The Ultimate SAHM Schedule Hack You Need In Your Life

What if creating your sahm schedule wasn’t so overwhelming? What could you do with more white space in your calendar? And what if I told you that planning your days can actually create more flexibility in your schedule?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could just write out your ideal day, assign each activity a time slot, and sit back with your feet up while you sip coffee, knowing that you’ve got your life together?

Yea, that’d be great. Except we both know that it doesn’t quite work that way.

I used to believe the best part of stay at home momming was the not having a schedule part. Turns out, a good schedule is your ticket to more time freedom. It’s going to require a little more work up front, but when you’re finishing up the first novel you’ve had time to read, in ages, you’ll know it was totally worth it.

Read on if you’re ready for your life to change.

pens-and-notebooks-to-write-sahm-schedule

What Do Stay at Home Moms Do All Day, Anyways?

You handle every menial task like buttering toast, supervising the amount of toothpaste on each toothbrush, and filling the dog’s dish.

You curate a home atmosphere that speaks to your family values and convictions, as well as a little bit to your OCD.

You hangout with your lovely littles for 23.5 hours a day doing who even knows what to the glory of God by His grace alone.

You (maybe) homeschool and (possibly) homestead, which accounts for a good portion of your morning and afternoon… and evening… so basically all day every day.

You complete weekly house chores, daily, because four year old boys are more sprinkler than hose when it comes to toilet etiquette.

You run errands, buy groceries, plan meals, and otherwise consider other humans’ eating habits more than you ever thought possible.

And we haven’t even gotten to your personal life and goals, yet.

I mean, honestly, what don’t you do as a stay at home mom?

Between handling all of the household things, planning all of the appointments for every living thing in your care, and tacking on some extra projects and commitments just for funsies… your sahm schedule is tight.

Some people thrive on tight schedules.

I am not some people. If you’re reading this, I bet you’re not some people, either.

And you’re still you, right? So what do you do if you have any passions you long to pursue? How can you fit even more into that schedule of yours?

If your schedule is too full for any you things, or else you just don’t even have a schedule and everything is sort of “throwing spaghetti at the wall” chaotic, this hack might just be the thing you’ve been waiting for all your life!

The One Life-Changing Super Helpful SAHM Schedule Hack:

Now I could totally just pass on a pdf of my current sahm schedule and tell you all the reasons that it works for me and call it a day.

But that wouldn’t do much for you, now would it? Your day doesn’t look like my day. That’s why personalizing your schedule is really important.

There are so many books out there advising what you should do and when, for optimal productivity, and I’m calling bs. Who can say what tasks need doing in your life better than you?

Rocks, Pebbles, Sand and a Jar

Let’s call it a mason jar, because obviously.

Have you ever seen the demonstration of trying to fit all the priorities in your life into the jar that is your day? If you start with the least of these, the sand, you’ll never be able to fit in any rocks.

Rocks are the most important things.

Yet so many of us are filling our proverbial jars with sand!

However.

When you learn how to place the rocks in first, you can then strategically arrange the pebbles to fill in the gaps, and allow the sand to slide into those cervices left behind like ice cream in a full belly after a feast.

The Best Hack is Reverse Engineering Your Schedule.

So here’s what’s up… you need to figure out which things in your life deserve most of your time, effort, and attention. Which things get to be runners up. And which things need to be delegated to “if there’s leftover space.”

Your every day/week HAVE TO DOS are your rocks. The big things. The important things. The “if I don’t do these tasks, things start to fall apart” things.

Your every day/week WANT TO DOS are the pebbles. These are the things that you love, that make your soul sing, that connect you to you, that fill you up buttercup. They’re also the things that you value for your family, friends, and community. You could go without them if you had to, but you don’t want to for very long.

And the sand? That’s all of those EXTERNAL DEMANDS on your time. Even good demands. Even humble requests. These are the things that come across as urgencies, but they’re not your priorities. The PTA meeting that someone needs to run. The meal train that needs someone to volunteer a dish. The friend who needs someone to help them catch their cow which has escaped its pasture.

Okay, not that. Go catch the cow. Some things can’t be planned no matter how good at planning you are.

But you get the idea.

Make A List To Make Your SAHM Schedule.

Now that you have the analogy down, let’s get to work. This is where you’ve gotta be super diligent and super honest with yourself.

When everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.
Steve Jobs (and others)

Let’s say that again: Everything is not the most important thing.

Make a list of your rocks!

Create two lists of all the things that must get done, one for daily tasks and the other for weekly.

Things like your household chores, your errands, maybe homeschooling.

The things that don’t change day to day, or week to week.

Write down every necessity according to you and yours.

Remember to cite any time specifications that cannot be changed. No matter how saintly you are, church is not going to rework their sermon time for your hectic week. Your goats need milking every morning at the same time, even if you do want to sleep in.

The things that are flexible, keep flex. The things which are not, they are the anchors to your sahm schedule.

Remember, if there’s something which is a non-negotiable for you personally- say prayer time each morning or bible reading every evening- those go here as well. No one gets to decide what your priorities are besides the mom in charge!

Make a list of your pebbles!

