Different Ways of Keeping Track of Your Daily Routines

Half the battle of sticking with your daily routines is keeping track of them so that they are easily visible and referenced.  If they are buried in a drawer where you have to dig through a pile of paper to find them, chances are you will quickly abandon them.  Here are some quick and easy ways of keeping your daily routines visible and easily tracked.

Write or type them down on a separate schedule and simply post them either on your refrigerator with a magnetic clip or on a bulletin board.  Just be sure to post them where you will naturally see them every day such as in the family kitchen or in your office.  You can create your own schedule or use one of our free daily routine schedules.

Dry erase boards are a great way of writing out your personal routines as well as the kids’ routines.  Hanging in a central location or on the back of your kids’ bedroom doors, dry erase boards have the benefit of being easily updated or changed.

If you use a daily planner, use the notes section to write your daily routines.  Every night before going to bed, lay out your planner on the kitchen counter open to your daily routine page so that you can easily reference the routines in the morning.  Use the same practice at lunch time for your afternoon routines and in the evening for your evening routines.  You may want to write them in pencil in case you need to make changes.

Write your daily routines on index cards and either paperclip them to your family calendar or hang them on your refrigerator.

If you use a family organizer, simply add them as one of the pages and open your organizer to that page every morning, afternoon, and evening for quick reference.

If you use an electronic calendar such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar, create recurring tasks with the details of your routines.  To keep your lists from becoming overcrowded and overwhelming, create one task that incorporates all of your morning, afternoon, and evening tasks by writing out the individual tasks in the subject line or in the notes section.  Similar to this example here:

Click on Image to Enlarge

Good luck!

All New Dry Erase Boards, Weekly.agenda, and SchoolPriorities.pad

Get ready for the start of back to school with our new dry erase boards, the Weekly.agenda, and the SchoolPriorities.pad.

Dry erase boards are a great way to leave family messages or keep track of lists, chores, and daily routines.  Available in 5 great designs and a lot of great colors, these dry erase boards can be used in the kitchen, library, or on the backs of your kids’ bedroom doors. Read more

Is Your Family the Next GM?

Living outside of Detroit, I along with millions of other people have been living this economic slump and its effects on the auto industry for months now.  Though the economic slump has wreaked havoc on all automakers, domestic and foreign alike, the biggest casualty has been General Motors.  Receiving billions in federal aid and engrossed in a bankruptcy, GM has probably seen its darkest days these past few months and its long-term viability is tenuous at best.  There are a lot of different reasons GM has gotten to the point it is now and the point of this article isn’t to bash GM because frankly that has been done to death and that isn’t what we do.  If you truly want to understand the reasons behind GM’s woes, then you should look up some automotive experts or contact them directly on Twitter because I am not an expert in anything.

But the one thing I wondered throughout this entire crisis is how GM gave up control of their future and why they so willingly and naively left their future in the hands of the banking and financial industry.   And I began to wonder even more how many families have also given up their control to someone or something else because they expected someone else would always do the right thing or were too overwhelmed with everyday life to figure it out on their own.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there is only so much planning and protecting a family can do, but I don’t believe that our destiny and well being belongs entirely in the hands of our jobs and health.  A family’s future depends primarily on the choices they make, their ability to adapt to change, and the strength of their core.

Here are the top four ways my family tries to protect ourselves from someone else’s choices and better control our destiny.   What are your family’s strategies?  Do you have one?

Strong Balance Sheet – The reality of any family’s life is their ability to pay their bills both in good times and in bad.  Families with strong balance sheets have much more flexibility, are better prepared to reach their family goals, and are better protected in bad economic times.  If your balance sheet is weak, Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover can help you get it right.

Job Skills – Staying current with your education and job skills can mean the difference between whether you or the person sitting next to you gets the job.  So whether you are currently active in the job market or have taken some time off to raise a family, make it a point to stay current in your field of work and have an updated resume.  You may need these job skills in case you get laid off or need to go back to working outside the home.

Stay Networked – Get active in your community and schools so that you have a strong network of friends and an ear out for new and different opportunities.

Know Who You Are – Families with a clear vision of who they are have a plan in place for both good and bad times.  Take the time to figure out who your family is with a family vision and mission statement and then work to make it happen with family goals and overcoming the yeah but’s.

Win a $25 Gift Certificate to Our Store

We love giving things away, so we have decided to give away two $25 gift certificates to be used on anything in our store.  To enter, all you need to do is join our Families with Purpose Facebook fan page.  Our Facebook fan page is a great way to meet other like minded parents who are passionate about all things family as well as stay up to date on our latest product offerings, specials, and family life resources.  Two winners will be drawn from our Facebook fans on Monday July 13, 2009 at 4:00PM EST.  Winners will be notified via Facebook and will have 72 hours to claim their prize.   Join today and win!