Being overscheduled doesn’t just affect your time, it can also affect your finances and the overall well-being of your family. However, there are steps you can take in order to reexamine how you and your family are spending your time and energy. Here are some tips to help you simplify your family’s schedule.
MAKE A LIST
Just like with a budget, the first thing you need to do is determine where your time is going. If you don't already, move all your family activities into a single calendar. This will allow you to have a concrete overview of what everyone is doing.
RANK BY IMPORTANCE
Once you have this list, go through everything one by one. What is the most important to your family? Maybe for your kids, it's a certain sport and for you it's your weekly yoga class. Using this list, see if there are any items that can be removed. For example, If everyone is involved in multiple activities,(and this goes for both kids and parents) have everyone select at least one activity that they can cut from the schedule.
SAY NO
Once you clean out your calendar, you don't want to fill it right back up again.While you and your family don't want to miss out on anything, being able to say 'no' to certain events may just keep you sane. This will free you up for what's truly important and allow you to spend more time together as a family. Identify what truly makes you happy and make that the priority.
BE MORE MINIMALISTIC
Having a cluttered environment can make our already busy lives and schedules feel even more overwhelming. Even a simple everyday decision, such as deciding what to wear can be derailed by having an overflowing closet with too many options. By cutting down to just what you need, household tasks, like putting away toys, will not take nearly as much time as they usually do.
