Lately I've been feeling like there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything done, but I know we all have the same amount of hours and most of you are WAY busier than I am. So I'm wondering if I just suck at time management!
Care to share you're main schedules (wake up time, work start and end, and bed time). My kids are 5 and 15 months so I'm sure a lot of this comes from have a very needy toddler still to deal with.
Wake up 530ish Leave home at 745 to drop both kids off Work 9-5 Home around 545 Bed time around 930 (DH goes to bed early because he's up at 415, I go to bed early because I'm still up with DS every night and I'm always exhausted)
Up at 6:30, kids up at 6:45. Kids out the door by 7:15. I empty the dishwasher while making their breakfasts. Work from then until 4:45. Evening activities and some nights more work; younger two in bed by 8:00 unless late games. Oldest goes to room by 9:45. I go to bed when I’m tired, usually by 10:30.
I used to get up and start work at 5:30 or 6:00 but —- that’s crazy. I have just stopped since Christmas. I still work usually about ten hours total many days, last week there were 12 hour days, but I don’t have a commute.
5:30 wake up 6:45 both of us leave the house. DH usually does drop off, but beyond that he's useless in the mornings. 7:10ish-4:15 work 7:00 DS to bed 7:45 DD to bed 7:46 me to bed... kidding. Kind of.
It sounds like you're taking forever to get out of the house in the morning... anything that you can cut out to make that process smoother? Pack lunches the night before, clothes picked out in advance, breakfast once they're at school/daycare?
k3am I get up that early by choice. I like having some quiet time to read and drink coffee in the morning. This morning I made muffins, cleaned the kitchen a bit. Some days I'll put in a load of laundry etc. I get the kids up around 715, and we're out the door by 745. DS gets dropped off around 820, DD at school 830, and then I'm off to work. We have a decent commute.
I fell asleep putting DD to bed last night (at 745), thankfully I woke up 10 minutes later.
Lunches are packed the night before, clothes and breakfast aren't an issue in the morning.
I want to add working out in the morning since I'm finding it impossible to get it in at work. My schedule is just unpredictable these days and we're getting into our busy season, so the idea of working out is the first thing that gets scrapped.
I think I'm still struggling with my schedule change to 9-5. I used to work 8-4 and I loved it. Evenings seemed so much longer. Losing that extra hour is making a big difference in the evening.
Wake up 6-6:30 8:15 bus for DS then leave and drop off DD 9-5 work. Home around 5:45. Homework and Physical Therapy exercise 5:45-6:15 Dinner prep 6:15-6:45 ish Eat dinner until about 7. Bedtime for kids 7:30 Bedtime for us 9:30
Post by mustardseed2007 on Jan 22, 2018 17:37:41 GMT -5
4/4:30 wake up 5/5:30/6am workout 7/7:15 get home, get ready for work, kids dressed 8:00/8:15 out the door 8:15/8:30 drop kids off 9am-5:30 work 6pm home, make dinner 6:30/7 eat dinner 8:00 brush teeth, get kids in bed 9am chores around the house 10:00 watch tv/mess around on internet 10:30 go to bed repeat
my focus tonight will be to get to bed as early as humanly possible.
k3amI get up that early by choice. I like having some quiet time to read and drink coffee in the morning. This morning I made muffins, cleaned the kitchen a bit. Some days I'll put in a load of laundry etc. I get the kids up around 715, and we're out the door by 745. DS gets dropped off around 820, DD at school 830, and then I'm off to work. We have a decent commute.
This makes more sense then. I thought that it was just talking you 2+ hours to get yourself and kids up and out the door. I can totally understand enjoying the solitude. My favorite time of day is the 15 mins or so of quiet I get in the mornings. Or the days I leave the kids at school and spend an hour or so inside my house alone.
k3amI get up that early by choice. I like having some quiet time to read and drink coffee in the morning. This morning I made muffins, cleaned the kitchen a bit. Some days I'll put in a load of laundry etc. I get the kids up around 715, and we're out the door by 745. DS gets dropped off around 820, DD at school 830, and then I'm off to work. We have a decent commute.
This makes more sense then. I thought that it was just talking you 2+ hours to get yourself and kids up and out the door. I can totally understand enjoying the solitude. My favorite time of day is the 15 mins or so of quiet I get in the mornings. Or the days I leave the kids at school and spend an hour or so inside my house alone.
I could wake up at 645 and still get us all out the door on time. I can't guarantee any alone time at night since my kids hate going to sleep, and sometimes don't fall asleep until we do. So I make sure to get it in the morning, if not I'd go insane. Even on the weekend, DH will ask why I get up so early since I get so little sleep. My answer, as little sleep as I get, I get even less alone time.
