Family Management Tip #3: Getting Ready for the New School Year

Home
>
Get Organized - Organization
>
Family Management Tip #3: Getting Ready for the New School Year

Family Management Tip #3: Getting Ready for the New School Year

Clothes. Check. School supplies. Check. No doubt you've got to have all the physical goods required to carry your child through the school year. But perhaps the most important way to get prepared for the new school year is by planning to spend your time and your family's time wisely.

It's important to take a step back from your busy schedule to think about how you want your family to spend the upcoming year. What are your most important goals? Peace? Happiness? Good grades? Harmony? Weight loss? Better health? While you're planning your family's activities, be sure to allocate some time towards meeting those important goals.

You don't have to spend the upcoming year as you've spent the past year - especially if the lifestyle of the past year is not getting you closer to the most important goals you have for your family. People often hear this and agree, but discard the thought as not being applicable to them - so pay close attention: overscheduling yourselves is not necessarily in the best interests of your family.

It is one thing to make a conscious decision that some things are more important than others and to make sacrifices to achieve specific goals. But if you're just going along for the ride, unsure about what you want for yourself and the family, then you're basically gambling with your life. The consequences of these actions will be felt for a long time in your family. So take a thoughtful approach to planning the upcoming year.

Time management is central to success - for an individual or a family. But what does that term really mean? It's not about just scheduling appointments or activities. It can only be successful if time is managed to achieve certain goals. The best way to achieve this is to come up with a daily plan for each family member - well in advance to the extent possible.

Here's how you can achieve this for your family in the new school year:

Plan school-related activities.

You'll want to take care of this first. Before you schedule all other activities, make sure you account for homework time. Depending on how old your kids are, this can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours in a day. Of course, this gets top priority. If you're homeschooling, you'll need to plan for the curriculum as well.

Plan home activities.

Straightening up the room, making the bed, bringing in the laundry, walking the dog, feeding the fish - a thousand things to do everyday. To keep things going smoothly during the year, you need to come up with a daily, weekly, and monthly chore schedule for each family member. A little bit of planning and buy-in from the family on this front will go a long way. Don't compromise on this or prioritize this lower than other activities - much stress builds up if this schedule falls apart, and you want to avoid this. If you have a conflict with other activities, you can schedule these activities at a different time on the days where you have a conflict. For example, if Mike has hockey practice at 6am on Tuesdays, you can give him a break from dog walking on that day, or maybe he can do it in the evening.

Plan goal-related activities.

Pick one or two long-term goals for each member. Maybe it's health-related, like dropping a few pounds, or perhaps it's getting a higher degree. Whatever it is, unless you plan for it, it "ain't gonna happen", so schedule these activities in.

Plan extra-curricular activities.

After you've accounted for the most important activities, and only after, consider how much time is realistically left for other activities, and fit those in. If you don't keep it realistic, you're always going to find yourself compromising on your longer-term goals and you'll never get out of that cycle.

Assess the overall plan and make adjustments.

Once you've set up the whole plan, talk about it as a family and see if any adjustments need to be made.

Use a good family organizer to implement the plan. If every member of your family can have a daily plan for each day (and they could be guided to use it as they begin each day), it will give them a head start. Plan for success this school year - I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.

Saro Saravanan is the Founder-CEO of Mediabee, which makes Mediabee Family Dashboard, a free family management tool built to address the needs of busy families and their organizers. Be sure to read the rest of his articles from this series on Family Management. Download Mediabee Family Dashboard today at http://mediabee.com and streamline your family life.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

UAW to renegotiate labor terms, suspend jobs bank (AP)

AP - The United Auto Workers said Wednesday it is willing to change its contracts with U.S. automakers and accept delayed payments of billions of dollars to a union-run health care trust to do its part to help the struggling companies secure $34 billion in government loans.

Obama: Financial bailout must help homeowners, too (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama signaled a clear desire Wednesday to use a significant portion of $700 billion in financial bailout funds to stanch foreclosures by helping struggling homeowners with their mortgages. "The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes," he said.

Bombs found in Mumbai train station a week later (AP)

AP - Police searching a mound of baggage abandoned amid the carnage of the attack on Mumbai's main train station found two bombs Wednesday Â— nearly a week after they were left there by gunmen Â— in a stunning new example of the botched security that has become a major issue in India since the three-day siege.

