Ideas for Planning a Steady Day With Young Children

"All of us know that our children quickly pick up on our stress and attitude, even when it is unspoken... How perceptive my children are; nothing slips by them. This is my motivation to stay organized. It's hard to be cheerful when you're running late... If I'm feeling pressured, I am less gentle, less attentive, and less pleasant to be around. Organization is a priority for me because it blesses my children" Jamie C. Martin, Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood
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I used to feel like a deer caught in the headlights a lot during the day- what do we do next? But following the ideas from Steady Days and seeing each day in visual has helped a lot. I seriously love this schedule idea! Before going to bed I pick up one of my basic print out sheets and sketch in the plan-here's a typed sample because I'm messy with my pages. I usually have my planner so I can work in things from my to-do lists and put down any appointments we might have. I also check my ideas page listing all the 'times': Storytime, Arttime, Learningtime, Free Play, etc. A lot of them I only get to once or twice a week, so it's nice to mix it up so we can get to the important things ;)

I don't let myself get frustrated or irritated if we don't stick to it exactly because I know that it's a blueprint, a starting place, for hitting all the things I want to do that day. Seeing those finite little blocks helps me realize that there is only so much time; but over the course of a week we usually can get to everything important. I still need discipline to get up and keep things moving at a gentle, but steady pace (more on that later). Because I work a little from home and have help that comes a couple times a week I don't have a ton of housework. Martin, the Steady Days author, also says it's hard to create a schedule other than something quite basic if there's a baby in the home less than six months.

My goal is to use the schedule every day for 28 days so I can make it a habit. Has anyone else tried this schedule thing? If you leave a comment with some feedback before Monday I will pick someone to send a starter binder like the one I'm putting together for myself complete with a supply of daily planner sheets and a spot to write Mom's Favorite Moments. Martin has also posted a bunch of resource pages here that are great.