Have you ever had one of those days at work where you come up against constant roadblocks and at the end of the day you’re physically and emotionally spent but have sh*t all to show for it.
As a mother of two boys under two, that shitty feeling of epic unproductiveness is my LIFE… or was until I decided to embrace routine.
In my past life as an entertainment journalist each day was a hap hazzard mish mash of interviews, boozy lunches and last minute keyboard bashing.
Every evening there was a choice of free bar events to attend, and many a time I purchased a new outfit on the way into work having spontaneously crashed at a friends house.
I enjoyed living life with careless abandon, going with the flow, playing things by ear…although I never really understood that turn of phrase.
Now my spontaneity has been reduced to whether we eat breakfast at home or scoff cafe bought banana bread at the local playground…but this is really laziness dressed up in the fancy garb of spontaneity.
The fact is spontaneity scares me now, I need a routine to give some sort of order to the mayhem of my day.
When my second bubba came along, I remember feeling so out of my depth and the days seemed Lord of the Rings trilogy long.
I wondered how Family Daycare workers managed it….what was their secret…a bit of Googling and I stumbled upon a sample Family Daycare day plan.
Sectioning you day into activities gives you something to tick off, some sort of accomplishment when you feel like you’re just threading water.
The below is how my days are planned, it’s crazy ambitious to have an hour put aside for a craft activity, sometimes these just last a whole three minutes, but it’s comforting to have an activity timetable to turn to instead of the ABC Kids programme schedule.
7 am Brekkie
8am Playground (Mommy tries to make new friends)
9am Mid morning snack in front of kids TV
10am New craft / activity
12pm Nap / Bedroom “Independent Play” time
2pm Snack and Beach / Gym Creche / Outdoor Excursion
4pm Dinner and Outdoor Play / Outdoor Craft Activity
5.30 – 7 Bath and Telly Wind Down
