FREEBIE: Block Scheduling for Busy Homeschool Moms

Confession: I used to be a serious multitasker. But I wasn’t seeing a lot of progress because I was too busy being busy. Until I learned to use the secret weapon of productivity and sanity: Block Scheduling! Homeschool moms have multiple layers of responsibility. We’re not only managing our child’s education, but we’re also homemaking and possibly working and volunteering and taking care of extended family members too! Multitasking feels productive, but it usually leaves you frustrated. This is because you really can’t do it all. When you’re doing three things at once, most likely the quality of your work suffers. Instead of trying to do it all, you need to do the right things at the right time. And the secret strategy that will help you get there is block scheduling. This allows you to do deep work, which is focused work where you give your full attention to one task at a time. Do you need this kind of sanity in your life? Then throw the multitasking out the window and give block scheduling a try. Here are four steps to get you there. Download the freebie: Block Schedule Weekly Planner

Step 1: Know Thyself

Figure out when is the peak time for homeschooling and make that your number one priority. Block it in the weekly schedule. Are you a mom of littles who wake at the crack of dawn, so everyone is up and going by 6:30 am? Then take advantage of that early burst of energy and get your homeschooling done before an early lunch and nap times. However, if you have a houseful of teenagers who like to sleep (and you do too!), then go with the flow and homeschool in the late morning to afternoon. There’s not one right answer except that if you don’t go with your family’s natural flow, you’ll be trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Do what fits your homeschool, not what you think is expected to keep up with the Joneses. When you homeschool, focus on it, and it won’t drag on all day. I have learned this the hard way! If you work outside the home, then you’ll need to block in your work schedule first and work around it for homeschooling.

Step 2: Brainstorm

The next step is to brainstorm all the categories of responsibility you have and the weekly tasks associated with each. Your list might look like this:

• Homemaking – cooking, meal planning, shopping, cleaning, laundry
• Hobby or side business – answer emails, create, shipping, marketing
• Marriage – plan a date night
• Volunteering
• Homeschooling

Step 3: Assign Tasks

Schedule these responsibilities into your weekly block schedule at peak times. Some will be daily (like homeschooling) and some might be weekly (like shopping or volunteering). Once they’re assigned you can forget about it! In other words, once you have shopping planned for Thursday at 2pm, you don’t have to let it clutter your mind the rest of your 168 weekly hours. Brainstorming and setting things on a weekly schedule help to declutter the mind so you can clearly focus on the task in front of you. Once you start plotting responsibilities onto your weekly block schedule planner, you will be surprised at how much time you truly do have! Most of us have much more time than we think. Do you want to see my night-owl homeschool mompreneur schedule in this season? << It’s here.

Step 4: Plan on Fridays

Plan on Fridays and then enjoy the weekend! If you find yourself scattered on Sunday evening or Monday morning with the busyness of the week already piling up, then you need to move your planning day to Friday afternoon or evening. Go through steps 2 & 3 each Friday so that you can start Monday on the right foot. And if you’re curious how you can get your homeschool planning done in less than 5 minutes each Friday, check out this post about Trello.

Action Steps for Busy Homeschool Moms

Download the Block Schedule Weekly Planner freebie at 4onemore.com. For more scheduling inspiration and ideas, check out the 2019 Homeschool Mom Conference and the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle.