Creating a flexible summer schedule will help you stay on track with your tasks and goals, while still allowing plenty of room for fun, spontaneity, and a healthy dose of lazy relaxation. Here are 4 steps to creating your ideal summer routine.
So now that we’ve talked about prepping for summer and balancing productivity and fun, it’s time to create a summer schedule for our families.
This is my favorite part. I love schedules! I’m a planner nerd and schedules make me so happy. So let’s dig right in:
Step 1: Briefly Answer These Questions
Before you start this process, it’s good to give some thought to the following questions:
- When are your kids the happiest?
- When are your kids the crankiest?
- When are you the happiest? Or when do you have the most energy?
- When are you the crankiest? Or the most tired?
- Do your kids do better when they are busy or laid back?
- Do you do better when you’re busy or laid back?
- Do your kids do better at home or out and about?
- Do you prefer being home or out and about?
- How much flexibility do you like in your schedule?
- What from your school year routine do you not want to lose?
Step 2: List To-Dos
I like to make a list of all the things I need to do on a daily (or almost daily) basis, along with the things I want to do to make this summer productive and fun (check out How I Prep for Summer and How to Make Summer Productive and Fun for ideas). Go through the various categories of your life: home management, parenting, work, family, health, self-care, fun, etc.
Step 3: Group Tasks Together and Theme Your Days
Once I have everything listed out, I group like things together. For instance, daily household tasks get grouped together. Blogging tasks are grouped together. Things I need to help my kids with are grouped together. Then, when it’s time to create my schedule, I can set-up times based on these grouped tasks for maximum efficiency.
Another grouping tip is to theme your days. I find theming our days to be incredibly helpful! You can theme meals (breakfasts, lunches, dinners). You can theme activities with your kids. You can theme daily to-dos. Here are some examples of daily themes:
Themed Activities with Kids:
- Monday: Out and About
- Tuesday: Harkins Summer Movie Fun
- Wednesday: Book Activity
- Thursday: Library
- Friday: Art or Kitchen
Themed Reading Days (more info on this post):
- Monday: Yummy Snack
- Tuesday: Book Chat
- Wednesday: Book Activity
- Thursday: Library Trip
- Friday: Learn Something New
- Saturday: Read in a New or Fun Spot
- Sunday: Family Reading Time
Themed Family Time:
- Monday: Family Home Evening
- Tuesday: Family Game Night
- Wednesday: Out as a family (short and sweet)
- Thursday: Outdoor family fun
- Friday: Mom & Dad date night
- Saturday: Out as a family (long) and Family Movie Night
- Sunday: Family Reading Time
Themed To-Dos:
- Monday: Clean out (mail, bills, budget, etc.)
- Tuesday: Paperwork (mail, bills, budget, etc.)
- Wednesday: Housework
- Thursday: Computer Work
- Friday: Catch-up
- Saturday: Organization
Themed Meals:
- Monday: Italian
- Tuesday: Mexican
- Wednesday: Quick and Easy
- Thursday: Chicken
- Friday: Pizza
- Saturday: Out
- Sunday: Pork or Beef
Step 4: Create a Flexible Summer Schedule
Now, start slotting activities into a time frame that works best for you. Obviously, some days might be different (for instance, if you have swim lessons on Wednesday mornings, that day will be slightly different), but don’t worry about that. We’re just going for a basic framework here to keep you on track. Remember, this is a flexible schedule!
Examples
If you need some ideas, I’ve included examples of my kids summer schedule and my own summer schedule.
My Kids Flexible Summer Schedule
- 7:00–Morning Routine and Breakfast
- 8:00–Swim Team
- 9:00–Chart (this is optional, but it’s how they earn allowance).
- 10:00–Play with Mom
- 12:30–Lunch
- 1:00–Quiet Time
- 2:00–Play
- 5:15–Help with Dinner
- 5:30–Dinner & Clean-Up
- 6:00–Family Time
- 6:30–Time with Dad
- 7:00–Night Routine
- 7:30–Bedtime
My Flexible Summer Schedule
- 5:30–Morning Routine
- 7:00–Breakfast and Straighten
- 8:00–Swim team and Get Ready
- 9:00–Help Kids
- 10:00–Play with Kids
- 12:30–Lunch
- 1:00–Work
- 3:30–To-dos or Fun with Kids
- 5:00–Make dinner
- 5:30–Eat & clean-up
- 6:00–Family time
- 6:30–Workout
- 7:00–Prep and Plan
- 8:00–Catch-Up or Unwind
- 9:00–Time with Spouse & Read
- 10:00–Bed
What does your summer schedule look like?
If you found this helpful, check out these posts on routines:
- Why You Need a Morning Routine
- 3 Ways to Jumpstart Your Morning with a Night Routine
- 7 Things to do Every Morning
- 7 Things to do Every Night
Britney is a wife and mom with a passion for helping other women see the good inside of them. She loves podcasts, polka dots, and dancing around the kitchen with her family.