Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A testimony to my OCD tendancies

A few months ago, Toby and I were discussing the numerous commitments we have, coupled with the needs of our home and family and the desire for occasional downtime, and were wondering how we were going to give each thing its proper attention. As it happens, I have a schedule for our school day (you may have seen it), including a certain fun thing that we'd do together for each week day, like movies on Wednesday or crafts on Friday. I had an idea that we might employ a similar theme to each evening of the week, based more on what we need to do with our time, rather than fun activities (although some of them are fun!). What does that look like for us?
  • Monday is Reading night. We sit down with our books and enjoy some peace and quiet.
  • Tuesday is Hospitality night. This is the night we tend to schedule for getting together with others, whether we're hosting or acting as guests. When you wonder why we always invite you over on a Tuesday, this is why.
  • Wednesday is our Project night. This is when Toby attends to those fix-it jobs, prepares for Care Group, or works on one of the many jobs I've got planned for him. I'll either work on one of my own projects (of which there are legion) or help him out a little. Stuff is getting done.
  • Thursday is Care Group. There is usually something going on for Care Group every week, whether the main meeting or growth groups. Makes for easy planning.
  • Friday night is Date Night. We'd never been very good about this, and it's been so nice to be doing things together a bit more. Sometimes we go out, sometimes we stay in and play games or watch a movie, but we're spending time together. It's good time.
  • Saturday night is Family night. Usually that means a meal of finger foods in front of a film, and that has yet to get old. One week we did take the kids over to the pool at the local Y, which was both fun and tiring.
  • Sunday is our Planning night. We look at our calendars, talk about what's coming up and whatever actions need to be taken. We'll pray for each other and whatever is happening that week.
And that's it. Nothing major, and certainly not uber-strict. If we can't meet with folks on Tuesday, we may swap things around and have people over on Friday, and bump our date night up a little. We don't feel guilty about getting work done because we know date night or family night will happen, and likewise, projects aren't getting put off all the time, because we have some dedicated time to chip away at them.
We've been using this system as a rough guide for a couple months, and it's served us so well. It's allowed us to see how we're spending our time and where we have some margin for more/breathing room. This family is busy, but we still have all the time we need to hang out with friends, get some quality time together and get some work done.
How do you spend your evenings? How do you "get it all done"?