Though I hold the “time” part loosely, my timetable has become a pillar for aiming towards and for creating a life-giving atmosphere in our home and school. My timetable doesn’t box me in, leaving me with no flexibility. I get it. Life happens. However, in the day to day, and in the everydayness of our home and school, a timetable has come to be quite helpful. It allows me to keep track of how we are spending our days, and therefore it has given me even more freedom in our days to live a life more full, interweaving both work and play, discipline, and grace, faithful serving, and restful peace.
When I began crafting my timetable, I organized my time into six areas of life:
- Spiritual
- Physical
- Home
- Family
- Homeschool
- Work
Here’s a closer look at my timetable:
Wake Up Routine
This is a simple routine, and nothing but the basics for me. Wash face and moisturize, open the windows in the main rooms, brew the coffee, and begin my morning routine.
Morning Routine
It looks different on some days, but typically I will find my seat near a window and begin my Bible time and other current reads. Afterward I will spend a few minutes on social media, and checking emails or I will get ready for a quick walk with the dog around the neighborhood. Some days if I begin my walk earlier, I will listen to my Bible or a sermon in my headphones. On the days I walk, I include a morning shower and extra help from my husband with the children’s breakfast before he heads off to work.
Laundry
Laundry is a daily chore, and in order to set myself up for success, I put the dirty laundry inside the washer the night before, so all I need to do in the morning is add the soap and press start. I give laundry its own slot in my timetable because it’s the one chore I really don’t like doing and I can easily let it slip to the wayside. However, I’ve discovered that if I am only doing one load a day, it’s more manageable for me than 10 loads on the weekend. By the afternoon, I switch the laundry to the dryer and before bedtime I aim to get the load put away. On the days that I wash my children’s laundry, they will help sort and put away. I don’t have specific days for what gets washed. However, in a week I aim to have sheets/bedding, husband’s clothes, my clothes, and kids’ clothes done. Towels, throw pillows and bath rugs are done on the weekends.
Homeschool Lessons
Homeschool takes up the rest of our morning, and by completing the list above, I feel less distracted going into this time with my full attention. Setting boundaries like no phone at the table (other than the scheduled days for social media), no chores or work for mom, and saying no to guests or travels during this time is a must in order to keep our homeschool running smoothly.
I always have to remind myself that these boundaries are not wrong or over the top. In fact, it teaches my children proper time management of their day, balancing work and play, or in their case, school and play. And if I was an employee, it is expected of me to give my full attention, (phone free) to my job. Therefore, homeschool, for the short hours in our everyday, are held important by saying everything else can wait, temporarily.
Afternoons
Once lunch is over, and we’ve spent some time out of doors, the kids will begin their rest time and I have time devoted to work (this blog, social media, product planning and creating etc.). I might also take this time to listen to homeschool podcasts, or read homeschool content articles and squeeze in some reading. Everyday looks a little different.
What the kids do during rest time also looks different every day. However, the premise of rest time in our home is that everyone can play and create what they wish, just as long as they do it quietly, and independently. Within boundaries, my children know they can come to me if they absolutely need, but usually they respect my work time as I’ve asked and wait until our rest time is over.
Out of Doors
When rest time is all over, we all head outside together, usually just in the backyard. I like to use this time to run the dog, listen to an audio book, and enjoy nature with my children. I also use this time for afternoon brush drawing outside, PE/workout, nature journaling, and birding with my children. None of this happens on the same day.
Evenings
Family time is super casual on week nights as we aim to not over schedule in the week since our weekends are most always full. We also guard this time a little more strictly since its the only few hours in our week that we all get to be together just the 4 of us.
Family time sometimes looks like a quick game after dinner before bedtime, a walk around the neighborhood, a backyard soccer game, or a competitive round of Mario Kart racing on the Wii.
Evening Rest Time Routine
To wind down from the day, the kids have a 30 minute evening rest time. After baths, pjs and teeth are brushed, the kids will climb into their beds with a stack of books for themselves that they choose. For 30 minutes they quietly, in their beds, will read/look at books independently. They will have their Yoto Player on listening to their goodnight playlist as well in this time.
During this time I will finish cleaning dinner, prep the laundry for the next morning’s wash, close the windows for the evening, and finish any last minute tidying up. Once my children are in bed, my husband and I have the evening for our own leisure. My evening routine is another simple one:
- Wash face, and moisturize
- Read
- Commonplace or prayer journal
And there you have it. My (current) timetable for home and school.
I’m often asked how I get what I do done in a day and though many mishaps come up where things don’t get done or something slows us down a tad, I just try to keep our days moving, but also being okay with a the days when nothing looks like the timetable, adjusting and trying again the next day.
Our timetable weaves together natural family rhythms and disciplined habits of our time. It took many attempts to craft the right timetable for my family, and I’ve learned to expect that it’ll change again in various seasons of life (for example, when nap time was no longer a thing in our home).
Being Intentional With Time and Natural Consequences
Habit of attention and discipline are cultivated and nourished during short lessons and readings (10-20 minutes each in this age group) and therefore we are learning to be focused solely with that subject, before the time is up to move on. This has given my daughter (Year 2 student) a stronger focus because she knows there is an end time for every subject. On the other side, if/when we weren’t able to complete a lesson or a reading due to attitude, distractions, or the like, the natural consequence is that it eats into the free time we so dealy love.
The same goes for mother. I can easily choose to sleep in a little longer and not get my day started before the children, but the natural consequence I face will be that all day it will feel like I need to catch up or am distracted when I need to be focused on something else. If I am not scheduling in regular time in my Bible or prayer, it will not happen. If I don’t put boundaries on my time spent on social media, answering messages or creating content, it can take away the time I have to enjoy a book, make time to get outside, complete chores, or spend quality time with my children and husband.
My “Why” For Keeping A Timetable
How I desire to order my home and our time takes discipline every single day. Schedules can feel suffocating, but so can disorder in home and life. I personally find disorder and chaos more suffocating, and so do my children. A mother’s timetable can be sanctifying because by it, we do what we ought to do, opposing our disordered tendencies and living in a way that bears faithful fruit over time.
However, if I follow the timetable down to the exact time, but I don’t operate out of love, and for Christ’s glory alone, the benefits of a timetable can leave me empty, frustrated (not feeling appreciated), purposeless, and even a little bored.
So while I appreciate my timetable, and the benefits it brings forth in our home, I am reminded that it, in itself is nothing special. My timetable is merely a useful time management tool, and when my aim shifts from desiring an ordered home for my sake to glorifying God in my orderliness, there is more peace, more joy and more grace in our days.
