Joining Mix and Match Mama and A Little Bit of Everything for this month’s Let’s Look. And boy do I need to take a good look at how I am (or am not at times) juggling family schedules! First, a little background on why this is difficult for me.
Spinning Plates for Work and Non-work Obligations
🏢Work
My weekly schedule has recently been… let’s just say, a high-stakes game of calendar Tetris. I work at two different college campuses—both here in the city, but conveniently located at opposite ends of town. One is a remote campus for our nearby community college, where I teach part-time. The other is where I work full-time, wearing two hats: 60% administrator (Director of First-Year Experience) and 40% Communication Studies faculty. Oh, and I have two different offices at my full-time campus. And I drive between them. Four days a week on average.
In past semesters, my days felt like a nonstop balance between identities. I’d teach at one campus in the morning, hop over to the other for admin duties in the afternoon, then sprinkle in more teaching—sometimes on the same day. It was a constant swirl of role-shifting, and the transitions? Always abrupt. Always a little jarring.
But this semester? I think I’ve finally landed on a rhythm:
- Monday/Wednesday/Friday = Admin hat on, one office, deep focus, the whole day.
- Tuesday/Thursday = Teaching days, both campuses, but no admin distractions.
It’s glorious. I now get to focus on one role per day, and it already feels like it’s going to save my brain from frying. No more identity ping-pong!
👩🏫 Outside of Work…
Of course, being me, I don’t stop at just two jobs. I also serve as a Girl Scout Troop Leader and Service Unit Officer, which comes with its own calendar explosion: two troop meetings, council events, monthly planning sessions, and of course, cookie season (which might as well be its own full-time job). Thankfully, our Service Unit meetings have gone from monthly to quarterly, which is giving me a bit of breathing room this year.
🗣️ Oh, and I’m Building a Community Debate Team…
Because why not add one more thing, right?
Last year I launched a Community Debate Team for high school students from across our city. We’re meeting weekly now (up from every other week), and we’ll be traveling monthly for tournaments about 90 minutes away. Yes, it’s a commitment—but last year, I was coaching the college Speech & Debate team and was out of town every other weekend for three days at a time. Compared to that, this feels totally doable.
🌈 The Bottom Line?
This year already feels lighter. Why?
- I simplified my days. Clear focus = fewer transitions = less scattered brain.
- I gave myself permission to do a little less. Fewer meetings, less travel, and fewer “maybe I can squeeze this in” moments.
So no, I’m not sitting around twiddling my thumbs. But I am walking into this year with a better plan—and maybe even a little margin. Let’s call that a win.
Keeping a calendar in view
We have a write-on, wipe-off calendar in our hallway that I try to use for family events. This helps everyone see the same thing and not be surprised by what is happening. I’ve tried to use shared online calendars, but I don’t know if people are looking at those on their own, so the hallway calendar helps me know that people are looking at it.
My daughter put it together for this month and it is nice to see her getting involved in teh process. We did it late because we were out of town that first week! And this is the calm before the storm of September. At least we get to ease into things a bit. She goes back to school on Tuesday and I am working, but flexible next week. I start teaching the last week of August.
Combine work/home calendars
I know this probably doesn’t work for everyone, but I need to see EVERYTHING on one calendar to really understand my schedule. I used to keep a work calendar and a separate gmail family calendar, but things would fall through the cracks. So, I’ve now just combined everything on my work calendar. I use a different color and calendar for my personal stuff so I can uncheck it and have it disappear, but it helps me keep everything straight. I know when an orthodontist appointment is going to make me late for a meeting or when a doctor’s appointment is going to have me out of class, etc. It used to be that I would miss things until the last moment or would not see the conflicts clearly between my family stuff and my work stuff. I know this probably doesn’t work for everyone, but for me, it has made the most sense.
Use a paper planner
I know, I know—I just talked about simplifying my schedule and sticking to one calendar. But, I love the paper planning process. I am a pen person (IYKYK) The truth is, my paper planner isn’t just a calendar—it’s a creative tool, a thinking space, and honestly, a little slice of joy.
My digital calendar is my official boss. It keeps my meetings in order and sends those panic-inducing 10-minute alerts. But my paper planner? That’s where the magic happens.
Each week (well, most weeks), I carve out a bit of time to sit down with my planner, go over what’s coming up, and write everything out by hand—meetings, fun stuff, deadlines, appointments. It’s part organization, part mindfulness, and part art project. I use color-coded pens, stickers, and sometimes doodles. It’s like my own little visual pep talk for the week ahead.
I also jot things in my planner during meetings when I don’t want to pull out my phone and look distracted. Later, I sync it up with my digital calendar during my weekly planning time.
And let me be real: some weeks? That planner stays blank. Life happens. But when I do keep up with it, I often catch little things I forgot to do or realize, “Oh! I never sent that email!” or “Why is that meeting scheduled at the exact same time as another one?” (Looking at you, double-booked Tuesdays.)
🛠️ A Work in Progress
I’d love to get in the habit of planning two weeks out—really staying ahead of the chaos. The idea of being two weeks ahead on everything? Dreamy. Aspirational. Not my current reality.
But hey, maybe this school year is the one where I actually make that happen.
New planner, fresh pens… anything feels possible in August, right?
Ask for help!
This one took me a long time to learn: asking for help doesn’t make me a burden—it builds community.
For years, I twisted myself into a pretzel trying to get my daughter to and from school while also making it to work meetings across town. It always felt like a high-stakes game of logistics with no margin for error. Add in the fact that she doesn’t go to school with most of our family friends, and I always felt like I was on my own to make it all work.
But one week, I finally caved and asked a friend if she could pick her up. Her response?
“I loved hanging out with her—she told me all about school and life. It was honestly such a treat.”
And just like that, it became a regular thing for a while.
Then another friend offered help, too—her husband is semi-retired and they homeschool their child, so she said, “Just let us know when you need a ride.”
Another friend—whose kids my daughter babysits for—started doing regular pick-ups when our schedules got tight, and her little ones were thrilled to see my daughter after school.
I always worry I’m asking too much. That I’m creating extra work for someone.
But here’s the truth I’m finally starting to believe: sometimes, asking for help gives someone else a gift, too—a meaningful moment with your kid, a chance to feel useful, a way to give back.
And it gives me the gift of breathing room. Sanity. Trust. I’ll take it.
I think I always am worried about creating a burden for someone, but sometimes asking for help gives them a gift!
Give yourself some grace
If there’s one thing I keep relearning, it’s this: I am not a machine.
My schedule is complicated. My husband travels a lot. I do my best to keep all the plates spinning—but every now and then? One drops. And you know what? That’s okay.
Sometimes I open my calendar, feel my brain start to smoke, and realize:
“Nope. This is too much.”
When that happens, I cancel a meeting. I shift a deadline. I let something go.
Because pushing through everything doesn’t make me stronger. Knowing when to pause, breathe, and protect my energy—that’s the real power move.
As moms, as professionals, as community members—we so often feel like we have to do all the things. But over the last few years, I’ve come to understand that sometimes, all the things just can’t get done. And that’s not failure. That’s life.
I try to give grace to others when they’re running late, when they need to reschedule, when their world is spinning a little too fast. So now, I’m practicing doing the same for myself.
And if you’re reading this, I hope you will too.
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