People tend to think that being a stay at home parent means you have time to sit in front of
TV all day, but anyone who has tried it knows better. Staying at home means getting up early enough to get kids to school, take care of any children not yet in school, clean house, prepare meals, get children to activities, etc. It’s not an easy or leisurely life. The first thing to think about are your goals. What do you need to get done each day and what do you want to get done?
Many parents find it useful to have a calendar or day planner in a central place in their home. This allows everyone to see what is coming up next day, week, etc. You may instead prefer to keep your schedule on your computer. Don’t feel obligated to use system that works for your best friend, husband or anyone else. It needs to work for YOU. This only works if you are consistent about marking your schedule. If not, you will find this to be a very frustrating exercise. However, a good schedule can greatly simplify your planning for each day.
Be realistic about how much time it takes to get any school age children ready for school each day and get yourself and them out of bed appropriately. If you get up a bit earlier than children, you’ll have time to make them breakfast and lunches for school day. Alternatively, make lunches night before. A good breakfast can be very helpful to your child throughout day.
To do lists can be very helpful. You might keep a detailed one with everything you need to get done during day, from feeding baby to pickup up kids from school, or just a simple to do list with activities you do not do regularly listed.
Know your internal schedule. By this, I mean, know when you are most likely to complete certain activities. If you are most in mood for house cleaning first thing in morning, make sure you schedule it immediately. If you’d rather wait until after lunch, do it then. Don’t forget to include plenty of time for family activities.
