How I Plan On Surviving My Overscheduled Working Homeschool Life

I hate being overscheduled and always on the go even though as a working homeschool mom that can be really hard to avoid.

I know from experience that we do better if our life isn’t too busy, too full or too much running around.

About a month ago I knew I would have 4-5 days where I would be required to be out of the house every single day.

Somehow between me saying “yes” too many times, appointments, errands and family obligations on top of work it grew until I woke up one day and I was facing 12-14 days in a row. Oops!

Disclosure: I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Have you ever accidentally over-scheduled your life? Or have you had times that you know your life is going to get busy and you need to make adjustments?

Be it training new people, preparing for the holiday season, or saying YES one too many times these tips will help you find a way to balance it all.

Sharing Tips To Help You Adjust Your Schedule For Busy Seasons

I chatted about this problem I was facing and how I was planning on coping on my Facebook Page. 

Resources Discussed in the Video:

Here is a quick list of resources I talked about in the video.

Homeschool Deluxe Planner: 

32 -Page Deluxe Homeschool Planner is awesome! Simply print out the pages you need and place them in your favorite binder.

By the way, you can use our special code jenn25 to save 25% off anything in Jennifer Bly’s store. Click here to shop! 

Instant Pot & Slow Cooker Meals Kids Can Make!

This online cooking class is taught by the same instructor who teaches Kids Cook Real Food.

We love her courses. They are easy for the kids to learn, video and textbased and … they are done for you!

Instant Pot:

This is the one we are using. It is both a slow cooker and an Instant Pot.

Other Resources:

My Plan On Surviving My Overscheduled Working Homeschool Life:

Before sharing the adjustments we made, please always do what is best for you. What works for us might not work for you but you may get some awesome ideas that will.

The changes we are making to our life will allow me to balance it all.

Childcare Solutions For Overscheduling:

Even though my kids are older I don’t like leaving them too long alone.

I sat down and went over my schedule pulling out my paper planner. I use the Homeschool Deluxe Planner because I can print off the pages I need.

I took note of all the things and this gave me the “big picture” needed to see when I wanted to have someone with them or when they would be okay alone.

This is why it is key to create a simple schedule for your own life. It is much easier to see the whole week at a glance when you keep it simple!

If you decide childcare is going to be needed then you want to get that arranged ahead of time.

Need Ideas? I’ve got you covered. Read: Child Care Solutions When You Are A Working Homeschool Mom

Homeschool Schedule Changes:

I like to give my kids a lot of control over their schedules for homeschool. We usually do a 4-day schedule with weekends being project-based etc.

After discussing upcoming busy days with the kids and looking at my schedule, they decide to do school 3 days I am out of the house and then take next week off of school. No book work!

I do not have to hit an hour requirement or week requirement for our homeschool even though we do aim for 36 weeks.

Having the freedom to make these adjustments as needed is so great.

Be sure to know what you are required by law before making changes. Take a good look at your homeschool schedule and how much flexibility you have. Doing this can use to free up time and make life less stressful for you.

Housework And Chores Adjustments:

Keep in mind that “letting go” of what you can is really vital during these busy times.

I tried to prepare ahead of time as much as I could. I deep cleaned and tidied this week. I also did the laundry and got caught up for once. Don’t faint!

Next, I canceled the kid’s chores for that week off of school. I know this sounds counterproductive but stick with me here. There is a method to my madness.

My kids do chores daily. They are assigned 4 chores a day and you can read more about what that looks like here.

During a busy time, I chose 1 large chore a day instead of 4 smaller ones. I picked something that normally I would have to do. This is the key. You want to pick something that is really going to help you as a family.

Of course, you will need to choose age-appropriate chores that your child not only can do but knows how to do well already. This is not the time to start teaching them a new chore.

I chose washing the dishes. Without a dishwasher, this is a big chore and it will be a massive help for all of us. This includes sorting, scraping off the food, hand washing, drying and putting them away. It is a big job! One that needs to be done.

Think of it as one thing you don’t have to do. They key is to keep in mind your child and chose something that genuinely will help you out! 

