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As working moms/dads reassess what didn't work and prepare for another school year, time management is at the top of their list. Reconfiguring the personal planners and calendars will help them feel less overwhelmed and more organized. Today, I will share two calendars, a wall-mount family calendar and a personal calendar for Working Moms (Dads) to help them get the kids involved in planning and help parents stay on track with their busy families and stay healthy.
Full disclosure: This post shares ACCO products. If you click through, I will receive a small commission if you buy anything on their website. Happy shopping!
Below are the products I have reviewed.
- AT-A-GLANCE® Academic 2025 Monthly Wall Calendar, Large, 15 ½" x 22 ¾" (Affiliate)
- AT-A-GLANCE® Harmony 2025 Weekly Monthly Planner, Denim, Medium, 7" x 8 ¾" (Affiliate)
Wall-Mounted Family Planner Tips
Being a working mom doesn't mean she needs to do everything for the kids. When they reach 8 or 9, they can write about their activities on the family calendar. Getting kids involved and teaching them about how to add tasks to the family calendar will show them what they and everyone else need to do on which day. A large wall-mount calendar will help you with this learning lesson.
Where to place the wall-mounted family planner?
A giant calendar can fit on any kitchen wall for easy access. Pick where everyone can see and write on it and near where other things are stored. It can even be in a mud room where they may place their backpacks. I've had a client who created a customized drawer for a large planner like this one because she didn't want it out in the open for every guest to see.
The best type of wall-mounted planner is one with lines to keep the kids on track and will have room for every family member. You can make the family wall calendar more organized in a few ways. Below are some tips.
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Wall Mount Family Planning Tips
First, use the initials for each child when they write their appointments. For example, using first name initials, like S for Sally and B for Bob, will help each kid know their activities.
Another thing you can do is assign each child a color. You can use color markers(Affiliate). Colored Gel pens(Affiliate), or colored pencils(Affiliate). Avoid light colors like yellow, which will be hard to read on the family planner. If you do not have colored markers, another option is to use different-colored highlighters(Affiliate) with a pen or pencil.
Whichever method you use, be sure to have a meeting to discuss and inform everyone of their new responsibility with the family calendar. Also, place a wall-mount caddy(affiliate) below the calendar so the writing utensils (Affiliate Link) are accessible to everyone.
When should we update the wall family calendar?
Timing is everything when it comes to updating the family calendar. Some moms and dads like to add the activities right when they get them. If you get the kids' entire sports or dance class schedule ahead of time, they can add them for the entire season at the beginning of their season.
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However, it may be best to do activities that are assigned weekly or monthly or have a few weeks to do them when they come up.
Whenever it is, the kids should do it right before or right after another activity, like their homework in the evening when mom and dad are around. This way, while they are getting comfortable with these new tasks, you can see what they are writing to ensure it is legible and everyone understands what the written activity describes.
Here is the link for this wall mount planner: AT-A-GLANCE® Academic 2025 Monthly Wall Calendar, Large, 15 ½" x 22 ¾" (Affiliate)
Working Mom Personal Planner Tips
Now that the family wall calendar is ready let's talk about your working mom's personal planner. Moms and dads may want to start a new planner at the beginning of the year or when the school year begins. Either works well to keep you on track. Nowadays, personal planners are not just for appointments. They also help you realize and help you keep track of your goals for work, school, home, personal, travel, and giving back activities.
A Monthly Calendar for Planning
Most planners nowadays have a two-page monthly calendar where you can write down upcoming activities and events, to-do lists (Affiliate Link), goals, and any other notes you may have before the month even starts. Jot down the kid's activities, any end-of-year events, or other meaningful events you want to get involved in.
This planner is AT-A-GLANCE® Harmony 2025 Weekly Monthly Planner, Denim, Medium, 7" x 8 ¾" (Affiliate)
One or Two Page Per Day Planner for daily activities
One or two-day page-per-day planners work great for activities at the moment. This planner could have a top 3 goals for the day section that absolutely need finishing up.
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Another section that could be in this personal planner is a to-do list so you remember to go grocery shopping or head to the pharmacy to pick up the script before you go home.
