The second section of my Home Management Guide is “Work Schedules.”
The scripture on my cover is 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10. I also have some quotes pertaining to the value of work, because I love quotes (hint: if you also love quotes, visit QuoteGarden). One of my favorites in this section is “You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.” I don’t know who said that, but they are so right! I’m a procrastinator, and I can’t tell you how much valuable energy I waste thinking about what I need to do, instead of just doing it!
The Schedules section is possibly the most difficult section of the binder to establish, because it takes a great deal of thought and planning. However, this section is one of the most important, because it’s what helps you keep control of your day. If you’re home with young children, you know that control can be lost pretty fast!
Here’s what I have in my Schedules section:
-My daily task list. These are the tasks that I absolutely must get done each day to keep the house from falling apart.
-My weekly work schedule. This is a week-at-a-glance schedule, which details the tasks that I need to complete on each day of the week.
-My weekday schedule, broken down in time increments. Aside from meal and nap times, we don’t have a set schedule on weekends.
-My weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual task lists. We’ll discuss these more in future posts.
Since this section is a big one, let’s break it down into small parts. Today, we’ll focus on the Daily Task List. Getting these absolutely necessary tasks defined and put in your binder is the best way to start gaining control of your day. If, at the end of the day, you’ve accomplished nothing else but these things, you know that your household isn’t going to crumble into a complete disaster. The kids won’t have to go to school without underwear because you haven’t washed any. You won’t have to grind congealed egg off your dinner plates with a belt sander because you haven’t done the dishes. The cat won’t eat the kindergarten cupcakes in the middle of the night because you forgot to feed her. Completing these basic tasks gives you a feeling of success and accomplishment on even the most discouraging days.
Just for reference, these are my daily tasks:
□ Defrost food for supper/crockpot
□ Straighten up
□ Unload/Reload dishwasher (after meals)
□ Wipe down sink, stove, counters (after meals)
□ Sort/Recycle mail
□ Food/water for Pumpkin (the cat)
□ Sweep/vacuum kitchen floor
□ One load of laundry (wash/dry/fold/put away)
□ Wipe down bathroom sinks and counters
□ Refill cold drinking water
□ Take out compost
If you’re unsure of how to define your own daily tasks, think in these terms:
Meals-everyone needs to be fed, you know, to survive and all.
Dishes-you must clean up after said meals for sanitary reasons, at the very least. Unless you like mice and cockroaches, and want to share your home with them.
Laundry-you all need clean clothes right? I mean, nobody wants to smell bad. That I know of. But hey, I’m not judging!
Mail-you must deal with this every day to avoid suffocating in a mountain of catalogs.
This is a good place to start, but of course you can add any other tasks that you feel are necessary. On Monday, we’ll tackle the Weekly Work Schedule.
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