Do you look up at the clock in the morning and realize that, yes, your family is behind schedule, again?
Do you have a hard time remembering
to stop to eat lunch, leave for the day, or floss your teeth?
Consider enlisting your smartphone
for help! Set thematic songs as alarm ringtones for critical or forgettable
parts of your routines.
Songs catch our attention more than
clocks or even timers, and are easily recognized by kids too young to read a
clock.
Start by picking one or two trouble
spots. These might be transitions, like waking or leaving for school, or good
habits you want to cultivate, like consistently eating lunch or cleaning your
desk before stopping for the day.
This playlist can get you started: http://proforganizer.com/about/routinesplaylist/
Add more songs as necessary to
support your family’s daily routine. With small kids, songs every 5-10 minutes
throughout morning routine and bedtime routine makes it easier to be firm and
consistent, improves everyone’s ability to estimate time, and replaces nagging
with dancing!
It might take some experimenting to
find out which times work best for each step, and which steps need to be added.
Ask the kids which songs would keep them on track, and what they want a
reminder about! Challenge the kids to “beat the pajama song.”
Every few months, delete any alarms
that you regularly ignore, adjust the times of others if needed, and add new
songs to keep things fresh and relevant.
And be sure to listen to Kate
Carpenter’s song “Orderly and Organized.” If professional organizers had a
theme song, this might be it! The link
is:
Organizing your routines is easier than you think! For
more organizing tips, visit www.NapoMichigan.com.
Article written by Melanie
Sobocinski, of Prof Organizer LLC, NAPO
Chapter Member.
