#8: Taking Stock and Pressing Reset

TRANSCRIPT – edited for clarity

INTRO: Hey there, I’m your host Suri. Welcome again to Doing Things On Purpose, the podcast that empowers women to take charge of their time, health, relationships, and money by doing things on purpose.

SURI:  It’s 24th August 2023 as I record this, and we’re moving towards the end of summer. Last week was the back to school week here in Winterthur, Switzerland. So, I apologize for not checking in, as I meant to. 

As many parents, back to school week tends to be a super busy time. We’re pressing reset and taking stock of the new class schedule, the  extra curricular activities, preparing our kids for it as well so they know what to expect, and making sure that they have everything they need and that they get to bed at a reasonable time again.

On a personal note, for me on top of all of that:

• One of my daughters will celebrate her 11th birthday this weekend, which will be re-celebrated next week with her friends, so there’s that to plan.
• And then,my two preteen kids are becoming more independent and challenging me in new ways that I felt a bit underprepared for. So I’ve had to slow down and take some time to get grounded again.
• For my ongoing learning, I have 2 books and 1 audiobook that I’ve half read and want to finish.
• I’m in the process of completing an active listening course and considering joining another course to develop my skills further.
• And last but certainly not least, I’ve taken some time to review our family’s investments in the stock market and finally decide on what to do with that bit of extra cash that we have on the side, to put into the market before the autumn rolls in. 

By the way, I will definitely share more about our investment strategy if you’re interested, in a future podcast episode. 

Back to the topic of keeping stock and pressing reset, I wanted to share my tip for parents to start the new school year on the right foot. 

Set aside half an hour or so, to sit down with all of the information that you have to sort out – such as the class schedule for each of your kids, the list of special events for that semester, any information you’ve received from the different clubs or extracurricular activities that your child might be enrolled in this year.

Just sit down with it and do these three things:

1. Put everything one by one into your phone’s calendar. The date, the time, the details.
2. Open your notepad and make a separate list titled “Things to get” or something like that. Write down any missing items you need to buy like new gym shoes, an apron for the arts and craft class, a new book for music class and so on.
3. Set alarms on your phone to help you keep on track and not run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Choose a nice music or tune for when you have to get up and exercise for instance, when to wake up the kids, when to ask them to put on their shoes and leave for school, on which days and at what time do they need to leave for after school activities, and what time do you need to leave for work if you do. 

You get my drift. This helps me so much – to free up not just my time but the mind space to focus on other things. You won’t need to glance at the clock every few minutes to make sure that none of you are running late.

It’s just something I’m offering for you to try, to help you take stock, reset and start the new school year on the right foot. 

If you want more tips about managing time and your schedule from me, check out my website under the Resources section at suristahel.com/time. You can also sign up for my newsletter, and if you have any questions or comments just hit me up at suristahel@gmail.com.

 OUTRO: Thank you so much for tuning in. This is Suri on Doing Things on Purpose.

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Thanks for listening, and I’ll catch you next time.