Thoughts on Schedules

I've been doing a lot of thinking about schedules the past few days.

The last full MOTH schedule I made was about I'd say 8 weeks ago or so.

I made it up, parceled out everyone's time into their respective fragmentary slots, and stuck it out in the binder for everyone to see and appropriate unto themselves.

"I do not know why you do this to yourself," said hubby. "Every time you do these schedules you end up stressed and burned out."

"Ah, but you see," I explained, "if I can get to the point where we actually keep to the schedule, I won't be stressed or burned out. Look, it's perfectly balanced and enables me to get everything done that I need to do."

"Starting at what time of the morning?" says wise hubby.

"6:30" says me.

Hubby chuckles, shakes head, walks away. I know what he's thinking, but it WILL work this time. I have experience from all the previous failed attempts under my belt. A little bit of everything, every day, and the tasks will be accomplished, and my house will be orderly, and the kids will miraculously keep up with every last bit of their Sonlight schoolwork, including all the incidentals and extracurriculars, and baby will nap at the appropriate times, and I will get exercise, and Bible study, and I will not burn out or stress out. Not THIS time.

It worked for about two days. By the end of the second day of interruptions and time-failures I was feeling stressed and burned out.

For some reason, the act of having to keep to a schedule wipes out every last bit of enjoyment in my life as a homemaker. I realize everyone may not be like me. But those people who insist and promote that a schedule is THE way to go, need to realize, likewise, that everyone else is not like them.

Today, I made the final decision to ditch the schedule once and for all.

Today, I got up at a reasonable time, made my way to the shower, got dressed, made breakfast, helped with the schoolwork, cleaned out the old stuff in the fridge, made vegetable stock and applesauce, made a big chocolate cake with the three year old, made lunch, pre-prepped dinner, did some cleaning, tossed some old freezer burned ice cream and bread out of the freezer to make room for fresh we were given today, got the kids to do their chores, surfed the net a little bit, made vegetarian chili with tempeh (a new food for us), ate dinner, and now I'm here....

and I did it without a schedule. I didn't "fall behind" on anything. I didn't stress that there were veggies-that-needed-to-be-made-into-stock-but-if-I-do-that-then-I-won't-have-time-to-do -other-things-on-the-schedule-for-today; the laundry hasn't piled up to head height; the house is pretty much the same today as it was yesterday, which is to say, liveable; I used my eyes and my other four senses to determine what needed to be done today and I did it.

Oh yes...and I did enjoy quite a few very nice cups of tea, properly brewed and kept piping hot under the tea cozy I made yesterday, which also was NOT on the schedule, but will be enjoyed for a long time to come.

I plan to get up tomorrow, at a time when I am not likely to spend the day grumpy or exhausted, use my eyes and my other four senses to determine what needs to be done, and quite simply, do it.

And by golly, if there is 75 degree weather and a spot of sunshine that needs to be enjoyed tomorrow, then that will definitely be on my non-schedule.