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HOW TO CREATE A SCHEDULE
by William C. Michael
August 10, 2009
This article expands upon a recent notice
sent to CLAA families which was followed up on the CLAA Family Forum.
If you find this helpful, we can continue the discussion and maybe take
each part step-by-step. I put this together quickly to help, so
any proofreading feedback is more than welcome.
DEFINITIONS:
1. GOAL: A final result one intends to achieve.
2. OBJECTIVE: An intermediate step one must take to achieve a goal.
3. TASK: An intermediate step one must take to achieve an objective.
4. SCHEDULE: An ordered list of times at which things are planned to be
done.
5. ROUTINE: A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard
procedure.
STEP ONE: SETTING GOALS
When most people begin talking about schedules, they begin with the
schedule, lists of tasks, chores, etc.. This is all wrong and it will
never work. You do not need a new book suggesting 1,001 ways to do your
laundry or 500 ideas for handling clutter. An abundance of chores
and stuff is a sign of a poorly planned life. When your life is
set in order, chores will be few and your house will slowly be emptied
of the supplies needed for spontaneous (and wasteful) living.
What we need to do to establish a good
schedule is sit down in the evening with an empty notebook and a glass
of wine and think out our goals. This is also a great use of time before
the Blessed Sacrament. We need to answer questions like this and
pray through them, meditating and seeking to be open and honest before
God:
1. What must I do to be saved? The question of the Philippian
jailer in Acts 16:30 is the ultimate question. If we do not have this
question answered, we are fools, going nowhere. Jesus asked us, "What
does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his own soul?"
Beware of popular evangelical answers to
this question that are based on misinterpreted verses torn from the
broader context of the Scriptures and the Church. For example, to
say, "If we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we will be saved." is only
true when we remember that this same Jesus, believed to be Lord and
Judge or all, has given us commandments to be obeyed from that faith we
have in Him, has established a living Church on earth to be honored and
served, has established a priesthood and sacraments through which His
grace is administered to His disciples and lastly that He will judge us
not for what we say of ourselves (as though we were judge), but as He
knows us in truth.
A rule in interpreting Scripture is to use
clear passages to interpret vague passages--not to build a religion on
vague passages and ignore other passages that contradict one's views, as
modern evangelicals do. Remember the clear passages:
"Know you not that the
unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: Neither
fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers: Nor the effeminate nor
liers with mankind (i.e., homosexuals) nor thieves nor covetous nor
drunkards nor railers nor extortioners shall possess the kingdom of
God. And such some of you were. But you are washed: but you
are sanctified: but you are justified: in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the Spirit of our God."
St. Paul does not say, "Such
some of your ARE, but you are forgiven." St. Paul says, "Such some of
you WERE, but you are washed and sanctified." We must turn away
from all sin and be saved. This is goal #1. By the way,
learn of salvation from the saints--not men whose end we do not yet
know.
2. When I am dead, how will others
remember me? Consider, for example, the deathbed of Dorcas in Acts
9:36-42.
"Now in Joppa there was
a disciple named Tabitha (which translated means Dorcas). She was
completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving. Now
during those days she fell sick and died, so after washing her, they
laid (her) out in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa,
the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him
with the request, "Please come to us without delay." So Peter got up
and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the room
upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him
the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to
her body and said, "Tabitha, rise up." She opened her eyes, saw
Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when
he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive."
3. When I am preparing to die, to whom
will I appeal for help and on what grounds? Most people today die in
a state of confusion or an ignorant and false peace. We can only
have true peace at the end of our life if we know God's will and are
sure that we have done it. St. Paul teaches us to live with a
conscience "void of offense toward God and men". The Church
teaches that to die in a state of mortal sin is to put our soul in
danger of Hell. Our lips will not save us from God's judgment and
we must deal with these matters honestly.
As an example, consider the farewell address
of the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 12:1-5:
"I am old and gray, and
have sons among you. I have lived with you from my youth to the
present day. Here I stand! Answer me in the presence of
the LORD and of his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose ass have
I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whom have
I accepted a bribe and overlooked his guilt? I will make restitution
to you."
They replied, "You have
neither cheated us, nor oppressed us, nor accepted anything from
anyone."
Remember too that the
strength Job found during the days of his suffering was drawn from his
knowledge that his life was lived in obedience to God and in
generosity--read it in Job 31:16-40. God does not allow the
careless to make their own rules or declare themselves to be in a state
of peace at their death. We must face the truth and live
accordingly today. This too much be a part of our life's goals.
