The Busy Mom Brief: Aug 16

I’ve always been a planner.

For almost 20 years, I was a teacher, instructional coach, and administrator. So planning was simply part of my life. I planned lessons. I planned weeks. I planned meetings, events, schedules, and eventually entire school communities.

But these days, my planning looks a little different. There are no longer lessons to write or staff meetings to schedule. Instead, on Friday mornings, when my kids are at school, I sit down with my favorite planner, my favorite pen, a handful of colorful highlighters, and a cup of coffee. I turn on quiet music. I light a candle. And I plan out our week.

That may sound like a strange thing to look forward to, but I’ve turned it into a little ritual that I genuinely enjoy. I take my time looking at what’s coming up: practices, games, appointments, school events, activities, work commitments, social events. I start putting the pieces together.

When I close my planner, I feel like I can exhale. The week isn’t necessarily going to be calm; with three kids, I don’t think that’s ever the goal. But I know what’s coming. I’ve realized that planning ahead doesn’t just make our week more organized, it gives me more space to actually enjoy it.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to pass those planning skills on to my kids. Because after spending so many years teaching children in schools, I know the importance of building independence and life skills. I don’t want to simply manage my own children’s schedules for them. I want to teach them how to manage their own.

So now, our weekend planning has become a family ritual too. And this week, I want to take you behind the scenes of exactly how we do it.

Every Friday, I do something that makes the following week feel significantly easier: I plan it. I am a mom of three. Three kids at three different schools, with three different schedules, and all with their own activities. On Fridays, I map out all of the practices, games, activities, appointments, carpools, etc. that are on our schedule for the week. Friday planning allows me the opportunity to answer the questions that otherwise start popping up Sunday night or Monday morning:

• What do we have going on this week?

• Who needs to be where?

• What nights are crazy?

• When do we actually have time to cook or sit down for a meal?

• What is everyone going to eat?

• What needs to be handled ahead of time?

Before I decide what we’re eating, I look at which nights are packed and which nights give us a little breathing room.

Now that I know the shape of the week, I’m ready to plan out the meals that will fit with what we have going on each night. I go through the days and ask myself, “what kind of dinner makes sense for this particular night?” I have determined a set of categories that help me decide on the meal that fits best.

• Crazy Night: something extremely easy- sandwiches, leftovers, takeout

• Activity Night: slow cooker, leftovers, or something that can be prepped ahead of time

• Normal Night: an actual dinner I enjoy making- one of our go-to meals, or a kid request (if they request it, they help me prepare it!)

• Weekend: something more flexible/fun— we love homemade pizza night!

Meal planning should serve your schedule, not create more work for you!

This is a habit that started during COVID and that I’ve never looked back from: grocery pickup. I quickly realized that I could spend 15 minutes placing an order and get nearly an hour of my life back. And I started thinking about that hour differently. I could spend it with my family, take a walk, get something else done—or simply have a little more breathing room.

Now that I’ve planned our dinners, my grocery list is pretty easy. I check what we already have, add what we need for the week’s meals and snacks, and place my pickup order.

The goal of my planning is to create more room for the things that matter.

And if I can trade an hour in the grocery store for an hour with my family, I’ll take that trade every time.

As a teacher, I started every day with a morning meeting, so I’ve always been a big believer in bringing kids together to talk about what’s ahead. Naturally, I tried the same thing with my own kids. It didn’t work. My kids just annoyed each other. So I adapted.

Now, I do a quick one-on-one check-in with each child over the weekend. We look at what’s coming up—school, practices, games, appointments, social plans—and map it out on their Week at a Glance Planner (as subscribers to the Busy Mom Brief, you get early access to this printable!).

The important part is that I’m not filling it out for them. We’re doing it together.

I’m helping them learn to look ahead, think about what they need, and take ownership of their own schedules. And if a family meeting works beautifully for your family, do it! But I’ve learned that the best system isn’t necessarily the one that looks best on paper. It’s the one that actually works for your family.

Get the Week at a Glance Planner here!

Once we’ve mapped out their week, we do one more little piece of planning: food. Each child uses our Week at a Glance Planner to choose what they want for breakfast, lunch, and snacks for each day of the week. I give them options, help them think through what makes sense, and then let them make the decisions.

They also choose one dinner a week that they love, and whenever possible, they help me make it.

It might seem like a small thing, but I’m intentional about giving them ownership over these everyday decisions. They’re learning to think ahead, make choices, communicate what they need, and understand that if they want something in their lunchbox or for a snack, they have a role in making sure it’s planned and available.

Selfishly, I love that I don’t have to answer “What’s for lunch?” or “What can I have for a snack?” quite so many times during the week. It’s one more little way I’m trying to move from doing everything for my kids to teaching my kids how to do things for themselves.

I’m planning our week because I want to make space for what matters. A little preparation on Friday means fewer decisions during a busy week, more ownership for my kids, and a little more breathing room for all of us.

And maybe that’s what I love most about this routine: I’m not just organizing our week. I’m teaching my kids how to organize theirs.

One Friday morning, one colorful planner page, one small step toward independence at a time.

Have a great week!

Stephanie

^{Helping busy moms enjoy motherhood through simple routines, practical parenting tips, and everyday systems that work.}