Do Your Children Need A Schedule?

You have probably seen images of families on television where the children have their own schedules, full of activities from piano lessons to karate, and where even “play dates” are scheduled weeks in advance.

While most families do not have that type of lifestyle, it is still a good idea to keep your children on a schedule.  This is especially true for younger children, as toddlers need routines in order to feel secure in their environment.

If you have a toddler, you may want to start with something simple, such as a night time routine to get your child used to following a schedule.  An example would be bathing your child after dinner, putting on pajamas, reading a story, and going to bed.

Once they get the hang of that routine, you can start a morning routine, which could include getting dressed, eating breakfast, and playing with toys and going out to run the day’s errands.  When your child understands that routine, you can move on to an afternoon routine and then a dinner routine.

Your child doesn’t need to be a toddler in order to appreciate a routine.  Children of all ages can benefit from having some sort of schedule.  If you have elementary school age children, you can start establishing a routine of getting home from school, having them eat a snack as you go over any papers that they brought home that day, helping them with their homework, and then having playtime while you make dinner.

If you have kids in middle school or high school, they may need their own planners to help them organize their homework, after school activities, and social life.  This is a great time to start teaching them about scheduling, setting goals and defining priorities.  These lessons will help them immensely when they get to college.

How To Avoid Time Traps

We face many different time traps each day. It can be easy, and sometimes a lot of fun, to fall into these traps and waste time. However, that isn’t the most proactive way to spend your day. Here are some tips on avoiding these time traps:

* Maintain your focus by sticking to the fifteen minute rule. When you focus on a whole project, it can be very overwhelming. Instead, focus on working for fifteen minutes. You’ll be surprised by how much you can accomplish in that time frame.

* On the other hand, when it comes to surfing the net or checking email, limit yourself to fifteen minutes. You will be able to find the information you are looking for or respond to your important emails. When your fifteen minutes is up, get back to the tasks on your to-do list.

* Thanks to technology such as DVRs and Tivo, we no longer have to set our schedules around our favorite shows. Simply record the shows you would like to watch throughout the week and watch them when you have time. The bonus is that you get to fast forward through all the commercials.

Bonus Tips:

The following are some miscellaneous tips to help you save even more time:

* Getting your kids ready for school in the morning can be hectic. To help speed things up, try to get the majority of work done at night. Lay out the kids clothes, make sure their homework is done, and hang their backpacks by the door.

* If your children take their lunch to school, pack as much of it as possible the night before.

Instead of driving to the video store to rent movies, sign up for an online rental service such as Netflix.

If you have a doctor’s appointment, call about a half hour before leaving to make sure the doctor is running on time. The nurse may tell you upfront that the appointments are running a half hour late. You can use this half hour to do something more productive than sitting in your doctor’s waiting room.