During this fall season, school is back in session, your kids may be doing more extracurricular activities, and you may be going into the office more – I know we are! Our schedule is definitely busier that it has been during the summer, and we’re trying to find a balance between family time and the enrichment of new experiences, like flag football!  Here are tips on how to find your fall family rhythm in the midst of busy schedules. 

Determine Your Priorities 🎯

First, it helps to know what you’re shooting for by determining your priorities. An honest conversation with your partner can help set reasonable expectations. I know a lot of parents are burned out, and factoring in downtime can help the family rest and recuperate. This article outlines how you can determine your family priorities in the context of the project management principles of constraints: time, cost, and scope.

⏰ Time is the number of hours in a day as it relates to the family schedule.

💲 Cost is the amount of money as it relates to the family budget.

⚙️ Scope is the amount of work as it relates to parents’ careers and kids’ schooling and activities.

Project management uses these three constraints as a framework for evaluating competing demands and adjusting them if necessary. Time, cost, and scope are interrelated. The greater the scope (or amount of work) that needs to be done, the more time and money will be needed to complete it. If the amount of required work decreases, then the time and cost go down as well. For example, if our kids are in several activities, these require more time and money than paring down their schedules to one or two activities. Keep these factors in mind when reviewing your fall family schedule. We decided that I would continue to work part-time this fall due to our family scope of work, even though it reduces our family budget.

Set the Schedule 🗓️

Now that you know your priorities, get your family calendar in place. A shared calendar can be invaluable for keeping track of your family’s schedule and helping each other communicate about what’s happening every day. Although a paper calendar on the kitchen wall will do, I find mobile apps to be the most useful because you can check them on the go. These apps also list participants in and can send reminders about each activity. Parents can assign activities to keep track of who is doing what that day. There are many shared calendar apps to choose from, including Alarmed, Cozi, Google Calendar, Picniic, S’mores Up, and others. Whichever one you use, consult before deciding on a new activity.

Stay Connected 👪

Now that the family schedule is set and you’re heading in different directions, it’s important to stay connected. Weekly family meetings can facilitate conversations about how things are going, help you stay organized, and streamline communication. These meetings also keep parents informed of any new tasks or schedule changes. Talk to your family about your schedules for the upcoming week and put new events on the shared calendar. These family meetings can be held over a meal or during a family game night and are a useful touchpoint to check in and see how things are going. Our casual family meetings happen over dinner, where we discuss whatever activities are coming up.

Re-Evaluate 🤔

Your fall schedule is only as good as the quality of life it brings to your family. If necessary, re-evaluate whether you’re getting the results you want in terms of family dynamics, quality time, sleep, productivity, etc. An after-school enrichment program sounded great for our son, until we realized that it would be too long a day and he needed his downtime and playtime. We re-evaluated his schedule to suit his needs.

I hope the four steps above will help you determine your priorities and find your distinct fall family rhythm. I wish you and your family all the best this fall!

Hilary Kinney is the author of Project Management for Parents, a timeless book that provides resources for busy parents to streamline life at home. She is a certified Professional Project Manager with 17 years of experience at a Fortune 500 company.