Get control of your family’s schedule

School. Work. Soccer practice. Dance class. Piano lessons. Homework. Social invitations. Coordinating the list of weekly obligations for the typical family can require a team of logistics experts. Fortunately, there are some tactics to help you get your family members where they need to be – and keep your cool at the same time.

Some families work fine by using paper calendars, but using software like Microsoft Outlook, Kalendra, or RedBox Organizer can help you keep track of your family’s many activities on your computer, updating them with just a few keystrokes. It may be helpful to set specific times to update the schedule so that family members know when to review it to find out what’s coming up next.

By assigning each family member a different color on the calendar, you can see, at a glance, who needs to be where. Color coding can help you more easily spot conflicts, too. If you see Suzie’s red entry at the same time as Bill’s green entry, you’ll immediately notice that a contingency plan needs to be put in place.

Making the calendar functional is another issue of family scheduling, as a family schedule is useless if no one uses it. Will each family member need a copy of the calendar? If so, you’ll need to decide how to distribute it and ensure that family members read it. Paper copies of the updated schedule are one way. They can be printed and posted in a common area, such as on the refrigerator, or you can distribute the calendars electronically. Some programs let you have multiple users on a family network or let you synch the calendar with wireless devices. The calendar could also be posted to a private web site, blog or social networking site so that it can be accessed online by the entire family.

Periodically, it’s a good idea to review the calendar for balance. For example, if one family member’s activities are becoming overwhelming or are having a negative impact on the family as a whole, it’s important to address that. Sometimes, such imbalance is inevitable: Preparing for tests or competitions can mean short periods of intense obligations, for example. However, if the schedule seems consistently out of balance, it may be time to cut back or find alternative ways to fulfill those obligations, such as carpooling to get someone to practices or school study groups, to maintain a sense of fairness to other family members.

Be sure not to overlook the big events in favor of scheduling the day-to-day. At the beginning of each schedule period – a week or a month, usually – transfer important dates such as birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones. This will help avoid the hurt feelings of having important events overlooked. In addition, schedule time for household chores, since family members need to make time for those responsibilities, as well. It may be helpful to create a separate “chore chart” where each family member is assigned duties to be completed on a specific day or within a certain time period.

A family schedule can also help you avoid the all-too-common issue of chronic over-scheduling. Limiting the amount of activities in which each child can participate also decreases the stress and anxiety that can come with constantly running to make the next obligation. Saying “no” to some invitations and requests teaches your family an important lesson about managing time. You don’t have to accept every invitation or request. Sometimes, saying “no” to another request in favor of a bit of down time with your family is an important way to put family first.