Calm in the Chaos. Yes, it can really happen. Who else dreads the kid’s sports season? All the schedules, practices, and rescheduling chaos. I spend 90% of my spring and fall seasons feeling like I am forgetting something and the world is on fire. Despite this, I remain calm in the chaos. How do I do this? My top tips are:
- A shared family calendar
- Communication
- Planning
- Me time
I am sure some of you are doing some or all of these and still have moments of craziness. Here is a how I use these in my life.
Shared Calendar
I use the Cozi family app as my shared calendar but you could easily do this in a Google calendar or similar. I set this up so each family member has a color and I import the sports schedules or enter them as soon as they are released. I make sure all the adults that need to be at these events are set to get a reminder via email. Once the sports schedules are in I go back to schedule in anything else we need to do.
Communication
Communication, the gold standard in the business world and it needs to be the gold standard everywhere. Most importantly with sports is you need to overcommunicate in some cases such as rescheduled games. I make sure if there are cancellations or rescheduled practices and games I share this communication with husband, caregivers, and my calendar. In addition, make sure the coaches have your preferred method of communication and you have theirs. Some cases they may not match up and you want to ensure you know where the coach is sending information.
Planning
Finally, planning time and me time. I am sure you are thinking where in all this chaos where will I find that. I combine these into 1 hour once a week. Without the planning time, handling changes will trigger the stress and freak out moments. I use a Lifeplanner to ensure my week is ready and then transfer information between the Lifeplanner and Cozi so they match. Reviewing your week gives you the ability to prepare for schedule changes by having a general idea of what the week looks like. Once my week is planned I take whatever time is left as me time. This is my time to unwind and reset for the week to come. I either rest, read, or mediate but whatever helps you de-stress is what you should do. If you do not take a moment to decompress then the stress will boil over at the most inopportune time.
The one thing you can be sure of as a parent is a lot of chaos and changed plans. Keep your calm in these moments by being prepared. Do you have any additional tips that you use to prepare for the chaos? I would love to hear your thoughts.