Meal Planning For Busy:

This is so important. I hate working all day and then coming home and freaking out because I don’t know what to make for dinner.

In order to survive my overscheduled week, I’ll be making use of my Instant Pot and the fact that my kids are learning how to use it.

My children are taking a cooking course designed for children called Instant Pot & Slow Cooker Meals Kids Can Make! It’s video and hands-on learning.

Having kids that can cook is awesome because it is one more thing I don’t have to do.

They are each picking one meal to make and since my Instant Pot is also a Slow Cooker they can choose one of each.

Meal Plan For The Week:

The list is not complete but it is a good start:

1. Gluten Free Mac and Cheese. 

The kids have made this each with me. I know they can do 99% of this on their own. Perfect for a day we are rushing around.

2. PRESSURE COOKER TEX-MEX CHILI MAC

This looks amazing. I’ll be swapping the ground sausage for ground chicken or hamburger depending on the sales and the Marconi for gluten-free noodles.

I’ll be testing these Brown Rice Noodles which I was told work better in the Instant Pot.

3. 8 MINUTE SPICY BEEF AND BROCCOLI

I really have been wanting to try Beef and Broccoli in my Instant Pot. There are quite a few ingredients but the steps look pretty simple.

4. MEXICAN FIESTA TACO SOUP

With the colder weather, this one sounds awesome. I’ll be ditching the ranch dressing mix and swapping with something…not sure what.
I always change recipes. Much to the dismay of my family.

5. Shephards Pie: 

This was so good I’ve made it twice. I think I actually followed the recipe for once. Oh no I didn’t-ha! I didn’t bother letting the veggies defrost, I used frozen and it was fine.

6 Easy Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup

Gonna be honest. I was a little scared of this one. I mean shredded carrots?? It is soooo good. Cream cheese and heavy cream. Yes just trust her. Or me!

7. Whole Chicken:

Lastly, I picked up a whole chicken on sale so we will be making that. I think I make it once a week -easy and good.

8. Instant Pot Roast

This is my own recipe and it is the easiest recipe out there! It always turns out. The key is to pick out a roast with lots of marbling.

The key point is: Use what you have such as casseroles, slow cooker, freezer meal prep ahead of time what you can.

Clothing And Supply Preparation:

Some of my outings will require dressy clothes such as skirts, blouses, blazers, etc.

Before my busy week, I quickly did a check to make sure everything I needed was clean.

Next, I created outfits I can wear together so I am not worried about trying to figure out what to wear while half asleep. I stuck these outfits on hangers or at least close to each other so I can wake up, grab and go.

I hate ironing but if you do that kind of thing, this is when you want to do it. 😉

Shoes and boots are clean(ish). We’ve had gross weather so mud is everywhere-yuk!  Cases, bags, and lunches are packed. Notebooks and working pens. Since my kids swipe all my good pens this is kind of important.

I also made sure to give my travel mug a good cleaning. I love my Contigo Stainless Steel Mug so this is super vital for me. I also made sure I had a supply of energy bars. I don’t do hungry well.

This is it in action! 

You were asking about this bag:  I love that bag. It slings across your body so you can use both hands to do things. It’s actually a laptop bag, but you know me. I never use things for what they are supposed to be used for! Ha! It is kind of like this one found on Amazon. Make sure you’re also signed up for Ebates, because you’ll get cashback on anything you order there.

Plan Your Self Care & Put It In Your Schedule!

Since my life is busy my knee jerk reaction is to cut out self care but I have learned that is a bad idea.

In order to fit self care back into my schedule I’ll be:

• Waking up early
• Hitting the gym
• Walking around the yard, playing with the dog

Writing it in your planner is vital to make sure you don’t forget! If you don’t take even 5 minutes a day to unwind and refocus you will burn out.

Be sure to read this list for more ideas: How to Make Time for You When You “Don’t Have Time”

So there you have it! My master plan for surviving my over-scheduled working homeschool life.

There are easy, practical and totally doable tips. What changes do you make when life gets crazy?

Take care,

Jen

PS. Bonus tip: It is super important to take breaks when you are busy. Trust me, read these Breaks You Should Be Taking As A Working Homeschool Mom!

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