Busy schedule!

Boy, what a schedule. I sat down yesterday and planned out my weekly schedule for at least this first semester. Basically, if I show up at 7:30 and work until 5:00, I will have about 30 minutes of free time for finishing my to-dos. That's not a lot! I also have a lot of good habits that I want to get into (and a couple that I want to get out of, which this post is about) including playing piano, practicing yoga, going outside, playing with the kids, and helping with the bedtime routine - and going to bed earlier. But when I write out the time requirements of each day, I find that there are several days where I have zero time for myself. I'm not used to that! I'm used to sitting at the computer every day and zoning out on Minecraft or posting on Reddit or Facebook. So Mondays, for example, I will be waking up at 5:30 to do Andrew's medicine, then practice yoga and piano, take a shower, make and eat breakfast, and spend about 30 minutes with Megan before leaving for school. At school, there is only time for either planning or teaching except for 30 minutes before school starts to work on other projects, and I have to stay until 5:00 to get everything finished. Coming home at 5:00, I want to unwind by spending time outside or doing something physical (i. e., exercise) like going on a bike ride. Megan usually makes dinner for around 5:45 or 6:00, then after that I want to spend time with the entire family, like going outside or playing games together. If we eat until 6:30, clean until 6:45, then spend time together for 45 minutes, then at 7:30 PM there's a 30 minute window of free time. For me, that will be time working on house projects or cleaning up or school projects. At 8:00 we start our bedtime routine with the kids which goes until about 9:00, and then it's time for me to get ready for bed and try to get to sleep by 9:30 so I can wake up at 5:30 the next morning and do it all over again! Basically, that's no time to myself - and I'm okay with that. On Friday/Saturday/Sunday, the schedule is a little different and I will have some time on weekends. I want to be okay with that. It sounds selfless, it sounds like what a good dad would do for his family, and really, let's be honest: the time that I'm spending for myself, all I'm doing is looking at social media or playing video games. At some level, it's just entertainment, and it's just a waste of time.

Checklist (I'll come back and comment on this at the end of the week, maybe even 2 weeks from now also):

1) Woke up at 5:30 every weekday and practiced yoga and piano.
2) Spent time with Megan during/after breakfast.
3) Went to school at 7:30 to work on projects for 30 minutes.
4) Planned all of my lessons according to schedule and taught.
5) Came home at around 5:00 and exercised or went outside.
6) Had dinner with everyone at 6:00 and cleaned up afterward.
7) Spend at least 45 minutes with the entire family after dinner.
8) Worked on something for 30 minutes between 7:30 and 8:00.
9) Helped the kids with their bedtime routine from 8:00 to 9:00.
10) Got ready for bed and was in bed, lights off and asleep by 9:30.

So here's what I meant to write about: No more entertainment (Reddit, Facebook, Minecraft) except on weekends. There just isn't time. If I'm finding time to do it, that means that I'm neglecting some other good habit that I wanted to practice instead. Really, I'll survive without it!

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