Weekly Planning Tips for Families

When the weekend rolls around, maybe you’re running nonstop to sports events and children’s birthday parties. Maybe you’re doing a whole house reset, trying to get order back into your chaos.

Can I make a plug for some weekly planning?

Seriously, taking the time to look over the landscape of next week can help you in so many ways. You don’t actually have to be much of a planner person – paper planner or otherwise.

The simple act of checking out what’s happening over the next week can really help your life as Mom.

Why Do Weekly Planning

A new week is a fresh start and a chance to enjoy all the good things in your life. Set yourself up for success with weekly planning so that you’ve got all the basics covered.

Without weekly planning, you may find yourself having to do things on the fly. You’ll also miss opportunities along the way, chances to enjoy your people more or simple opportunities to make a mundane monthly task a little easier.

What to Include in Your Weekly Planning

Your life is different than mine, but there are some common activities that we can all plan for. When we plan something, we can prepare to make it happen. 

Swap out the unique circumstances of your life for any of these weekly planning tasks that aren’t on your plate these days.

1. Plan your meals.

When you do regular meal planning, life is easier, tastier, and a lot more fun. You know you gotta eat, so even if you just jot down three meal ideas you know everyone likes, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Having a meal plan gives kids some direction, especially the picky eaters. They are seemingly always hungry and asking what the next meal is going to be. You will all do better when you have an answer for them.

Not only that, having a meal plan helps you shop better and get meals on the table in a timely manner.

Need some meal planning inspo? Check out the Back to Organized Goodie Box.

2. Do your grocery shopping.

Once you’ve got a meal plan, shop your kitchen so you don’t buy more than you need. Then, get thee to the store for the items you’re missing. 

You don’t want to be out of milk by Tuesday morning. It kinda messes with the flow of things.

I like having the fridge stocked on Sunday or Monday so that we’re set for the week and I don’t get distracted by yet another thing on the to-do list. There’s no fun in standing in long lines at the store with a few hungry kids in tow at 5 pm on a Wednesday.

Do your shopping in the calm of the week or better yet, schedule a grocery pickup for a day when you’ll already be out. 

3. Check the calendar.

I track appointments and other plans in Google calendar. I get an email reminder every morning that helps immensely because I often forget to check the calendar.

But things run the most smoothly when I plot the week in my weekly time budget in my planner. It’s a weekly page in the Print & Go Planner.

It’s one thing to have a calendar and a plan; it’s another thing altogether to actually check it. Yeah, that pretty monthly planner you bought, go dig it out of the pile and put it to work right now.

Survey the week and see what you’ve got on the horizon. If you’ve got many things coming up over the next couple months, you may want to take a glance farther, but at the bare minimum, see what’s going on this week and plan accordingly.

Does Jimmy need to be at ball practice the same time Jane needs to be at choir? Knowing this now will help you better avoid disaster — or having to be two places at one time.

(Last time I checked, that was still impossible.)

If you don’t already, do some time-budgeting so you can make sure there’s room for the big rocks of your life.

4. Plan a family night.

After 20+ years of parenting, we’ve figured out that sometimes you need to PLAN to watch a movie, take the kids to the pool, or go to the beach. Spontaneity is great, but we can’t rely on that. We have to plan for some activities, even if it’s as simple as a daily walk.

You may have good intentions for your evening free time, but more often than not, time gets away from ya. 

When sit down to watch a movie, no one can agree on what to watch. When you want to pop corn, the kernels have disappeared. When you pull out a puzzle to do with the kids, you find that the toddler has fallen asleep in the recliner. Again.

When you plan ahead for it, family nights actually happen. (Grab our practically free family nights printable to get your juices flowing.)

5. Reconnect with your spouse.

Sometimes in the busy-ness of family life, it’s easy to forget why you started this family in the first place. You love each other!

I know that some marriages are harder than others, but having witnessed folks struggle through the hard, I know that it’s more than worth the effort.*

If at all possible, make time this week to reconnect. It doesn’t have to be a fairytale night on the town. Sometimes just going for ice cream and a walk in the park can be just the ticket.

Check out these 5 Ways to Have a Great Date Night When You’re a Parent.

(* I’m not diminishing the struggle of a difficult marriage or the anguish of an abusive relationship. If you or your children are suffering from abuse, I strongly urge you to seek counsel and assistance from local authorities and/or your church or other faith community.)

6. Exercise.

Weird though it may be, exercise will actually give you more energy not less. I did say it was weird. Weird, but true.

The human body likes to keep moving; it was made for that. So get yours in gear this week. Take a walk with a friend, do some yoga stretches, go for a swim.

Find a way to get fit and make working out work for you.

7. Get outside.

Fresh air is good for everyone. It can clear your head, relax you, and help you slow down. 

Keep in mind that not every terrain or outdoor activity will be your favorite. Some folks prefer the mountains and hills while others are drawn to the water. Some like to swim and fish while others prefer to garden or hike.

What outdoor activities do you feel good about doing? Even if it’s sitting in a sunny lawn chair, get out!

Get outside this week, either alone or with the fam.

8. Read a good book.

Have you found your reading time relegated to meaningless social media updates and the backs of cereal boxes? May it never be!

Reading adds color and life to the week and keeps you from being too much alone with your thoughts where you start to worry about stuff instead of problem solving. Keep your thoughts moving in the right direction!

Brainstorm some books you want to read this next month and get started. Here’s my TBR for the curious.

Keep a record of what you read. You’ll be so pleased at the end of the season with so much more to show for it than some useless Facebook news.

9. Clean house.

Unless you have a live-in maid or cleaning service, there will likely be regular household chores to do. I find that if I don’t make a plan to do them, it’s far too easy for me to skip it.

Think through the cleaning tasks that are due this week — this cleaning checklist might be helpful — and block out some time to get them done.

Weekly planning can be a great way for you to reach your goals and keep your family’s schedule on an even keel. Have I forgotten any key points?