4. When I am 60 years old, what do I wish
to look back and see accomplished? Also when I am 50? 40? 30? etc..
We often live under the tyranny of spontaneous but unnecessary
activities that keep us from any meaningful course. We have to set
long term goals that provide us with the vision to know what we should
say "No!" to today and where our resources and energies should be
focused. Great achievements in life are accomplished through
years--decades--of persistent effort, not spurts of zeal here and there.
Americans must abandon their habit of starting everything and finishing
nothing.
5. What do I want each of my children to be when they are 18?
Again we wrongly think of making our children happy NOW, but this leads
to their misery later. Read Sirach 30:1-14--and don't think the modern
psychologists are wiser than Scripture. Learn about great
child-saints like Aloysius Gonzaga, Dominic Savio and Maria Goretti.
Look at the ages at which saints achieved things in their lives:
St. Aloysius Gonzaga was praying and fasting as an 8 year old, St.
Thomas went to the university at 12, and so on. If the age of
reason is identified at 7 years old, why are we treating children like
unreasoning animals when they are 12, 15, 17? Let them grow and
treat them as reasoning men, not fools-in-holding.
6. What kind of family do I want to be? Start with the Holy
Family and think of how their life can be imitated. Meditate on
Mary as a mother: quiet, simple, thoughtful, humble.
Consider Joseph as a father: righteous, self-sacrificing, free
from the desire for money or pleasure, vigilant in the protection and
care of his family, etc.. Reflect on the child Jesus: eager to
make friends with wise men, to spend his free days in the temple,
obedient to his parents, patient in waiting on God's direction.
7. What kind of Catholic do I want to be? Start with the saints
and think of how their lives can be imitated. We all know the
stale and impious Catholics that bring so much slander against the
Church. We need to embrace the challenges of vibrant,
spirit-filled Catholic living we find in the saints--whose lives always
led to conversions. Is our faith attractive and transforming or is
it shallow and undesirable? Our neighbors should come to ask like
the Samaritan woman who met Jesus and prayed: "Give me this water that I
may drink and never thirst again."
STEP TWO: SETTING
OBJECTIVES
Once our goals are sketched out and we have a clear vision of where we
need to go, we can begin writing out objectives. Objectives are stepping
stones or intermediate mini-goals which must be achieved for us to get
from where we are right now to where our goals call us to be. For
example, if your goal is for your son to be a strong Catholic, then
providing excellent Catechesis is an objective. If your goal is for your
daughter is to be a saint, do you realize that almost all of the
canonized saints had religious vocations? That may be a real
objective--to cultivate in her an appreciation for religious life.
Now, if after writing your goals out, you realize you don't KNOW the
steps by which they are achieved, then you see where you need advice.
Learn, however, from those who have achieved them by normal means--not
extraordinary instances or the ever-present know-it-all who achieves
nothing himself. Ask. Seek. Knock. Remember the promise of St. James: "
if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men
abundantly and upbraideth not. And it shall be given him." That is a
promise, remember, not a suggestion.
Objectives naturally need to be set out in time. If a goal is set for 20
years down the road, then there needs to be a timeline
of objectives between now and then. You see this in the CLAA, how we set
the goal of having our students study Scholastic Theology when they are
in their late teens, which requires they complete Logic in their early
teens and Dialectic before that, and Grammar before that. This gives a
clear a practical mission TODAY, since without Grammar now, there can be
no Theology tomorrow!
STEP THREE: LISTING
TASKS
Once our objectives are set out (and that may take some time), we can
break those objectives into tasks and these become our daily work. For
example, I know that if my son completes his memory work for Grammar
Lesson 12 he is one step closer to Theology. I don't think of
theology---only the Lesson 12 Grammar work--because in the grand scheme
of things, it is all that matters in the pursuit of my goal. This allows
to concentrate our attention and energy on today's task and not be
discouraged and stressed out with major goals in our minds every
day--which is the cause the madness in most educational circles. If you
hear people talking goals when it's time to talk tasks...run for your
life. They're called salespeople.
As you assemble these task lists, you will need to fit them into your
day. Your daily routine should naturally grow out of your family's
unique set of goals, objectives and tasks. This is why I am not a big
supporter of lots of community activities--it is very unlikely that your
family's tasks are the same as other families' and that should affect
your ability to imitate other schedules, routines, etc.. If you don't
stick to your goals and objectives you will pay for it. Don't allow your
family to become a means of another family completing their goals in the
name of "community". There's a reason why monks separate themselves--and
no one calls them selfish or unfriendly because they make their goals
and objectives clear to everyone.
