Sunday, 10 February 2008

• Timepoints, or how I get through the day in one piece

  I've realized over the years that for an ADDled gal like me, schedules don't work.  For one thing, it's really hard to stick to a rigid schedule, and once I've wandered from it, I'm paralyzed.  What do I do next?  Do I try to catch up?  Start where I am now and move forward, leaving all that past stuff undone? Oh, the anxiety?
  
  But the other reason is I can't tell time.  Seriously.  I was an overachiever in school, even in elementary school, but telling time was the only math concept I failed miserably.  I didn't learn to actually read a clock until I was in high school, and even though I can read a clock, I can't remember what time it is two seconds after I've just looked, and I can't figure out how the answer to that question impacts me right now, anyway.  Schedules are not a good idea for a gal who can't tell time.
  
  Enter timepoints.  Basically, it looks like this:  I'm going to set an alarm when I need to get a chunk of stuff done, and then, I'm going to try to get a big chunk of loosely related stuff done during that time until my  next alarm goes off.
  
  How does it look in action?  Well, take a regular Monday for me.  I need to get up by about 8 a.m., and I need an alarm for that.  Otherwise, I'll just lay in bed until the morning is gone.  So my alarm goes off, and here's where I need to do my first chunk of loosely related stuff.  It looks roughly like this:
  
  

  • shower
  • medicine and caffeine
  • breakfast
  • process my inboxes (voice mail, email, snail mail, in-basket)
  • look at my calendar and my "next actions" list and decide what I'm doing today (what are we having for supper?  do we have any appointments?  what am I studying today?  what are the kids studying?  and so on.)
  • set my alarms for the day
  • make breakfast for the kids
  • get the kids started on their chores
  • change the baby's diaper, feed him breakfast, get him dressed, nurse him
  • straighten the house and do my own chores

  
  That is a huge chunk of loosely related items we'll just call  "morning stuff."  It could change a little.  I don't have to do it in any order.  Some of it may not get done.  But I have a loose idea of what I need to be doing, so I don't just start reading blogs, leafing through a magazine, indulging in paralysis because I don't really know what to do next.
  
  My next alarm will go off at 10 a.m., which is when we start school.  Now, if they're still finishing up their chores, no big deal.  Again, it's a loose routine based on timepoints, not an actual schedule.  The alarm simply reminds me to get off my bottom and get moving on the next chunk of loosely related things I need to do that day.  It's a bonus that the alarm is somewhere where I have to get up and go turn it off, so I can't ignore it.
  
  My next "chunk" is homeschooling the boys, which happens at 10 until around 2 or 3, with a break for lunch.  Loosely, we work on math, reading, language arts, and music practice before lunch, bible and language after lunch.  (We dedicate a separate day for history and science each week.)
  
  When we're done with school, the boys go play and Sawyer naps.  This is my time for bible study and prayer, and then I have time set aside for special projects (cleaning out the spare room, or rearranging the furniture or any number of things I've been wanting to get to).
  
  The next alarm goes off shortly before 5:30, which is when we have our supper and do our nighttime routines, which includes
  
  

  • have the kids pick up their room

  • have the kids shower or bathe (and bathe the baby)

  • clear floor in living room

  • clean kitchen and run dishwasher

  • clear downstairs tables and floor and put everything in its place

  • shower and wipe bathroom
    

  
  Now we're ready for bed, and we have some free time to do whatever until time to start reading books and laying down with the boys (around 8:30), after which our free time continues until our bedtime.  I need to start setting an alarm to go to bed, as well, because I'm really bad about getting to bed at a decent hour.
  
  See how it's loose and flexible?  But I'm kept on track by four alarms which remind me to:
  

  1. Do morning "stuff,"
  2. School the children,
  3. Do dinner and evening "stuff;"
  4. Put the kids to bed.
     

  I keep my sanity, and am able to continue to love my children, by knowing that I'll have a sanity break before they awaken, around 2 or 3 p.m., and after they go to bed.  Everybody wins!
  
  If you've had trouble following a schedule in the past, try timepoints and see how that works for you.
  
  

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