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Managers of their homes. What did you like or dislike? Any input would be great!


susancollins
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The idea of scheduling what you want in your day very very deliberately is a good one. If I don't schedule it here, it doesn't get done - exercise, cleaning, etc., etc.

 

I couldn't schedule down to that detail, and my kids' moods can be unpredictable. I also have more littles and less bigs. She seems to count on some bigger kids to help entertain the little ones, like scheduling baby is with XYZ sibling from 10 to 10:30 or whatever.

 

I'm big no routine but not scheduling down to the minute. So I looked at what I liked from it and then sold the book as not practical for me/my family.

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We've usually had a schedule posted, but rarely followed it exactly. I've found MOTH to be a wonderful guide to putting together a workable routine for the family. It helped when I was nursing to have planned activities for my younger children to do while I nursed the babies, and to have an eye towards the balancing act of feeding the baby and feeding my family. One year I was frustrated because I wanted everything done by noon: baths, schoolwork, chores, breakfast, lunch, clean-up, etc. When I started plugging and chugging I discovered I was attempting to fit 7 or so hours of to-dos into a 4-5 hour slot. :lol:

 

My technique now is to use linch-pins through the day. Usually they're breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I use the MOTH scheduling techniques to plug and chug everyone's chores, schoolwork, free time, and regular activities into the schedule. Often I'll discover one or more of my children have an unbalanced schedule so I tweak my expectations. I'll post the schedule, but it's more of a guide towards a well functioning day than a rule book set in stone. :001_smile:

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If you have a large family and are having a hard time getting everything accomplished in your day, I think it is invaluable as a resource. Although I do not have the need to schedule like she does, and I did not use her scheduling plans, I found the book to be very helpful in other ways. She includes tips and ideas for how to help your day to run more smoothly. I learned a lot from the book, and would recommend anyone read it. Maybe you could borrow it from someone?

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I love it and have used it every year for 7 years. I'm actually on my 2nd book:D Sometimes, I have to rework it half way through the year. Even if you can't follow it religiously (ask me if that's EVER happened), it's worth going through the motions to teach yourself to be realistic. The first year I did it, I had 25 hours worth of activities scheduled and NO SLEEP. NONE!:lol: It also taught me how to make a grocery list that worked, how to meal plan and how to be flexible. I know that sounds crazy, but it did. It gave me a visual to look at so that when the day went upside down, I didn't panic, I looked at the schedule and said, "OK, this is how we will change our day then."

 

HTH!

Dorinda

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It helped motivate me to create some sort of schedule or "flow" to our day but otherwise I found marking down very 15 minutes to be stressful. I think it gave me a skeleton to follow and I liked that and it has helped in that way. I also have a husband in the Marine Corps and scheduling doesn't always work out the way I have planned. So, I try to plan but allow for more flexibility. I should mention I only have 3 children who are 3rd, 4 y/o and 2y/o.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE MOTH

 

The opening exercises in the book helped me to articulate what my priorities were for my family. I was trying to do way to much and MOTH brought me back down to earth. I am much more organized and less frazzled thanks to it. The kids love it too (for the most part,) they really get a sense of security knowing what comes next. We also use Managers of their Chores.

 

Just a heads up: Reading through the book and creating a schedule with MOTH does not happen overnight. It was a two week process for us, but definitely worth the investment.

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Like others have said , the process is very enlightening. You actually see where you are wasting time and how you CAN make time for yourself during the day. If you have the money or feel quite at a loss for time management definitely get it. I make a MOTH schedule every once in a while to get myself back on track but I don't stay to the half hour/hour once it gets under control.

 

It's not just about having the hours of the day listed its about getting everything done you deem important and how that gets done.

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I loved the book but haven't used it in a year or so. Life got so out of control. But thanks for reminding me of it while I finish up plans for this next school year. Even though I can't follow a schedule religiously for the life of me, it does help me get a framework and a flow for the day.

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I've used this since day #1 of HS'ing the kiddos. It was a huge help to me. We only use it to plan our "school day" and not our entire lives. The kids each have their own schedule which is posted in the kitchen so they know what they have to do, and when they are supposed to be doing it. it helps all of us to stay organized on a daily basis. I am forever saying to the kids "please go look at your schedule - what are you supposed to be doing right now?". It gets them back on track when they've been distracted.

 

It also helps me plan out my time with them so I don't feel like I am being pulled in 20 different directions at the same time. DD5 knows that I do his FLL/WWE with him at x time in the morning so the others know not to interrupt us. Same goes for certain subjects with the others.

 

It also helps me plan out piano practice times for all 3 so they aren't fighting over who practices when; same goes for the on-line classes that they take - they have certain times that they are on the computer for their classes so no fighting there either.

 

Honestly, it makes the days run much more smoothly here. We tweak it as we go depending on what activities are going on outside of the house - but for the most part, it has been pretty consistent the past couple of years.

 

I build them in Excel and then adjust as necessary - it is super simple. You can download my files from my (embarassingly neglected) blog if you want to peek at how we do it.

 

HTH.

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I'm trying to get back to MOTH - it worked great when we used it. One idea I used (and will use again) is to have a one-word schedule - so each person's timeslot had 1 word (chores, breakfast, workboxes). It was nice because I could scan the list from a distance quickly. I did use a smaller font with more detail in my column. Right now I'm thinking about a MOTH schedule but try to have hourly themes instead of half-hour.

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We use it every year to plan out our school day. It forces me to pare down my expectations so that each child can finish their work in an age appropriate amount of time. It helps me balance my individual time with each one including the preschooler. It forces me to think up age appropriate activities for the youngest ahead of time to keep him out of trouble. It helps me work out who gets the piano or the computer or the DVD player when. On the days when we have interruptions, I can quickly scan the schedule and figure out what we can still accomplish so that the entire day isn't wasted. I have less interruptions from the other kids because they each know when they are working with me one on one. They all know what they have to get done each day before they can go off and do their own activities. HTH

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Implementing a MOTH-type schedule changed my life. Literally. When I first read the book my dc were 2yo, 1yo and newbie. I felt frazzled and tired even before lunchtime came. I read through MOTH in one sitting (pulled an all-nighter!) and put it into practice the next day (no easing into it for me!). I remember calling my dh at 10:00 and crowing about how smoothly our morning had gone and that afternoon I had time to sit and relax!! Oh blessed day!!!

 

I'm a super structured/scheduled personality as it is so MOTH worked well, however I have found that I can become slave to the schedule. Gradually (more so than I wish) I've learned to relax and let things go, to be OK if things don't get done at a particular time or even don't get done at all! That was quite a process of letting go for this type A mama. ;)

 

I'm now working on our plan for the coming year and thanks to MOTH I am able to panic a bit less and see that yes, everything will fit in and will get done.

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I, too, love MOTH, and am on my 2nd copy. I also have and LOVE Schedule Breeze, the online program for setting up the schedule and printing things out. I re-read the book every year or more, but I am tweaking the SB schedule and reprinting probably much more frequently (especially this pregnancy as it has been a crazy one, LOL!).

 

Can't recommend these highly enough, even if you're just gleaning ideas and some basic routine/structure.

 

Tracey in Oregon

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