THE TRANSITION FROM SUMMER TO FALL
THE TRANSITION FROM SUMMER TO FALL BRINGS BOTH SADNESS AND HAPPINESS FOR MOST OF US.
In addition to what is always a “too short” summer, the fall can be a frantic time as well. The kids go back to school, which results in juggling their new schedules, homework, and after-school activities. Fall also brings a range of new home chores. You need to transition from the summer to the fall by draining your sprinkler systems, putting away patio furniture, maybe cleaning all of the windows. And don't forget about the "fun" of leaf clean-up.
Fall can also be a great time to get your trees checked before the harsher weather arrives. Mix all this with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the rapid approach of Christmas, and you have a recipe for potential chaos! The bottom line is that your fall is going to be incredibly busy. And a busy fall means that time management must be your best friend this season.
Here are some of our top tips to help ensure you will have the time to notice all the wonderful things that this season has to offer:
1. Keep a family calendar in one central location. Track everyone’s activities on the calendar. Go over it every day with the kids.
2. Make a list of all the tasks and complete the most important ones first.
3. Don’t focus on how many tasks are on your list – just focus on the most important and most urgent tasks first. Covey’s time management grid is an excellent tool to help with this
4. Devote your time to just the task that you are working on. Multi-tasking does not work
5. Don’t allow unimportant details to drag you down – it’s all about fit for purpose rather than perfectionism
6. Procrastination costs time. Complete your least favorite task first and just get it out the way
7. Divide up chores so that everyone is helping
8. Create Organizing Systems, Being organized saves time. Create a filing system for documents. Make sure all items have a place to be stored. Unsubscribe from email lists if you don’t want to receive their content. Streamline, streamline, streamline.
9. Create systems for toys, clothes, closets and books. Show and teach kids there is a home for everything.
10. Make school prep easier by helping your kids prepare the night before by picking out clothes for the next day, packing school or/and sports bag and packing lunch and snacks.
11. Set up a homework station and establish a homework routine so that you don’t waste time chasing them to complete
12. Learn to say no to extras and things that are a distraction.
13. Keep healthy. Getting rest, eating healthy and getting exercise will help you focus more and increase your productivity
14. Allow yourself me time and don’t beat yourself up if something doesn’t get done when hoped
15. Enjoy! The fall is a wonderful season and you don’t want to miss it from being stressed out!
If you feel like you are more likely to "fall down" than enjoy Autumn, then you could probably use a little bit of help!
Schedule a free maintenance check with us, and we'll start getting your fall back under control!
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