School Is Out – Where Did My Healthy Schedule Go?

Summer has arrived, the kids are out of school, and the schedule seems to have flown out the window. How do we maintain the healthy routines we worked so hard to create through the first 5 months of the year? I have come to think of time and schedules like a river, sometimes flowing fast and sometimes slow. It is exhausting to try to fight the flow, but we don’t want to be swept off our feet either. Our family is now in the fast flow of our summer schedule.

It is tempting to think of a schedule as a static goal. Once we establish the ideal schedule it will always stay in place and we will consistently check things off our To Do Lists and life will be smooth and happy. Then reality crashes into our ideal world, school begins or ends, family trips come up, friends need help, and many other unexpected events. We know having a schedule is important so what to do? In our house the schedule is anchored by our daily priorities, but flows dynamically with seasonal activities.

There are some things that anchor the schedule year round – 3 healthy meals a day, daily exercise of some kind, and a good night’s sleep. I have found that getting up at least an hour before my family gives me a chance to start my day in the right frame of mind. I can exercise for about 30 minutes and then take care of getting breakfast and lunches ready to go. This hour of time to myself makes it much easier face the typical morning craziness of my family and it ensures some of my daily exercise gets accomplished. When mommy is calm and focused the day tends to go more smoothly for all.

Since I work from home my summer schedule flows between free time with my son and work time for mommy. While my son is home for the summer I generally have about 2 hours between my husband leaving for work and my son getting up. I use those 2 hours to accomplish the things that need my full attention with no interruptions. Once my son is up we work out a schedule together that allows me to do some fun things with him and some work time for me while he does things on his own each day. Clear communication on both our parts is a key part of designing the best daily schedule.

Our summer schedule is more flexible than the school year schedule, but still incorporates the healthy priorities we have established for our family. We are all happier as we move with the flow of the river of time through our house. Instead of trying to dam up the flow with a rigid schedule year round.

How do you flow with the changing seasons of life in your schedule? Would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Tagged as: Family Health, Family Life, Family Living, Fitness, Healthy Living, Lose Weight, Schedule, Summer, Weight Loss