Mastering the Art of Schedules and Routines
The New Year is a wonderful opportunity to get back to basics. Our schedules and standard routines tend to fall by the wayside during the holidays, so that reset that happens in January is simply an invitation to get back to what works! Having routines and schedules established for ourselves and our families helps in the synchrony of the day and week, and makes it easier to navigate through other things that come up unexpectedly.
Before embarking on this mission, time management coach, Julie Gill of Priority Living Inc. encourages her clients to determine what their top 10 priorities are in their lives: God/faith, family, exercise, and work are some of the most common categories listed. Consider making friendship a priority. If you had been neglecting lunch with a friend, you WILL make time for it if friendship is set as a priority.
If you have a planner that works for you stick with it. It’s worth its weight in gold if it is one that works with your needs to organize your time. If not consider investing in one that is specific to your priorities at home (as well as professionally if needed). Alternatively, simple forms can be found online for daily/weekly/monthly and even yearly schedules and routines.
Making a list of what you do yearly, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and finally daily will help you determine what needs to be done when. It helps to put everything down that you want to accomplish, for example dog grooming, oil changes, and school conferences. These tasks will eventually be placed on your schedule and calendar.
Once you have that list you can write down what months and weeks those tasks need to be completed in. Annual items like doctor/dental appointments would go on the Master yearly calendar. You can decide what month you want to schedule those yearly events in.
Your daily routine and schedule are best on a planner page with the day divided into an hourly basis, say from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Julie Gill takes her clients through an exercise called The Foundation, which is ultimately the “ideal schedule” for a day in your life. The Foundation will include all the necessary daily tasks you’ve listed, which can be represented in a condensed style, such as “morning routine,” “work routine,” “evening routine,” etc. where the incorporated tasks in these routines are done together. Things like prayer time, housework, errands and when to eat and sleep would be listed in the Foundation.
Towards the end of the day you will want to schedule just a few minutes in your Foundation to prepare the planner for the next day, and review the last 24 hours. What were the successes? Where were the moments where we struggled? Were there moments where we had to persevere and begin again? Following through with this step is key! Waking up with a plan already in place for the day will alleviate unnecessary anxiety and overwhelm!
We all know that having an “ideal schedule” and the reality of the day can be two very different things. However, having a foundation of a daily schedule makes it much easier to get back on track and we will be comfortable being flexible and accommodating unexpected priorities. We will waste less time, not get as overwhelmed and feel a sense of gratitude by the end of the day.
If you have children, having a Foundation can be helpful for them as well! With school, sports and other activities children can get easily distracted, and this is beautiful way of encouraging them in their daily tasks. This exercise can also help kids determine if they have too much on their schedule. It can have a significant influence on family unity when we all recognize we are just too busy!
Time is a treasure. The 30 days/1 week/24 hours we have are a gift, and how we plan that time will reflect our gratitude for that gift.
What we do in our homes has a profound impact on those we serve. Our role in the home is to nurture and build an atmosphere in which the family thrives. Having order in our schedule and establishing routines is an essential way to help facilitate that!
“Make few resolutions.
Make them definite.
And fulfill them with the help of God.”
Meringue Recipe
Ready in 3 hours
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
4 large eggs (room temperature)
½ C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
1-2 Tbsp chopped pistachios (optional)
2-4 Tbsp granulated sugar (optional)
Directions:
Carefully separate egg whites and yolk into separate bowls. Make sure no yolk remains in the whites.
Place egg whites in CLEAN glass or stainless steel mixing bowl.
Whip egg whites at medium high speed until they begin to foam.
Once eggs begin to foam, gradually add ½ C sugar as you continue to whip.
Continue whipping until eggs become glossy white and stiff peaks form. Do Not Overmix.
Fold in extra flavorings (vanilla, pistachios, chocolate shavings) gently so as to not deflate the meringue.
Pipe as desired on prepared parchment paper.
Bake
Bake at 175-200 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-2 hours. To test if done, break off a part of a cup and cool for 30 seconds. If still wet and/or sticky, continue to bake.
Tips
An overmixed meringue or a too hot of an oven may lead to a brown meringue cup rather than a white meringue cup.
An overmixed meringue will appear bumpy and grainy. Liquid may pool at the bottom of the bowl.
You may turn off the oven after an hour of baking and prop open with a wooden spoon and allow meringue cups to continue to bake and dry overnight.
Store unused meringue cups in an airtight container for 4-6 weeks on a pantry shelf.
Top with whip cream, fresh fruit or drizzle with chocolate and caramel sauce (YUM!)
Members’ Corner: Meet Debbie Mascari
Every month, we interview one of the members of Art of Living for Women or of Home Unlimited.
Our first guest at the Members’ Corner is Debbie Mascari, who has played a crucial role in the development of AOLW since 2017!
HU: Home Unlimited is a new resource for others to cultivate a well-run home. Tell us a bit about where you live and what kind of home you have?
DM: I live in Wauwatosa Wisconsin, which is a suburb in Milwaukee County. I live in a bungalow in a relatively small community.
HU: What is your role with Art of Living for Women and Home Unlimited?
DM: My role in Art of living for women in Wisconsin is threefold. I sit on the boards of Home Unlimited and Art of Living for Women, and I am a member of our local Wisconsin Art of Living for Women team. We plan and present seminars and do in-house mentoring for some of our seminar attendees.
HU: What expertise do you like to share with AOLW?
DM: Our Wisconsin team brings a variety of talents to our seminars. I offer cooking classes and I have personally instructed people on how to upholster dining room chairs. I’ve learned the basics of what I know from being a housewife, but I have taken classes in cooking, upholstering, sewing, and hand stitching to perfect my skills and knowledge. Now that my children have grown, I do some catering and cooking for retreats and other small events.
HU: What is your favorite memory from one of your seminars?
DM: My favorite memories always occur after the seminars. One memory was of a young mother of a large family who brought a dining room chair to our upholstery class and successfully upholstered her chair, but returned home to the overwhelming task of finishing the rest. This mother used the information we gave her and brought together her daughters, her mother-in-law, and me. Together we helped her upholster all the chairs in their dining room. Remember, this was a large family. There were a lot of chairs to do!
Other favorite memories are one of the young ladies sent me a picture of the quiche she made and another one brought over a piece of her first lemon meringue pie. One even made some meringue nests and brought them to a party at my house!
HU: Tell us what you have in store for your next seminar.
DM: We have lots of plans for this year in Milwaukee/Brookfield. We are presenting three seminars all dealing with saving money during this recession. One seminar on bread baking, one seminar will teach families how to have fun in the summer without spending a lot of money, and one will focus on saving money and having fun during the holidays. I hope many of you will join us!