Navigating the Back to School Season

Hi read,

The back to school season is in full swing in my household! That means homework, conflicting activity schedules, and some chaos. Here are 5 things that really help us get back into the school rhythm:

1) Lists & Reminders

One of my children really struggles with executive function. She needs reminders and lists for everything. I printed and laminted a morning and evening checklist. Then I used painter's tape to stick the lists to her mirror at eye level. It took me about 10 minutes total but now I don't have to remind her to use her Waterpik every day (braces).

2) Habit Stacking

My own brain gets really overwhelmed with details so I'm trying to do more habit stacking. I don't think this is a new concept, but the book Atomic Habits highlighted the idea. If you haven't heard of it, the basic idea is to stack new habits on top of existing habits. For example, I always make coffee in the morning. Now I also give my dog her medicine at that time. I don't have to remember the medicine because I always remember the coffee. It really reduces my mental clutter.

3) Shared Google Calendar

I have experimented with all sorts of calendar solutions, but Google calendar works best for my family. My husband always checks our Google calendar before he schedules anything new, so I have been VERY regimented this back to school season about putting things on the calendar.

4) Mind Like Water

I recently listened to an episod of Best Laid Plans, Sara Hart Unger's podcast. Someone asked a question about managing tasks that have follow ups. I have a lot of these! The listener was asking about some forms she needed to get filled out by her pediatrician for school sports. She sent the forms to the doctor but then had to follow up that the forms were filled out correctly and send them to the school. I have so many tasks like this. I have started putting follow ups in little reminders first thing on my calendar each day. For example, when I deposit a check via my online banking app, I need to come back two days later and make sure it was posted correctly. Now, instead of trying to remember, I create a reminder for two days from the deposit date. (I think the Mind Like Water concept comes from the book Getting Things Done, which contains some good tidbits on planning.)

5) Weekend Errands

If you have been around for a while, you may know that I am generally opposed to weekend chores. In my house, weekends are for fun and relaxation (usually). But in these busy weeks at the beginning of the school year, my week runs much more smoothly if I pick up my groceries on Sunday and take care of any other time consuming chores. I even do grocery delivery sometimes if I'm really tight on time. (Usually I pick up my groceries because it's free but sometimes I splurge on delivery.)

I hope these ideas help you a little during the back to school transition. If you're having a specific challenge, click REPLY to this email and let me know! I might respond to you directly with thoughts or feature it in a future email.

All the best,

Beth

Unsubscribe | 113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205