How to Create Your Ideal Day

As a parent, there is never enough time to get everything done. I am slowly learning this myself.

You have to rely on figuring out what to do with the time you have.

When your kids go to bed, would you prefer to clean the kitchen or sit down and relax? In the morning, would you prefer to wake up or sleep in? When you kids are home, do you play with them or try to get tasks done in the home? Do you spend the next hour working or folding laundry?

It’s all about determining what your priorities are. And there is no right or wrong answer, it’s just what is right or wrong for you?

I want to walk you through how I determine my priorities and how it helps me decide what to do with my day. I do this just for weekdays. I really think about what I want my day to look like during the week because I am constantly juggling work, house and kids. As I am sitting here writing this, I am prioritizing writing this blog post over the dishes that need to be done in the sink.

Weekends are different in our house because I have another parent to work off of. We talk over the weekend about what we need and would like to get done and ping pong the kids back and forth to get everything done. But, I still consider what is important when I’m deciding how to spend my weekend as well.

Step 1 | Write Out Your Typical Weekday

Start by thinking about all the things that could get done. I like to write this out on paper or you could type it out. I also love doing this in googlesheets on 15 minute increments. I got a template here. I use one template to craft my typical week and one to do my ideal. Anna suggest doing a time study, but I honestly haven’t been able to keep up with that, maybe one day!

But think about all the things you typically do from waking up and the morning routine to going to bed at night. These could include work tasks, household tasks, childcare tasks, and things you enjoy doing. This could also include TV time and instagram time. Go through a typical day a few times to make sure you catch everything. It helps to write things in order of the day for me. And if you have some days you’re home with kids and some days they’re in school, do this for each day.

Step 2 | Write Out Your Ideal Day

Now, start your day over in your head. For a “perfect” day, what would you like to happen. How would you wake up? How would the morning go? If you’re home with kids, what activities would you do? If you work, how would your workday go? Think about the different aspects of your day and what you would do.

Think also about what is important to you. Is it a priority to have a tidy downstairs? When would you do that? Is it important to find time to be present with your kids? When would that happen? After kids go to bed, what would you like to do?

But also, consider what is feasible. I would love to just sit and read after dinner, but I don’t think my 15 month old would appreciate that. She needs me to be with her and get her ready for bed. So, that would not be something I would put in my ideal day since that does not make sense for my life right now.

Step 3 | Compare Your Days

Now, look at both days. Compare what you have. If you have similarities, keep those as things you definitely continue. Then, look at the differences. What are things you can change that you’d like to change?

One spot I think many parents would like to look different is after bedtime. Sometimes, we are so tired, all we have the energy to do is sit in front of the TV and scroll our phones. But, is that what we really want to do? I know I would love to actually talk to my husband and connect with him. So, making time to do that is a priority for me.

Step 4 | Make Small Habit Changes

From this exercise, find small changes you can make. Deciding to wake up early and never look at instagram during the day may not be a realistic change to make. But putting your phone down between school pickup and bedtime could be!

Think about what the most important part of your day you’d like to change is. Start there. For me recently, it has been that post school time. My kids are young (between 1-6) and would like my attention after school. Putting my phone down during that time helps me be more present with them. Since my kids are one of my priorities, I try to remember this after school. As a tip if you’d like to try this, I don’t charge my phone in the car anymore and I charge it when we get home so it’s not even near me.

Once you feel good about one change to your schedule, try another one. Maybe this is resetting downstairs at the end of the day. And maybe this doesn’t have to be just you. The whole family can do this! That way, you’re not stuck deciding to clean up or sit down after a long day. Think about little changes that can happen.

Changing your schedule as well as your kids can take time, but if you think about your priorities, that can help you determine what is most important during your day.

Caveat | This is IDEAL Week, not PERFECT Week

As a still recovering perfectionist, this is hard to not create a perfect ideal week and assume everything will go to plan. It won’t. Someone will get sick or another fire will come up. You have to roll with it. This is ideal. Not perfect. Yes, it is wonderful when everything falls into place, but sometimes it doesn’t. That’s okay. Keep this in mind as you’re planning. My ideal week does have buffer time, which I incorporate each week into my calendar. This way, when something doesn’t go as planned, I can push things and it still turns out pretty good for me!

Bonus Points | Incorporate Into Weekly Priorities

After you feel like you have a handle on the day and prioritizing activities that are important to you, take it to the whole week. Do the same process. What kinds of activities would you like to incorporate each week? Date night? Family date night? Seeing family and friends? Use your ideal day to create an ideal week.

How did your ideal week plan go? I would love to hear about it or troubleshoot where you’re getting stuck. Reach out at hello@widlelyorganized.com and I’d be happy to chat with you!