Stick with me and you’ll learn that after a semi-heavy series of blogs I like to lighten the mood. Usually, this is done by giving a tip or something else that has benefited me as a parent. Like all of you, I have a lot going on. A. LOT. LOL!!!!!! I am a full-time parent, I work full-time, I am working on my master’s degree(yup, I know I just dropped a bombshell lol), I am actively looking for a new job, I’m involved on community boards, AND I am working on blogging on a consistent basis. Like I said, too much!! As my son has gotten older, and the world has opened up managing his calendar has been a real chore. It is something I have worked on extensively and honestly, it’s something I tweak whenever I feel overwhelmed or think something isn’t working.

The one thing I do that helps me keep track of everything is have a master calendar. The master calendar allows me to see how busy my days and weeks really are. The master calendar contains all of my appointments, interviews, social events, and assignments alongside of my son’s appointments, classes/lessons, parties, half days, days out of school, and anything else that may come up regarding him. Upkeep of a master calendar isn’t as bad as it sounds, but there are some boundaries that I set in order to keep my sanity.

1. Make a ledger: Everything is color coded. Just from looking at the color of the event, I have a general idea of what is going on. For example, a red event means someone has a doctor’s or dentist’s appointment. While yellow means something is due.
2. Place a HOLD on tentative dates: For example, planning fall events for my son can be interesting. We like to go pumpkin picking, apple picking, to fall festivals/parades, you name it we want to attend it. Occasionally we invite friends and syncing schedules can be difficult. While waiting on confirmations I place a “HOLD” on tentative dates; this decreases the chance for time conflicts.
3. Know Your Child’s Circle: I purposely keep up with my son’s close friends. I gauge who he plays with most and what they like doing together. Basically, a classmate has to be in that rotation for us to attend the birthday party. For any other parties I won’t even mention to him that he was invited.
4. Sports/Lessons: I space the lessons by 2-3 days. T-ball is always on Saturday mornings, thereby giving him a weekend outing. Some weekends I need more study time than others which means the probability of us going somewhere is slim to none. Going to T-ball kills two birds with one stone, it gives him time to play and interact with others (aka an outing lol) AND it tires him out. His second lesson, swimming is during the week and is about 90 minutes prior to bedtime. With swim being so late it tires him out. We can go home, take a bath, eat dinner and go to bed.
5. Plan Ahead: There is a 98.8% chance that I will say no to any impromptu outing. If we can’t plan ahead I can’t go and neither can my son. It’s that simple.
6. Set Notifications: As a Type A personality I hate notifications! Most times they make me feel as if there is something that needs to be done. However, notifications for my calendar are clutch. Because my days are so packed it is easy to forget something. I set two notifications, one is a few days prior to the event, and the other is a few hours before the event. The notifications help me to plan my departure and get to my destination somewhat on time.
7. Set Reminders: Before my son, I rarely forgot anything. After my son, I rarely remember. Reminders, help me remember what to pack and take. Reminders are also effective for tasks that need to be completed too far in advance for me to remember. For example, if I can’t register for something until I certain day I set a reminder in my calendar for that date with a description of what it is.
8. Send Calendar Invites: If you’re coming with me expect a calendar invite. I need to be able to text or call you if I am late.
9. Schedule Time For Yourself: I’m sure this one sounds dumb, but if it’s important it needs to be scheduled to ensure it takes place. This is true of exercising, reading(for enjoyment), the occasional binge-a-thon, etc. As a single-mom it is easy to forget or forgo something for myself in order to ensure things are done for my son. It’s hard to pour from an empty cup, so I schedule time with and for myself.
10. Sync Your Other Calendars to Your Master: The purpose of having a master calendar is to see everything on one calendar, to get an overarching “BIG” picture of your day. If your other calendars are not synced to one main calendar you’re not helping yourself. If you use Google Calendar there is an easy way to sync/export the calendars. This feature alleviates the pain of you having to re-enter all of your events.

There are a few of my tips for managing your calendar. If you have other calendar management tips please drop them in the comments section!!