Picture this: You are sitting at home relaxing on a Saturday afternoon. Your calendar is clear- your family has nothing to do. After a long week your schedule isn’t jammed packed. You aren’t rushing out the door at 7 a.m., stressing about all your plans and wondering how the hell you got so busy. You feel calm. Relaxed. 

I know it feels like a dream right? But you can have this. 

Now I get craziness, especially with big families. We are a family of five and everyone has their own interests but even with big families, multiple kids, you can still achieve this. It’s all about be intentional with your time, learning to say no and setting boundaries. 

Start to really be mindful about your time and your family’s time. Is one of your major stressors that you are always busy? On the go? Then this might be something you need to tackle first. It’s okay to say no, to prioritize and not feel guilty. Most of the time people will genuinely understand. And just because you say no now doesn’t mean that it’ll always be a no, it just means now is not the season for it.

Here are some things to think about

• Take inventory of what’s working for you and what’s not.
• Talk with your family to figure out what changes can be made to be more purposeful with time.
• Start saying no to things. This is something a lot of us moms struggle with. But remember it’s okay to prioritize your time.
• If you don’t already use a calendar, you should be. 
• Get a family calendar or have your personal calendar sync to your husbands or put it on the fridge- whatever is going to be the most helpful for everyone to stay on the same page. 
• Block out time in your calendar for family days or weekends that you don’t want anything scheduled. These are rest weekends/days. I do this and it’s so amazing. I literally will put in the calendar: DO NOT SCHEDULE ANYTHING. 
• Set boundaries and be clear about them. 
• Put everything into your calendar. This will help you get used to scheduling things so that nothing pops up unexpectedly (this is the worst) and so that you don’t overbook. 
• Review your calendar a couple months ahead so nothing sneaks up and so you can move things around if it seems like something will become a pain. 
• On Sundays review your calendar to see what’s coming up, remind your family and move/reschedule anything. 

Hoping this helps!