Backwards Calendar Planning

So I have started what I call backwards Calendar Planning. So many folks I know plan day to day, or week to week and fill in scheduled dates as they go. When they get to the upcoming week they work everything around all their appointments.

For me, that method always means changing scheuldes, moving something on the calendar, or wondering why I don't have enough time in my day.

As a result, I started to think about what things have to happen in my life for me and my family to function and with it came the realization of needing to look at my calendar from a whole new perspective. I have changed my approach to time management and our calendar planning.

I now look at the big picture and divide it into things like MUSTS, NEED TO, WANT TO.

I look at all the things I MUST do in order to manage my home and our life and take them out of our number of hours in the week.
Total hours in week 168
MUSTS:

1. Sleep 56 hours in week
2. Eat (includes cooking time, grocery shopping, food prep & kitchen clean up time) 18 hours
3. Laundry 3 hours
4. General housecleaning, sweeping vacuuming, bathrooms 3 hours
5. Morning/Evening Routines with Paul 6 hours
6. Personal Time (workout, quiet time, shower etc.) 7 hours
7. Church 3 hours
8. Date night 2 hours
9. Homeschool 25
10. Margin 1.5 (I try to leave 1 1/2 hours each week for unexpected things)

After taking those all away, I am left with only 43 hours in the week.
I then look at the NEED TO's. NEED To's are events we feel are important enough in our life to say we Need to go to them and don't want to schedule anyting else in their place.

1. Bible Study, Small Group etc.
2. Appointments: Doctor, Dentist, Hair, etc.
3. Paul's events (any sports, 4H, church activities, music lessons)

So for us in September we will have Monthly events: 4H, Homeschool Co Op, and weekly we will have Bible study weekly, music & swim lessons. Weekly things will take up 5 hours each week and monthly will take up 8 hours. I take the monthly hours and divide them over the weeks so in this case it would be 2 hours taken away from each week.

This would bring my weekly available hours down to 36. If divided over each day that is about 5 hours a day remaining for the rest of our events, field trips, errands, etc.

I lump the rest of my things into the WANT TO's. I want deep clean my house more but if I can put quarterly cleaning into my remaining hours that works for me. I want to have a night out; but if that week we have 3 need to social events I can better say no to the WANT To. etc.

This has been a huge help and taken off massive amounts of stress when I know the real time frame I have available.