You have to be specific. There are many people who pretend that their
looseness is a good thing, but there's a reason (again) why monasteries
aren't loosely run--or armies or businesses. This pretended love of
looseness is a lie and you should not fall for it. Normally such people
are loose in some things (prayer and study for example) to be strict in
other things (meal times, TV shows, etc..). We must be strict in our use
of time because we are slaves--slaves of God whose time is not our own
to waste.
STEP FOUR: FRAMING A
SCHEDULE
Your tasks will break down into annual tasks (homeschool registration,
car inspection, tilling the gardens, deep cleaning, etc..); monthly
tasks (paying bills, going to confession, etc..); weekly tasks (going to
Mass, grocery shopping, etc..) and daily tasks (waking up, morning
prayer, Catechism lessons, make dinner, etc..).
Once these tasks are nailed down, you're going to have to set times for
them. If you don't set times for them and stick to those times, you will
begin to allow activities in that were not a part of your goals and
objectives! In other words, you will cease to pursue your goals and will
begin to slowly fall off course and into idleness and aimlessness.
That's what looseness and undisciplined living is--no matter what anyone
says who is loose and undisciplined. Any great person who has ever lived
contradicts them. St. Paul, for example, said:
"Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a
perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run
aimlessly...No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after
having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."
St. Paul is not talking about physical exercise--he's talking about the
training and discipline necessary for the heavenly trophy he seeks to
win. Christians must be disciplined and strict with themselves. There
must be a time for every task and that time must be carefully observed.
Now, you would be unwise to create your own plans for spiritual goals.
The saints are our examples of people who have achieved the spiritual
goals we should be setting and their schedules were often based on the
Church's liturgy of the hours and sacramental schedule. Since the soul
deserves more care than the body (see Baltimore Catechism #7), these
should be used as the pillars of the schedule. Morning prayer before
anything else in the morning. Midday prayer around noon. Evening prayer
around 6pm. Night prayer around 9pm. Daily Rosary. These are
fundamentals in any Catholic schedule and (if you're honest) there
really is no excuse for not keeping these hours of prayer. "But my
husband leaves for work at 6am!" That's fine, he can pray Morning Prayer
alone earlier and the family can pray when everyone is up and ready--yet
there must be a time. Sleeping past the set hour says something about
your love of sleep and lack of love for prayer. "But 12:00 is
lunchtime." Does lunch have such priority in the schedule? If so, you've
begun to find your problem. Lunch can be at 12:30. Prayer should be at
noon. It's an important lesson for your children to learn. For all
Christ has done for us, is this really too burdensome? Refuse every
excuse or you will admit any excuse.
STEP FIVE: ESTABLISHING
ROUTINE
To establish a routine, you need to take a week off of your old schedule
and practice the new. Walk through the new schedule for a few days, see
what is needed, give the kids instructions, make a few adjustments,
etc.. For example, in our home we have an alarm on our central computer
with the hours of prayer scheduled right into it. At noon, the alarm for
midday prayer rings and everyone drops what they are doing and goes to
prayer. We have a room arranged as a small chapel and we simply have to
get ourselves into the chapel and then prayer is no problem at all.
You must take practical measures or you will be depending on your own
strength and you will fail. If you make one of your children responsible
for sounding the bell for prayer and making sure the adults stop what
they're doing, you will find them very effective. Their innate
Pharisee-ism will inspire them to force everyone in for prayer. You will
find that your children embrace routine and the more routine you
develop, the better they will behave--isn't most of their bad behavior
due to their idleness after all?
If you need help with these practical measures, ask me. I'll gladly
help.
CONCLUSION
This mini-article gives you a clear view of the process by which an
orderly and effective life is developed from beginning to end. Don't
forget that even with an excellent schedule, you will struggle
physically to keep it. This is where the sacraments, prayer, fasting,
watching and self-chastisement (which every saint practiced) become
necessary. It's a spiritual war we're in and we need to treat it as a
war. We need to train ourselves, rouse ourselves, encourage one another
and never give up. Use music, use inspiring books, movies and quotes,
use physical exercise, use fasting and prayers...whatever it takes! We
have to be tough to resist temptation and overcome the world and this is
why God holds out eternal rewards for those who run this race.
Remember St. Thomas Aquinas's answer when he was asked, "What must I do
to become a saint?" He, who is now a saint, said:
"YOU MUST WILL IT."
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