In our busy action-packed world, sticking to a color coded blocked out schedule can be rather difficult. Have you ever sat down and tried to write everything down, fitting it nicely into 15, 30, 60 min blocks? Looking at the day, week or month seems doable; you can accomplish all 10 tasks written into each day. But by 10am on the first day you’re somehow already 20 mins behind schedule.
By this point in the day coffee and breakfast should have been made, lunches packed with the kids ready for school, animals fed and water, husband sent off to work with well wishes, Bible studies completed, dinner prepped for the crockpot… but you’re still out tending to the rabbits. The night was colder than expected, several of the water jugs have frozen over and you’re having to pull out the winter water set up 2 weeks early.
Sound familiar?
This is why I have abandoned the block schedule. Instead, we embrace a flow schedule in our household. Now, I must give credit to Caroline at Homesteading Family for putting this concept into words for me – check out her explanation here - but it is a way of life I fall back on when the written schedule goes off the wheels.
The basic concept is that I do not adhere to the “by this time” mindset; I have a focus for each day with the tasks laid out in order of importance. I go through our day accomplishing whatever is next on the list. When an unexpected item comes up, I have the freedom to address that need without fretting over being 15 mins late to the garden for weeding time.
For example, Thursdays are a cleaning day for our house. We have our standard daily tasks and to that is added any tasks needed for cleaning the inside of the house – wiping down kitchen appliances, cleaning countertops, sweeping, mopping, etc. Here’s the kicker though, there are no expectations of what time these items will get done by. So, after our morning routine – making coffee, eating breakfast, feeding/watering animals, working out, spending time reading scripture – I start working my way down the cleaning list. When something else comes up, it gets addressed, then I return to the cleaning list.
Following a flow structure allows for my little girl to get extra cuddles throughout the day when she’s sick, or for the dogs to get some extra training time because it’s the first day above 0F in 3 weeks, without leaving me frustrated that its 2pm and the toilets still haven’t been wiped down. The “schedule” does not exist. I simply return to the cleaning flow as our day allows for it.
I will admit, this does mean that it takes longer to get through the task list on most days.
The extended time though does not outweigh the decrease of stress and those extra moments I get to spend connecting with my family or our animals when the need arises.
Here is what my weekly flow looks like:
The flow system also allows me the freedom to say “not today”. If it is a cooking day, I do not have to stress about the fact that the pantry floor is littered with flour. I may quickly sweep the big piles up, but I do need to move the buckets to get every last ounce of spilled flour. Instead, I make a quick note in my calendar under our cleaning day tasks to move aside buckets and thoroughly sweep the pantry. The task will get done, but I do not have to stress about it being done right now. I can focus on the flow for that day – making homecooked meals and snacks for the week to come.
The last, and most important piece, to the flow schedule is to have a day focused on resting. The last day for each week is reserved for nothing. You read that right, no extra tasks or focus go on my schedule on Sundays. Each Sunday when I get up I know that I will be enjoying time with my family, spending time in my Bible, then relaxing. I still do things on Sunday, but it is reserved for items that refill my cup, like my latest crochet project, playing games with my family, or diving into one of the many books I have pulled out. The focus for Sunday is to rest, relax and refuel for the week to come. It is my day to just go with the flow.