet protector.  These wipe off as well.

Tips

A tip that helped me with my scheduling is adopting one new schedule change per week.  I get overwhelmed easily.  If I plan my entire schedule from fresh after having never followed any of it than I open myself up to disaster and failure.  It’s much easier to adopt small changes than big changes.  Try just doing your morning routine for a week.  Then, next week, add your mid-morning routine.  Try to keep to your time-blocks!  This will help you get more done by being focused on the task at hand when it needs to be dealt with.

I highly recommend sticking to the idea of time blocking.  You can block off two hours, for example, and mark it as your morning routine.  Or you can block off an hour and mark it as your evening routine.  Whatever works best for you.

You don’t have to put each task into a specific time slot, for example (dishes at 7).  That will set you up for failure, in my opinion.  Being a mother means our schedules are extremely variable.  Being too specific with each time slot will make it too difficult for us to keep to our schedule.

Another tip I recommend is giving yourself an hour or two with nothing planned.  This is your free time.  This extra time will help you keep to your schedule if you’re having a difficult time accomplishing what you want to accomplish, when you scheduled it.  This allows you to move things around a little bit, if necessary, or to spend more time on a particular goal you may be working on.

 Make Over Your Mornings E-Course

Something else that has helped me is an E-Course called Make Over Your Mornings, by Crystal Paine.  I have taken it a couple times and actually plan on taking her Make Over Your Evenings course as well.  She offers a short five minute video as well as a short homework assignment.  I love her personality and charisma.  She has great ideas as well as a wonderful outlook on life.  I highly recommend you take her courses if you’re looking for a little extra push with your planning.

Be Patient With Yourself, It Will Happen!!

Change comes slowly.  Be patient with yourself.  Make a rule for yourself and work on following it.  You will accomplish so much more with the time God has given you if you do!  Not only that but you will experience less stress in your life.  You will be relieved and feel free to do your hobbies when you have allotted the proper time for them.  No more feeling guilty because you have this or that to do.  It’s okay!  You have time scheduled in the afternoon (or whenever) for that particular chore.  Enjoy yourself during your scheduled time off!

Once you’ve gotten your own rule established you can help your children get a schedule set up for themselves as well.  This is particularly helpful with homeschooling children.  It’s easy to play/read your day away if you aren’t structured properly.  Maybe a rule of life is the answer.  Start them young and they will be able to accomplish so much with their lives!  God bless!  🙂