How to Create a Simple Weekly Schedule for Busy Moms | The Minimalist Weekly Rhythm You Need!
Ross and I have always been up for anything, even at a moment’s notice.
Unless we already have plans, any invitation to do something fun will have us loading into the car for an adventure.
When we had our first daughter we wanted to continue to be up for anything at a moment’s notice, but we also knew that babies and young children needed structure. So how could we balance both?
We didn’t want to be tied to a schedule that we could never break, but we also wanted to teach our children to sleep and eat well… which we knew would be easier if they had a predictable rhythm.
So I started using a weekly rhythm in an attempt to balance the two things that we knew we needed for our family, and it worked like a charm!
Having a weekly routine helped me to create the predictability that children love and crave, but it also allowed for plenty of flexibility and spontaneity when we needed it.
What is a Weekly Rhythm?
Even when you use a Daily Bock Schedule, it can be easy to over-schedule and over-complicate our lives.
That’s where the Weekly Rhythm comes into place.
The Weekly Rhythm allows the week to have a predictable ebb and flow between Busy Days and Simple Days, without allowing one to take over the other.
Having this Rhythm in your life will also ensure that your extroverted family members get their out-of-the-house time, while your introverted family members get their at-home time.
How to Create a Weekly Rhythm
In Simplicity Parenting, Kim John Payne describes having “A” days and “B” days when you are creating your weekly rhythm.
I prefer to call these days “Busy Days” and “Simple Days” to be sure that everything is clear, but you can call them whatever you’d like.
Everyone will naturally have days that are busy, full, and crazy; but they need to be balanced by days that are simple, easy, and peaceful.
To create this balance, we need to designate Busy Days and Simple Days
1) Decide on Your Busy and Simple Weekend Days
Weekends can especially get overloaded with too many activities and become stressful.
To keep this from happening, the first thing that you need to do is choose one weekend day that is going to be Busy, and one that will be Simple.
It’s good to have at least one Simple Day in your weekend so that your kids can recover from all of the busyness…even if that means that your busy day will be busier.
I’ve found that it is better to have one really busy day and one simple day, instead of having two days that are both a little bit busy.
Since we go to church on Saturday, this is our Busy Day.
Saturdays often include going on hikes, bike rides, hanging out with friends, and game nights.
Saturday is the only day of the week that I’m ok with naps being pushed late or skipped and the girls getting to bed late (or even going to sleep at other people’s houses and getting woken up to go home).
So to balance this out, Sunday is a Simple Day at our house.
On Sundays, we catch up on yard work, clean up from any company we had the day before, and we are very particular about making sure that naps happen on time (or early!) and getting them to bed early.
2) Choose Busy and Simple Week Days
Now decide how many Busy and Simple days you will have in your week.
I recommend having at least 2 Simple Week Days and 3 Busy Week Days, but I prefer to have 3 Simple Week Days and 2 Busy Week Days.
You can do whatever works for your life, but I suggest erring on the side of having more Simple Days than Busy Days when you are first getting started. You can always add in more Busy Days if you need to later.
To determine which days of the week should be Simple or Busy, look back at your weekend.
Since I know that our Saturdays are very busy, Friday is a Simple Day for us. I make sure that the girls get down for naps early and get to bed early on Friday so that they are ready for a busy day on Saturday!
I like to have my Simple Days and Busy Days alternate to avoid having the girls (especially my second daughter who is my introvert) getting overstimulated and overwhelmed from going all of the time.
So I just work backward from there: Thursday is a Busy Day, Wednesday is a Simple Day, Tuesday is a Busy Day, and Monday is a Simple Day.
That gives me two simple days in a row with Sunday and Monday being Simple, but I like having two days to catch up on sleep for the girls.
For us, even on the busy days, I am really particular about nap time and bedtime (except for Saturday). I use my Out-Of-The-House Block to run errands and schedule appointments on my Busy Weekdays, but I do my best to be home for the Nap Time Block.
Even on your busy days, you want to make sure that you let your kids rest in between all the busyness.
If you want to learn more about how to set your home up for success, check out my 6 part mini-series How to Easily Manage Your Home!
Ready to Start Easily Managing Your Home?
Ready to Start Easily Managing Your Home?
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- A Daily Block Schedule
- A Laundry Routine
- A Kitchen Cleaning Routine
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- An Evening Routine for Each Kid
- An Evening Routine for Mom
- A Weekly Cleaning Routine
- A Chore Routine for Each Kid
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(Or if you are more of a do-it-yourself kind of gal, you can check out my DIY Streamlining Resources!)
You May Also Enjoy…
If you want to see how to create a Simple Daily Block Schedule to organize your day, check out How to Create a Daily Routine with a Simple Block Schedule.
If you want to see how I work cleaning into my Weekly and Daily Routines check out My Simple Weekly Cleaning Schedule, the Routine That Took Me From Overwhelmed to In Control.
