The best way to organize your family calendar

There are many things I wish I knew before I became a parent. An incredible amount of band-aids to waste. How many out-of-focus selfies of toddlers’ heads are there in my camera roll? Most of all, the time you spend performing mind-boggling logistical acrobatics to manage your family’s day-to-day activities.

Managing family schedules: work deadlines, business trips, doctor’s appointments, soccer practice, piano lessons, teeth cleanings, gym classes, birthday parties, daycare pick-ups, school events, etc. , you can feel like you are doing air traffic control at JFK.

The “best way” to organize depends on your preferences and your partner’s preferences. You may need a large wall calendar or whiteboard in sight to remember something. Your spouse may thrive in a fully digital environment. However, there are some ironclad rules that apply regardless of the schedule format.

decide 1 Family calendar location (and format)

The first order of business is decision Where of Major The family calendar lives on: on the wall or on your device? Sure, paper and whiteboard calendars can seem dated. But for some people (me), literally stepping into the calendar is the only way to get a proper reminder of what’s coming next.

However, preserving digitally has many advantages. Choice of calendar apps, baked-in color-coding options, automatic syncing across devices, push notifications before each activity. However, if you and your partner previously used different digital calendars, you must agree on the following: 1 use for family

In our home, we do both digital calendars that my husband and I both maintain, and wall calendars that I create as a backup that rely on plain old paper. (Side note: young children usually love watching the next activity so they can mentally prepare and count the days). Children after middle school can and should play an active role in keeping it part of the family calendar.

Establish a rule that everything (no, everything) must be on your calendar

The first order of business is agreeing that you and your partner need to maintain a joint family calendar. .) Once you both accept personal responsibility for keeping your home schedule running smoothly, make rules that each parent will: Must All your personal appointments, events, business trips, poker nights, after-hours gym trips, and social activities joint family calendar— unless you are lucky enough to be with someone who enjoys being in charge of everything and is excellent.

If one kid’s entire soccer schedule is stored in TeamSnap, and another kid’s baseball season and band practices are in two additional apps, enter all those practice and game times in TeamSnap with your spouse. come up with a system that center family calendar.she has one consenting parent all Always enter or rotate responsibilities on a weekly or monthly basis.

Use color coding to your advantage

One way to easily interpret your family calendar is to use color coding. Choose a different color for each child, for each activity, or parent It is their responsibility to prepare the child and put him into action. Digital apps make this easy. But for those who like a concrete calendar, it’s nice to have a highlighter pen or different colored whiteboard her markers near Command Central.

Have a weekly family “meeting”

Loosely interpret the word “meeting”. This can be a regularly scheduled all-hands roundtable where all family activities are broadcast to the entire group, or it can be a 10-minute check-in with the spouse and her every Sunday night for a major meeting. You may also need to check the logistics and other things. It changes from the norm for the week (and of course, who is responsible for nightly transportation and dinner).

Night or morning check-in practice

In addition to your weekly meeting, touch the base each night before bed or each morning with your partner as well as your children to remind them of upcoming practices and other events. Like a scrimmage when a kid thinks he can grow plants after school).

And amidst all the competition, don’t forget to save time for relaxation and joint family activities that you can enjoy together.