Stop the Madness - Calendar Planning

Have you ever had your calendar planned for the entire year and then you hear of a new event or activitiy and you just have to try it? Do you try to squeeze this new event into your already over loaded schedule? Do you switch a couple of activities/events around so that you can fit them both in? Do you drop a planned event and plug the new event into its spot? STOP THE MADNESS! You can not do every single event that you see or hear about! There are always last minute "church events" that you will be required to fit into your calendar...don't add to the craziness. Trying to squeeze everything into an overloaded schedule will burn you out, rob you of your family time, wear you out and leave your discouraged and frustrated. Stop doing this to yourself! How many of you have worked on an event after hours, over the weekend, late into the night, or very early in the morning? How many of you have ever stopped to think that while you were working on that event, everyone else is out on the lake, enjoying social time with friends, or spending time with their families while YOU are working on an event? STOP IT! You can NOT host every event or activity that we see! Not right now that is! When planning your calendar remember to keep it simple. Add your "have to do's" first...things like Camp, VBS, etc. Don't be afraid to change these dates around. Give yourself adaquate time between these events. These are HUGE time consumers...and energy burners. There will also be "last minute" events that the church wants you to add. Allow room for these unexpected additions. From this point on it's all you! Don't add to the problem by adding in too many activities. Who cares if it is Ground Hogs Day or Solar Eclipse day and you didn't plan a big event! (Yep...guilty of both...hindsight is 20/20) When planning your calendar remember...each extra event that you plan is taking time away from your family, your children, your well being and activities that YOU yourself enjoy doing. Solution: 1. Self discipline (It starts with you) 2. Purchase a weekly/monthly planner. Bear with me, I know we all have our calendars on-line...myself included. However, I like to use my weekly/monthly planner as a "visual" event planning tool. I have it handy wherever I go. In addition to the calendar pages (which I do use in addition to my on-line calendar) there are several extra pages under each month's tab. I consider these pages my "dreaming" pages. I post any ideas or events that I see or hear about HERE! I do NOT pencil them onto my current calendar. When calendar planning time rolls around NEXT YEAR, I pull out ALL of my past calendars and look for new ideas that I have listed throughout the years. A fresh new supply of ideas ready and waiting. This comes in handy in a second way as well. If I have an event idea already in my head and I run across some clearance items that would work perfectly for that event I snag them up...really cheap! What is popular today will be a clearance item in 6 months...and the kids won't even know the difference....remember that! 3. Learn to say "NO". YOU have to guard your own personal time...your own personal peace...your own personal limits. Guard that precious time!