happy november!
like most, i always look forward to a new month ahead. a fresh month feels like a blank slate allowing us to make better choices with our health, our finances & our time.
one practice that has helped us manage our time better & communicate more effectively is our family calendar meeting.
do you sit down as a family for a monthly calendar meeting?
i am a paper planner kind-of-person & it drives my hubby nuts because he's a fan of the google calendar. this practice allows us to merge both of our preferences & our obligations/responsibilities for the month into one calendar that's been discussed & shared.
it's best to start this practice at the beginning of the month & have your meeting the first week of the month (we prefer the first sunday of the month).
we bring our daily calendars & write down important events such as birthdays, book clubs, & visitors in town. we also talk about potential holiday travel & taking time off of work.
our calendar isn't really color-coordinated, but you could always designate a color to a specific person's activities.
i keep the calendar in my office where we both see it regularly. if we need to add something to the calendar, we let the other person know.
our calendar is from hobby lobby. i like the simple white frame that can be hung on the wall or fridge with ease.
the most important piece of this practice is communication! this practice allows us to connect as a family & manage our time more effectively together.
do you have a monthly calendar meeting? how do you manage your time & communicate as a family?
love,
natalie
4 comments:
We're a big google cal family over here but I use pen/paper list making all the time for more personal stuff!
Completely agree about new month, new slate! My goodness, there is something so wonderful about A. WHOLE. NEW. MONTH. (although sometimes, it would be nice if some of the 'to do' had shrunk and been completed) HA!
My husband works away a lot (specially during season - he works in winter special effects) so we find we often need more frequent meetings to keep track of his work commitments, and plans that we can make, and plans we now have to cancel (we don't always get the best notice for his travels).
Taking the plan to 'regroup' and focus on the month ahead always helps us have a better month financially and allows us savour the moments we do have together, and use the time fruitfully. With a young baby in the mix, carving out family days for fun (and even better free activities) ensures we all get the time and attention needed.
About 3 or 4 times a year, we sit down (normally over a nice meal) and make the bigger plans for our finances to ensure we still have some of the bigger goals in our sights (like houses/holidays/savings etc).
We are BIG, BIG fans of meal planning and budgeting in our household.
Thanks for everything you share!
My husband & I communicate best through email. Silly I know but if it's written down we both remember it. At our age, we need to say it when we think it or it may never come again!
We also use google calendar, I hate that they don't sinc anymore. He used to be able to add things to it at work & it would sinc at home. Now he has to add it twice or send an email to me so I can add it. It makes it much easier to plan things & schedule appointments when I can see his work calendar - he has things scheduled 24/6 with one day off. I can see what days he has early meetings or late night trainings & work around that.
If we're together & need to communicate, he carries a little Picadilly pocket notebook that he writes in. If he gets it written down, he remembers it & gets it done.
The only time we have a 'meeting' is if we have a full week coming up or to plan holidays. We sit down & go over budgets & schedules to pencil in what we want & what needs to be done. Otherwise, he balances our budget weekly. I do all the shopping & sometimes he has questions about credit card statements to be clear where it goes in our budget but we don't do it together.
Back when we had debt (we've been married 27 yrs, mortgage free for 15 yrs & debt free for 9 yrs) we had monthly meetings to keep us on track on our budget more than anything.
Man I wish I lived in that area, or at least in the States at least! That calendar is so beautiful, congratulations on this new project!!
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