Making the most of your summer {write it down}.

When summer time rolls around there are always so many things that my husand and I want to do (catch an outdoor movie, go camping, watch a baseball game, ect). However, it seems like we are always busy. In the past, the summers just flew by and we never got around to doing a lot of the things we intended on doing. But last summer was different... and we had a lot more fun!

So as I prepared for this coming summer, I thought I would share with you what I do now. It doesn't take a ton of time and you will be so so happy you did it.

Step 1: Gather what you need to get started: a note pad, a few different colored pens (if desired) and your calendar. I recommend printing off a regular page size calendar for each month in the summer (just google the month and year and you will have a ton to choose from).

Step 2: Write down all the things you want to do this summer. It is highly likely you will not be able to do every single thing you list, but put it all down on paper anyways. I made two (loose) lists. One for things that have a specific date/need to be scheduled out on the calendar. And the other for smaller activites that I would like to do but that don't necessarily need be planned for ahead of time (visiting that new park or going to a movie at the drive-in for example). Also, be sure to ask your spouse what he wants to do to, he will appreciate being including in some of the planning :)

 

Step 3: Start filling in your calendar now. This is where the different colored pens come in handy because you can assign a different color for each person/category. I started with our work schedules and also put down the days we would be out of town and when people would be visiting. Next, go off of your list you made with activities that need to be scheduled ahead of time. First, I put down all the actvities that had a specific date/time. I just did a search on the internet and if the date/time didn't work for us, I didn't add it. After this you should be left with a few bigger things that need to be scheduled out (that camping trip with friends for example). Although you might not be able to set the date in stone right now, you can at least look at your calendar and see what days could possibly work. That way later on when you are cosulting your spouse or friends, you have a few dates in mind. 

Step 4: Put the list of things that did not get added to the calendar on the fridge or some place you will see it. Now when you have time to do a family activity or  are trying to come up with a playdate idea, you will have a list of great ideas to choose from.

Step 5: Now enjoy your organized summer! Being able to look at the whole summer and schedule out some of the activites ahead of time has so many benifits. You will be able to make the most of the time you have because you have already laid out a plan. For us, the biggest thing is that knowing about an activity ahead of time allows my husband to do more things with the family. His work schedule changes slightly each week and so this way he is able to ask for time off or switch shifts with a coworker ahead of time.

Tip: We have a whiteboard calendar that stays on top of our fridge with the current months' schedules and activities. So at the beginning of the month I will just pull out the paper version of the calendar that I made for the summer months and fill out our main one. I like having the whiteboard calendar because there is more space and I add things such as our dinners for the week or maybe a few of the smaller summer activities off my list.