Sorry this isn't going to be helpful at all This is my busy season schedule...DD is 6 and doesn't need help in the AM. Me wake up 6:40, wake DD at 7 (Finish loading lunches into bags, get dressed, fix DD's hair, grab her snack before we leave to eat on the way) Leave house 7:15 7:30 drop off at before care where she eats snack. DD starts school at 8:45 and gets free breakfast. School out at 2:45 she goes to aftercare where she gets snack. M/W I pack her dinner and she eats dinner around 4 before grandma picks her up and drops her off at gym at 4:40. I pick up after practice at 6:30. T/TH/F DH is in charge of pick up (nothing gets done other than him picking her up) 8 am I start work (I eat breakfast at my desk) 6 pm leave for the day hopefully 6:45 arrive home either from practice or a few minutes earlier from work Between 6:45-7:30 we do dinner, shower, reading, homework as DD goes to bed at 7:30 7:30-9 I meal prep for the next night, pack lunches, play with the dog, shower, try and find R&R time and crash
I wish my DH would step up during tax season but he just isn't capable and the more I push the more stressed I get. I'm hoping to pawn off reading time since it is having DD read to us and not us read to her and this works better not at bedtime when she is exhausted. I will say that DD has been great so far this season and has really stepped up her helpfulness (showers before I get home, setting table, cleaning) which is probably why she is turning into a micromanager.
I will say I'm mourning my get off at 3 schedule a lot and I feel very rushed and stressed. I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't have Sunday to do everything but I have 4 weeks before that comes and then it is only for a 6 week stint.
Wake at 530 Work out until 615-620 Shower, get dressed, makeup until 7-710 Wake kids if they weren’t up already Get DD2 dressed, DD1 could do it herself Get kids breakfast, prep mine if smoothie, or grab a yogurt to eat at work Fix kids hair Pack whatever was left to pack in bags (lunches packed at night, into backpacks in the morning) Carpool friend arrived at 740, nanny at 745 Mon DD2 and I left at 745, DD1 would stay with nanny until school at 830. Mon we picked up a second carpool friend, dropped off at school, then off to work. Tues and thurs I left without kids Commute could be 35-60 mins Work until 515, Home by 6-615 DH would have fed kids, probably started baths. I’d start dinner for us. Play/read 730-745 bed time
Work from home days were a bit different. DH left for work by 6am, so I had all morning stuff
This makes more sense then. I thought that it was just talking you 2+ hours to get yourself and kids up and out the door. I can totally understand enjoying the solitude. My favorite time of day is the 15 mins or so of quiet I get in the mornings. Or the days I leave the kids at school and spend an hour or so inside my house alone.
I could wake up at 645 and still get us all out the door on time. I can't guarantee any alone time at night since my kids hate going to sleep, and sometimes don't fall asleep until we do. So I make sure to get it in the morning, if not I'd go insane. Even on the weekend, DH will ask why I get up so early since I get so little sleep. My answer, as little sleep as I get, I get even less alone time.
Your DH sounds like mine. He thinks I'm crazy to get up earlier than I have to. I NEED QUIET, DH.
Post by sweetptater on Jan 22, 2018 18:14:51 GMT -5
Mine is dependent on DH's travel schedule, since he's gone anywhere from 2-4 evenings a week.
5:00 - Wake up and alone time with reading coffee. (If DH is home, it's either a 4:20 or a 5:20 wake up for a 5 or 6 AM CrossFit class, depending on when he has to leave the house that morning.) 6:00 - I shower and get ready for work 6:15 - Wake kids up 6:30 - Kids eat breakfast/brush teeth/get dressed 7:00-7:15 - Out the door 7:30 - Drop kids at school 7:45-4:30 or 5 - Work 5:15 - Pick kids up 5:30 - Home and start dinner. Kids play or watch TV 6:00-6:30 - Dinner 6:30-6:45 - Baths 6:45-7:45 - Kids do whatever while I clean up or do chores 7:45-8:15 - Kids brush teeth/books/bed 8:30 - Kids asleep DH and I usually just hang out and have a glass of wine and chat in the evenings. Or we'll sit in the hot tub. I try to be in bed between 9:30 and 10, depending on whether I'm getting up in the 4s or the 5s the next morning.
This is also dependent on whether DH is home that evening and whether DD has dance (Mondays) or gymnastics (Wednesdays).
I don’t get up until the kids wake me up, usually around 6:30 am. We have to leave the house at 7:45 to walk DD to school, then I walk baby to daycare and then drop DS1 at preschool, and get to work at 8:45 am. That’s on a day when I don’t have travel or babysitter help. I’m really lucky everything is close and my commute is short.
My quiet time is in the evening after kids are in bed. I feel like the best thing I can do for my schedule is have an early/tight bedtime routine. I’m usually done by 7:30 pm (DH reads to older kids till 7:45 or 8). I clean up and prep for the next day by 8 pm and then have over an hour to chill/catch up with DH/read, etc.
My DH is also up very early (4:45), and we also don’t do much cooking. I do cook a 4-person blue apron meal twice a week, because I enjoy cooking and it provides reheatable real food leftovers. Usually I do one meal after kids are in bed on a weeknight and one on a weekend day.
I wouldn’t be able to work out much if I didn’t do it during the day at work. On weekends I usually drop the kids at the Y childcare Saturday mornings and DH has them while I go exercise Sunday mornings. I try to fit exercise in during the workday a few times a week.
