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Half the battle is having a good battle plan.

I am sure some great general said that at some point. If not, they needed to.

Because it is totally true.

Even if the day is falling apart around me, as long as I know where I am going next, I still feel like I might actually get there.

We’ve talked about the importance of not sabotaging your day, the fact that the kids are learning more from you than math, or ways we can get things done. This week, I am here with a tool that will help you do it.

Introducing the Daily Docket

Yes, this handy page is all you need to help you plan a great day. I can’t promise it will turn out exactly as planned (in fact, most days it probably won’t) but it can still make a huge difference in your peace of mind.

Simple Tools Daily Docket Pam Barnhill Homeschool SolutionsPin

Download your FREE Daily Docket form

Let me break down the form for you:

Schedule

This one is obvious. Fill in what you have to do today when you have to do it. And don’t forget to honor your school day by blocking off your hours for school.

To Do

I left this one sort of small and skinny on purpose. We can only get so much extra done when we are focusing on our vocation of homeschooling.

Roles/Notes

These spaces are for all the many hats you wear — your vocations per se. You don’t have room to write something for all of them every day, but that is a good thing. Maybe today you have a couple notes for parent, volunteer, homeschool mom, wife, or hobby — but not all every day. This gives you a space to jot a few things down.

Meals

We have to do this three times a day. It is so important to have a plan for what you are going to eat and when.

Water droplets

The cute water droplets give you a space to track your hydration.

How to use the Daily Docket

I would print out a number of these and bind them or store them on a clipboard. If you have a duplexing printer, it is easy to print them two-sided to save paper. Some of the moms in our Plan Your Year group also slide one in a page protector or laminate one and use a wet erase marker to complete it. This saves on paper and ink.

Each evening, I will begin my docket for the next day. Go ahead and make a note of meals so you can take something out of the freezer if needed.

Filling out the schedule helps you decide what time you should wake and what clothes to prepare for the next morning.

Simple Tools Daily Docket Pam Barnhill Homeschool SolutionsPin

Evening is also a great time to fill in that to do list. My evening to do lists are ever so much more realistic than my morning ones. 😉

The next morning, review your form while you sip your tea or coffee and you will be ready for a great day.

Throughout the day, you can add notes, move things around, and refer back to your sheet. This is perfect for school time when you might become distracted thinking about something you need to get done.

Don’t worry about stopping to do it or pulling out your phone (even more distraction!). Instead, grab a pencil and add the thought to your docket and move on. You never have to worry about forgetting something important again and your school day stays on track.

I think the best thing about the docket is that it goes such a long way towards eliminating decision fatigue because you have many of your most important decisions already made and they are all right there together where you can find them. It makes your day much more likely to run on autopilot.

Download your FREE Daily Docket form

For more tools like this and help with consistency in your homeschool, check out the Homeschool Consistency Bootcamp.