Use the same daily/weekly list, and write down all of the things that you would love to do.

Want a quiet time hour every afternoon? Write it now. Wish you could spend three hours a night reading your new favorite novel? May as well write it down.

Think it would be swell to blog 15 hours a week? Pencil it in!

Be sure there is a clear differentiation between the musts and the wants, on this list.

Adulting isn’t always fun.

The simple fact is this: While you can make room in your life for many of those desires you have in your heart, no one can possibly find time to do everything that they want to do, every day, all the time.

Prioritizing is going to come into play here, and you’re going to need to figure out which of your wants is most important to you. For now, though, just get all the things on the paper.

Things that feel important but aren’t actually holding your life together… like play dates or bible studies… they go here, too. And remember, any “want” that has a set time each day or week needs to be noted.

Can’t remember what you like to do? Check out this series I did for stay at home moms!

Fill in your sahm schedule

Okay, so hopefully you’ve had the foresight to know that in order to make a schedule you’d need some kind of schedule keeper. Whether it’s an online tool or a pen and paper situation, you’re going to need a calendar to fill out.

Your “have to dos”:

First, look at any of your rocks which have pre-set times, either daily or weekly, and fill those in first.

Then, fill in the rest of your rocks, according to your own good sense, approximating on which days and when they will serve you and your family best. Use pencil, these may get rearranged.

Now, it’s time to fill in some of the gaps in your calendarjar with the pebbles.

Your “want to dos”:

First, look at which of your want to’s have set times and see if they fit into your schedule, now that your rocks are all in their designated places.

If you have a rock with a inflexible time in a slot where one of your pebbles also takes place, you now know that you cannot do both, right? And, as a responsible adult, you also know that your “must do” takes precedence over your “wish I could do”.

If you have more to do than time to do it in, the simple fact is this: some of what is on your list is not what God intends for you to be doing.
I’m really sad I can’t remember what book I read this in because it changed my life.

Sometimes, you just need to embrace the fact that this is not your season for that particular desirable activity that you want to do. Shelf it for another season, or else see if you can find some way to make both things work. (read: bribe your husband to do the less exciting option)

Get creative! It’s your sahm schedule after all.

When your done filling in any and all want tos with set times, go ahead and see if any of the flexible want tos can be added, as well.

Leave Some Margin In Your SAHM Schedule!

I know you, mama, and you want to be efficient, productive, and wear your badge of busy like a crown of glory.

But stop.

Do not fill in every time slot.

This exercise was to help you create a fully functional sahm schedule, with space to do the things that light you up from the inside. It was intended to help you determine what is a definite priority and what is simply a desirable task.

And it was meant to keep you from yessing yourself out of touch with yourself.

Remember all that sand?

Leaving margin means:

One, you can rest. Because I know you’re not scheduling in rest time (though you should be). So the white space staring at you from your planner pages? That’s your breather.

Two, things can come up and it won’t throw off your every task. Things come up all of the time. Wouldn’t it be great to just squeeze it in without having to rearrange your life?

And three, you have clear better-than-other-times to make appointments or play days. Don’t schedule the doctor visits for your Monday laundry days. Priorities, remember?

Listen, there’s going to be “sand.” There is always sand.

People need people, ya know?

Being intentional with your schedule doesn’t mean you get to be selfish. You can make some time for others.

Ohbutalso, being intentional doesn’t mean that you are being selfish, either. You can make some time for you.

If something comes your way, an invitation to serve, a request for help, any little thing that begs your time and attention… you look at your schedule. You check for margin. And you answer according to that plan.

Now, as a Christian I know you’re thinking, “but we’re called to put others ahead of ourselves.” Which is true, the bible don’t lie.

Philippians 2:3-5 is real, sister.

But.

That doesn’t mean every day, every week, every time. It just doesn’t.

God knew what he was doing when he made you human. And human means finite, limited, unable to meet every need in every thing.

Sure, cancel your “pebble plans” to help out a friend today. But then say “I’m sorry I can’t” tomorrow. It’s not a sin, I promise.

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What Happens If You Still Can’t Fit In Everything You Have/Want To Do?

This is called prioritizing.

You’re going to have to get really real about what needs to get done. And what, of all that you want to get done, is most important to you right now.

I want to build a business online through my blog. I also really want to learn how to sew.

Right now, my extra time goes to writing. It’s my priority, it’s the thing I want most. For this season, all sewing projects will be deferred to my eleven year old, self-taught daughter who knows how to sew better than I do.

Because the reality is that we truly are finite. And even if we’re multi-passionate, we’re not fully capable.

And P.S.

Some chapters of life will have more “have to dos” than other chapters. If you’re a mom of little littles, you’re going to have a lot more of your day spoken for than if you’re forty-ish with kids who are basically independent until they skin a knee.

The best schedule is a realistic schedule.

All That To Say This:

You can have a super amazing totally productive sahm schedule in any season, as long as you learn how to prioritize and fill the jar accordingly.

Figure out your rocks, the things you have to do and when. Plan out your pebbles, the things you love to do for yourself and others. And leave blank space to allow some (and only some!) sand to trickle in.

You can’t do it all, mama, but you can do a lot and still leave room for more!