Example Of A Daily Schedule (for Blogging, Gardening, Cooking, Working, & Living)
A few readers have asked about my daily schedule and how to accomplish making food from scratch, gardening, and homemaking while working part time and blogging. I’ve hesitated to write about this because, honestly, each of us is so different and our lives rarely look the same.Plus, I firmly believe that some people just function better with more down time (the camp I fall into!), while others have no problem being on-the-go from dawn until dusk. Acknowledging this is important- we are all different and it’s OK to not accomplish as much as the next person if you’re doing all that you can with what you’ve been given.
So if it’s a comparison- “she’s doing all this, I should do more” or “she’s sure wasting a lot of time” then I really don’t want to put myself out there (just being honest here…). But if it’s inspirational and encourages someone towards an organizational goal and helps to use time wisely, then I think it’s a good idea.
I know I have been encouraged and challenged when other bloggers I read have shared how they organize their days- whether how to fit in exercise or blogging or whatever, so I’m going out on that perverbial limb and writing down my daily/weekly schedule. It is my hope that you will be inspired to find time to persue those things that are important to you, as well.
Caveat: This schedule is the goal- life happens and there are many days that do not follow the timeline, but I really don’t stress about it- it’s a tool for me to make use of the time I do have that is available.
And the photo above? That’s actually my schedule that I use to help keep me on task- on a couple of post-it notes. Nothing fancy here- you just do what works!
I teach part time, so my days look different during the week as well as during the school year vs. summer. They also look a lot different now than they did when my kids were younger. There are lots of seasons to life and adjusting to them is half the battle!
School-year weekly schedule:
Monday
Wake between 6:30-7 am- coffee, Bible reading, email
8 – Exercise, shower, etc.
9 – Breakfast, then bake for the week (bread, granola, granola bars, beans, prep for any meals, etc.)- every other week I also watch my little niece and nephew
11 – Computer time in between baking (on days w/o babysitting)- checking emails, searching, loading pictures, etc.
12:30 – Lunch
1-3 pm – School Prep and planning
3-5 – Blogging (I try to spend this whole time prepping & writing posts, if there’s time at the end I will do more emails or check in with my network of blogging buddies)
5-6 – Dinner prep
6 – Family dinner (this is one of our important traditions)
7-10 – If we’re home: family time, reading, knitting while watching TV with family, etc.
10:15 to 10:30 – this is my goal to be in bed, then I read until just after 11*
*I have trouble sleeping, which I know a lot of others do as well- it’s important to keep good “sleep hygiene” which is doing the same things at the same time every night and being in a calm environment. One of the things that I’ve found that helps is to make my sleep efficient by NOT thinking I need to be trying to sleep for 8 hours. I turn the light off every night about the same time and wake up every morning between 6:30 and 7:00- no matter if it’s the weekend or weekday. The days of sleeping in are long gone for me…and I find it does help- most of the time.
Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday
6:30/7am- Shower, etc., coffee & Bible, breakfast, email check
8:15-1:00pm – Teach
1:00 – Lunch
1:30-3 – Shopping, cooking, gardening or working around the house
3-5 – Blogging
5-6 – Cook dinner
6-10 – Same as Monday (except Wednesday is youth/church and Thursday is Cleaning Night)
Friday
6:30/7am – Coffee, Bible reading, email
8 – Exercise, shower
9-12 – Extended computer time for blogging, research, business end, template, and all that kind of thing.
12ish – Lunch
1-5 – Project time for house, garden, sewing, cooking (or shopping as needed)
6-10pm – Same as Monday
Weekends are for family and working on projects together so each really looks different, but the one thing I try is to not do any blogging on the weekends besides an hour on Sunday for the menu. This was an important change I made back in February when I felt like the blog was taking over my life (and my daughter said I was always on the computer…). Now I try to maximize the time I do spend blogging, but really try to keep to my self-imposed limits.
Summerfor us means I have more time Monday through Thursday (no planning or teaching) for 2-1/2 months. There are A LOT of projects that get pushed to this time, for example this year here’s a glimpse of what we hope to accomplish in the next few months:
- Dining chairs painted (finally!)
- Living room carpet torn up and wood flooring put down
- Master bedroom carpet torn up and torn-paper flooring applied
- Backyard deck makeover completed
- All the flower beds newspapered and mulched
- New kitchen counters, sink, and back splash installed + cabinets repainted
- Finish the pillows to match the comforter cover I made for my daughter
- Plus a million other ideas (and that ebook I keep mentioning in all my goals…)
SO…my goal is to keep a daily schedule like my normal Friday- Blogging in the morning and projects in the afternoons.
Of course then there are vacations…and before I know it, September is here. I sure hope we are able to get a lot of these checked off our list before then.
How do you organize your time? Do you keep to a schedule? Leave a comment here or on Facebook to encourage others and help us all to use the time we’ve been given wisely!
-Jami
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I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
