8 April, 2020
Surviving Families during COVID-19 Lock Down #2
It is a difficult time for all families at the moment having to stay at home and it is easy to lose motivation and feel down without the usual structure of work and school. That is why this week's topic is about creating a family schedule.
While it is easy to see the negatives of the current situation, there can also be opportunities to do things that you would not normally have time for. Try to make time for something that you might have always wanted to do or learn – there are number of free online courses to try out.
A family schedule or routine can be as structured as you like, it might be a good idea to start with a few items and then gradually add more the following week. There is nothing worse that setting a full on schedule and then not achieving anything. Instead focus on building up with small manageable tasks / activities every day. Simple things like getting up and going to bed at the same time, having a shower and getting dressed help with having a routine.
These activities could start with things that happen anyway such as cooking meals, house work etc. and as a family deciding who is going to do this. It is also important to add fun family activities as something to look forward to. Things such as watching a film together or playing a game, by scheduling time to do these things it helps to make sure that they happen. You can find more suggestions in our Facebook Notes.
Image Creator: Julian Freudenhammer
Information extracted from IPTC Photo Metadata.
It is also important in the current climate to make sure that everyone has time to themselves to explore their own interests, this could be exercising, playing computer games, taking part in an online class etc. By having these activities in the family schedule and agreed by everyone it helps everyone to create time for themselves and not to disturb others. This will help to reduce the opportunities for conflict and arguments in the home.
An example of a family schedule is below, don’t feel you need to fill in every box, start with one or two for each person and see how you get on, you can always more for the next day.
| Name | Name | Name | Name | |
| Early Morning | ||||
| Morning | ||||
| Mid Morning | ||||
| Early Afternoon | ||||
| Late Afternoon | ||||
| Dinner | ||||
| Early Evening | ||||
| Late Evening |
If things don’t go to plan the first time don’t worry, try and make changes that will help you to stick to the routine. Family meetings can be a good opportunity to review and change a schedule and put in appointments or important dates for the week ahead. Check out our post on running a family meeting HERE >