Schedules, schedules, yuck!

Perhaps one of my favorite things about summer time is the taste of freedom from my families increasingly complicated schedule.  With fall rounding the corner, it is time to brace for the rush of activities and schedules that come with it.  My icalendar and I have a very special, codependent relationship.  Without my input, he has no purpose and doesn’t exist  Without him, I remember absolutely nothing.   If I do not have things written down, they don’t exist.  Hence, my life, intricate schedules and all, does not exist without my faithful ical.

Those who are close to me know that I am HORRIBLE when it comes to dates and times (also when it comes to directions, proper loading of the dishwasher and getting less then 9 hours of sleep ).  I must write things down or they are a jumbled mess.  So, my calendar and I will never part ways.  Thankfully, this means that we will both always exist.

My saving grace is that I am a super planner and idea organizer (note the insertion of the word “idea”).  But lately, I have noticed that I do not have mental clarity on my side.  As I gear up for the fall, I feel that I am falling apart at the seams a bit this year.  I turned to Ical for support.  I now have 7 sub calendars:

Home

Husband's Work

Meals

Activities

Minuet Studio  

Fitness

When ical had to start recycling color codes with the addition of my last calendar, I started to get a little worried. This will be a very, very, busy 15 years (when Liam goes to college) ahead of me.  Like working a budget, I have been over and over where cuts can be made.  Should I take out the kids piano lessons?  (I already teach them in the living room to save time.)  Do we need a family swim night?   Where can I add in time for the dog(s)?  Date night or family night? 

Here is where I would like to write down my master plan for my a perfectly balanced and efficient schedule.  Unfortunately, I am not there yet.  Perhaps this year, I will have to let the cards and activities fall where they may.

How do you keep your life organized?  Do you manage to keep a balanced schedule?