Jeb Bush's bid for Senate could clear GOP field (AP)

AP - Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he's interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president's younger brother.

Cruise passengers describe 'cheeky' pirate attack (AP)

AP - Ordered to get inside and stay down, Oregon tourist Clyde Thornburg heard the pirates' rifle shots hit the side of the luxury cruise liner Â— "Pop! Pop! Pop!" Â— then felt the ship speed up to escape.

Police arrest aunt in Calif. shackled teen case (AP)

AP - The aunt and one-time guardian of an emaciated and shackled 17-year-old has been arrested, as police tried to determine how she knew the couple accused of holding the teen against his will for nearly a year. Caren Ramirez was arrested Tuesday in Berkeley, a day after the boy walked into a gym and begged managers to hide him. He was covered in soot, had a chain on his foot and was wearing only boxer briefs.

Scientists ask: Is technology rewiring our brains? (AP)

AP - What does a teenage brain on Google look like? Do all those hours spent online rewire the circuitry? Could these kids even relate better to emoticons than to real people? These sound like concerns from worried parents. But they're coming from brain scientists.

Bond denied for suspect in Hudson family killings (AP)

AP - A prosecutor alleged Wednesday that Jennifer Hudson's brother-in-law killed three family members because he was angry his estranged wife Â— the singer's sister Â— was dating another man.

The one that didn't get away yields long-lost ring (AP)

AP - The one that didn't get away held an unlikely surprise for a Texas man. The blue-stoned class ring of Joe Richardson, engraved with his name, turned up inside an 8-pound bass 21 years after he lost it while fishing on Lake Sam Rayburn.

Red Sox give AL MVP Pedroia a 6-year, $40.5M deal (AP)

AP - Dustin Pedroia has a Rookie of the Year award, an MVP, a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger and, of course, a World Series ring. And now he's got the big-bucks contract befitting one of the most decorated young players in baseball. The Red Sox second baseman, who earned $457,000 last season while winning the AL Most Valuable Player award, agreed Wednesday to a $40.5 million, six-year contract that could keep in Boston through at least 2014.

Obama says automakers' plan is "more serious" (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama said on Wednesday struggling automakers have put forward a "more serious" restructuring proposal to Congress but withheld judgment on the plans until hearings are held.

Recession fears deepen, rate cuts on horizon (Reuters)

Reuters - Record declines in the vast U.S. and European service sectors and more grim U.S. employment news on Wednesday sparked fear of an economic "free fall," setting up another round of aggressive interest rate cuts.

Rice pushes Pakistan, seeks to curb India response (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed Pakistan to cooperate fully in the probe into the Mumbai attacks but she also warned India against any action that could stoke regional conflict.

All options on table as Congress reviews autos bailout (Reuters)

Reuters - All options were on the table on Wednesday as congressional committees scrutinized auto company restructuring proposals and an urgent appeal for $34 billion in aid ahead of make-or-break hearings.

Senate Democrats will pack plenty of muscle (Reuters)

Reuters - Senate Democrats will be able to do plenty over the next two years -- despite falling just short of their goal of winning a majority big enough to end Republican procedural roadblocks.

Paulson said weighing bailout's next $350 billion (Reuters)

Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is weighing whether to ask Congress for the remaining $350 billion of the financial bailout fund, with White House aides approaching President-elect Barack Obama's transition team about the idea, an Obama aide said on Wednesday.

Ex-WorldCom chief Ebbers seeks clemency from Bush (Reuters)

Reuters - Imprisoned former WorldCom Inc chief Bernard Ebbers has joined the list of high-profile corporate defendants petitioning for clemency in the final days of President George W. Bush's term in office.

U.S.-led coalition in Iraq dwindles as allies leave (Reuters)

Reuters - A string of departures by the U.S. military's allies in Iraq is turning into an exodus as violence subsides and the end of a U.N. mandate permitting their deployment to the country approaches.

India warns all options open with Pakistan after Mumbai attacks (AFP)

AFP - India on Wednesday warned that all options were open in dealing with Pakistan after last week's attacks on Mumbai, as the United States pressured Islamabad to show urgent cooperation with the probe.

Some 100 countries sign ban on cluster bombs (AFP)

AFP - Some 100 nations put their names Wednesday to a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs, amid calls for major arms producers such as China, Russia and the United States to join them.

Family Management Tip #3: Getting Ready for the New School Year

Get Organized - Organization Get Organized - Organization