One of the few upsides of work travel is that sometimes I get back from a trip mid-afternoon and can get some errands or stuff around the house done, or fit a workout in.
I loved the book ‘I know how she does it’ when it comes to time management for working moms. .
Post by ilovelucyvv on Jan 22, 2018 19:36:19 GMT -5
Up at 4:30 & start to get ready 5:00 wake H up 5:15 wake kids up & get ready 6:00 leave house 6:30-6:40 daycare dropoff 7:00- 4-4:30 work 4:45 daycare pickup 5:30 home & dinner 6:30 bath 7:00 try to calm the kids down & H falls asleep 8:00 kids to bed 8:15 me to bed
5:30 I get up 6:15-6:30 DD up. 7:30 DH up 8:10 leave house, drop DH at the train and DD at school. 9:15ish arrive at work 5-5:30 leave work 6:30 get home 7:00 dinner, homework, bath, playtime 7:45 DD to bed 9:00 me to bed 12.00 DH to bed
I am up for a loooooong time before we leave in the morning, but DD is an early riser so I have to be even earlier if I want to shower in peace. We don’t use before care so no point in leaving the house any earlier cause we can’t drop her off till 8:20. I do nothing in the evenings to prep because there’s so much morning time.
In my dream world, DD sleeps till 7 and I get up at the same time and hit the gym. If only...
Post by supertrooper1 on Jan 22, 2018 21:35:24 GMT -5
4:55 wake up 5:40 leave for work 6:30 DH and DS get up 7:15 DH and DS leave 6:00am-2pm, I work 7:50am-4/4:30 DH work, picks up DS after and comes home
8:30 bedtime for me and DS
I make dinner and we usually have quiet evenings with the tv. We don't have much for activities. This schedule is only for 3 days a week. Because I work weekends, 2 weekdays are just me with DS, running errands and doing stuff around the house. DS has preschool M, T, TH, F in the afternoons so I get some quiet time if I'm off. I work weekends and DS spends the weekend days with DH until I get home. I work overtime at least one day a week.
Post by dizzycooks on Jan 22, 2018 22:27:20 GMT -5
Our work schedule looks like this when kids Wake at 5:15, shower/dress Wake kids at 5:45 one dresses them the other makes coffee and breakfast 6:15 Out the door 6:35 drop dds at daycare and dh at bus stop Arrive at work by 7:15 Leave work at 3:45 Pu kids at 4:15 Home around 4:30 Make dinner while they play/hang in my legs Eat, bath, bed by 6:45 for munchkins Bed by 9:15 for me This was with two kids ages 1 and 3. Idk how the f this would work now.
Post by traveltheworld on Jan 22, 2018 22:36:01 GMT -5
Wow, how do all you ladies get up so early?!?!
Here's my schedule:
7:15 - get up, get kids up, nanny arrives and makes breakfast 7:45 - send kids downstairs to eat breakfast with nanny, I jump in the shower and get ready for work 8:15 - leaves house, I try to drop the kids off a few times a week, but not everyday 8:50 - 5:30 - work 5:30 - 6:00 - get home 6:00 - 6:30 - make dinner 6:30 - 7:15 - eat dinner 7:15 - 8:30 - bath for kids (a few times a week), homework supervision, practice piano with DS (if DH is working from home that week he usually does this sometime during the day), reading time 8:30 - 9:30 - sit in the kids' room waiting for them to fall asleep while silently getting more and more enraged 9:30 - 10:30 - work out 10:30 - 11:30 - clean up, relax
Wake at 5:20. Let dog out, eat breakfast, shower, out the door at 6:45. I am gone before DD is awake generally. Work 7:30-4:30; do errands at lunch. 4:30-5:15 drive to pick DD up at school. Home around 5:30-5:45, dinner usually, start bedtime at 7:15 with bath, PJs, reading, songs, teeth and bathroom, bed at 8. Make lunch for next day, maybe empty dishwasher, go through mail, empty backpack, that kind of thing. I usually go to bed around 9 and sleep sometime between then and 11, depending on how tired I am. DH gets home at 10:30. He gets up with her at 7 and leaves for school at 8:45. He works 1-10 and does a lot of grocery shopping, laundry, light cleaning before 1.
5:15 - I'm up 6:30 - Kids up, I feed them breakfast 6:30-ish - DH up, dresses kids 7 - I leave 7:45 - DH leaves 7:30 - 4 - I work 4:45 - pick up kids 5:30-6 - DH gets home and we eat dinner 7:30 - start bedtime stories/pajamas/etc 8 - Kids in bed 9:30-10 - I'm in bed
We have a good system down for the evenings now that I get home earlier. Kids get their downtime, watch a TV show while I make dinner. Then DH does dishes and cleans up dinner while I do bedtime stories and get the kids in bed. We tag team on packing backpacks and lunches and then can finally sit and relax by 8:30 usually.
Laundry and grocery shopping only happen on weekends. I squeeze in small errands before picking up the kids, since I can technically leave them at after care until 6.