I love making plans. I love planning. I love writing down all my ideas. I like organizing my thoughts on paper. I love that planning helps me be more organized. But I wasn’t always this organized! In fact, as a young mom, I was pretty scattered and my house was out of control. I learned the hard way that having systems and routines and a plan help me be a better wife, mother, and homemaker.

Today I’m excited to share with you how a planning day helps you stay more organized so you can feel more productive and less overwhelmed.

Growing up, you were probably excited to see Teacher Workday on the school calendar. As a kid, that meant a day to relax and play and ride bikes around the neighborhood. Maybe I’m a little nerdy, but I think I get just as excited about having a planning day set aside as an adult. Taking a “Homemaker’s Planning Day” helps me be so much more intentional and organized that it’s truly a refreshing practice I want to share with you.

Why Do I Need to Be Organized?

We talk about being organized, but what does it really mean?

Organized: methodical and efficient in arrangement or function; formed into a structure or coherent whole. 

If something’s organized, it’s arranged in a systematic, orderly way…If you’re an organized person, you keep your desk clean, your house is neat, and you keep track what you need to accomplish and when…” (Vocabulary.com)

Sounds great, doesn’t it? When you’re organized you’ll save time, money, and your sanity. You can say, “No more.”

No more looking for your keys when you are one the way out the door. No more buying ingredients you already have in your pantry. And no more feeling overwhelmed with all the things. 

How a Planning Day Helps You Stay More Organized

By setting aside a planning day, you’ll have the chance to decide what you will do and when you will do it. Like a budget tells your money where to go, a written plan tells your time where to go. 

A Planning Day Allows You to Batch

Productivity experts will tell you that batching is the most effective way to get more done in less time. What is it? Batching is the grouping of similar tasks that require similar resources in order to streamline their completion (Joshua Leatherman, How to Use Batching to Become More Productive.)

For years people believed that mult-tasking helped them to get more done, but it actually has the opposite effect. When we try to do too much at the same time, it’s impossible to effectively focus on any one thing and do it well. You’ve experienced this anytime you’ve tried to hold a conversation while your children are vying to get your attention.

Having a planning day is a form of batching and will help you focus on one similar task, planning, that requires similar resources, planning tools. 

A Planning Day Puts Your Focus on God First

Your plans will never be as effective if you leave God out of the planning process. Or even worse, your plans will actually take you and your family down a path He never desired for you. 

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21, ESV)

When you have a planning day, you can spend time in the Word and prayer seeking God’s plans for you and your family. Planning with your Savior is a way to serve Him through your heart and home. 

A Planning Day Helps You Solve Problems

Think of planning days as a fresh start. It’s a chance to evaluate what is working and what is not working. It gives you the opportunity to address problem areas and make a plan for success. 

For example, if you’ve struggled with what to cook each night and gone out to eat more than you or your budget likes, then creating a meal plan might be what you need.

If you are constantly frustrated with how messy your home is, a checklist of what to do each day will help you focus on just a few things at a time so you can be successful.

A Planning Day Puts Your Home on Automatic

Planning keeps you from having to make constant decisions each day. It’s already done for you! You’ll already know what to cook, what tasks need to be done, and how you will do them. 

You can spend less time trying to decide what to do and more time actually doing all the things. Most importantly, it ultimately frees you up to focus on what matters most—your relationships. 

Essential Tools for a Successful Day of Planning

Uninterrupted time. This might take some creativity as a mom, but it’s essential to a productive planning day. If you can, hire a babysitter, trade time with another mom, or do it when your husband can spend time with the kids. If that’s not possible, make sure to have plenty of activities for the kids that require minimal help and supervision by you. 

A Bible and journal. Remember that a planning day can help you focus on God first. So take some time to read the Word and pray before beginning the planning process. Seek His will for your family and your home. 

A planner for Christian women. Why for Christian women? It’s true any planner might work, but a planner like The Martha Planner includes questions and verses to help you consider not just what you will do, but why you will do it—and ultimately Who you are doing it for. 

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:40–42, ESV)

Jesus did not reprove Martha for serving, but for where her focus was in the serving. With a focus on the tasks and what Mary was doing, she missed the One she was serving and went so far as to question His character saying, “Do you not care?” Her service was task-based instead of relationship-based. 

A planner for Christian women can not only help you make a plan, but to focus on your why. When your “why” for doing something is big enough, then you are more likely to follow through with the plans you make. 

Set Aside a Planning Day

Are you convinced that you need a planning day in order to stay more organized? Don’t put it off. Now’s a great time to schedule one. Talk to your husband and see when you can make a planning day a reality. 

Yes, it will take some time upfront, but once you’ve laid out your plans you know what you need to do and when you need to do it. In the long run, a dedicated day of planning will save you time and help you to live out your priorities—to practice the art of homemaking.

Action Steps to Take Today

1. Set aside a planning day and write it into your schedule.
2. Pray and ask God to bless your planning time.
3. Reflect on the past week or month (or year) and evaluate what went well and what needs changing. You can take a planning day weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly
4. Write down your goals, routines, and plan your tasks and to-do lists. Basically, write down anything you need to plan.
5. Download my yearly planning workbook below, if desired.

Free Printable Yearly Planning Workbook | 12 pages

How to Download

1. Just fill out the form below and you’ll receive an email giving you instant access to my free printable Yearly Planning Workbook.
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