A habit tracker is another section that the planner may have to keep you healthy. Habit trackers usually have a blank area to write the habit. Some habits you can track daily are:
- water drinking
- eating vegetables
- flossing
- exercising - workout, weight lifting, and walking
- not eating sugar
- meditating
- praying
- walking the dog
- not smoking
- not drinking alcohol
- washing your face - evening routine (Affiliate Link)
- journaling
- sleeping 8 hours
- not having caffeine
- quality time with family
- get to bed by (time)
- taking vitamins or medicine
There are plenty more habit-tracking ideas. Try tracking only one or two tasks until you get used to it.
Acknowledge Your Win
Another section your personal planner could have is a section to share your win for the day. It's a great time to recognize what that is before you leave for the day - ending your day on a high note.
Appointments and Time Blocking
Another area your planner should have is an appointment section where you can add meetings and block out time to do undisturbed work. This type of task could be at home or work. The goal is to block out a place on your calendar each day for something that needs your undivided attention.
Reference sections
Another handy section for busy working moms is a planner's look-ahead sections, which include calendars with dates for the coming years and a holiday listing that shares the dates of every holiday throughout the year for the coming years. If you want to use them, some stickers can be repositioned into different areas to help you keep your tasks moving forward if you can't finish them that day.
Planning your day the night before
Above all else, planning your next day before you leave work will give you peace of mind and allow you to enjoy your time with your family in the evening. Arriving to work the next day will be a lot easier, and you can start right away without planning or flying by the seat of your pants to put out any fires that have started in the morning.
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And here is the link for the other personal planner for a working parent: AT-A-GLANCE® Harmony 2025 Weekly Monthly Planner, Denim, Medium, 7" x 8 ¾" (Affiliate)
This post talked about these two planners:
- AT-A-GLANCE® Academic 2025 Monthly Wall Calendar, Large, 15 ½" x 22 ¾" (Affiliate)
- AT-A-GLANCE® Harmony 2025 Weekly Monthly Planner, Denim, Medium, 7" x 8 ¾" (Affiliate)
Conclusion
As busy working parents, we don't always have time for self-care or keeping track of our goals, so delegating some tasks to kids who need to learn the value of planning and remembering things will help them and moms and dads. They will feel more in control of what they can do with their day and be able to deal with planning in the future. It will also give parents more time to plan and set goals for themselves. It's a win-win.
Do you have any tips that you want to share when buying a planner or a wall-mount family calendar? Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Check out my virtual organizing service if you need help creating your planner. We can meet via Zoom or phone to discuss your situation and determine what time management strategy works best for you.
Looking for more productivity tips, check out my other posts!
Jonda Sue Beattie says
I personally use two calendars. I have my paper calendar- appointment book that stays on my desk but is packed up and carried with me when I go to my clients or doctor appointments. I use my electronic calendar on my computer and phone for daily tasks.
When my children were in school, we had a family calendar. There was a rule in my house that said, "If it's not on the calendar, it's not happening."
Julie Bestry says
I love the idea for a customized drawer; the house in which I grew up wouldn't have had any place for a wall calendar. The walls were all cabinets or windows (though I suppose you could hang a calendar on the inside of a cabinet). The laundry room was in the basement and not apt; back of the utility room door, approaching the garage might have been the only wall surface that wasn't paneled and inappropriate for hanging things. (1970s designs weren't created with productivity and utility in mind!)
My mother kept the sole calendar on her kitchen desk, and our job was to report all activities to her for officially recording and checking for conflicts. (And unlike me, my mom wasn't inclined to make a calendar pretty or color-coded; if I had a family and kids, I'd definitely want to do as you've illustrated!) I can only imagine how much more complicated things are for parents who work outside the home than it was for our family in the 1970s, but you've shown how essential (and relatively easy and appealing) this planning can be.
Janet Schiesl says
We used a family calendar (a large laminated desk blotter) that hung on the side of our refrigerator. It was a great spot.
Each person had their own color of marker and the kids would add their activities like sports practice etc. It was a good lesson.
I used to put the dinner menu on the calendar as well, which meant no more questions about what's for dinner.
Diane N Quintana says
Great post, Sabrina! Your specific advice to parents about putting everything on a family calendar is spot on. I love that you advocate a family meeting to review the process and giving children responsibility for putting their activities on the family calendar is a great way to begin teaching time management.
We don't often talk about the need for multiple calendars. I'm so happy you did. A family calendar is great but having one for each adult in the family is also a good idea. Some adults may opt to use their electronic calendar or a paper and the calendar in their phone. For me, personally, I like to write things down and I love to see (at a glance) what is on my calendar for the day.