My Daily Block Schedule with Twins

Blocking my time off each day into chunks has helped with productivity, focus and anxiety! I feel like I have more time in my day accomplish so much more. I’m sharing how block scheduling works for me, as a stay-at-home mom of twins!

My boys have been on a strict schedule from the day they arrived home from the hospital. Being preemies, they were fed, changed and slept at the same times every day, starting in the NICU. Once we brought them home, we kept the feeding and sleeping schedules consistent.

As the boys get older we tweak it, but keeping a schedule has always been VERY important for us.

The boys are almost two as I am writing this. Up until the boys transitioned to one nap (in October), our days have revolved around feeding and nap times. I still work around these times now, but I’m more intentional with what we are doing during their wake time.

The boys nap for roughly 3 hours each day, so being strategic with those 3 hours is so important. Previously to now, I didn’t have a plan for how nap time was going to look. I cleaned some days, worked other days, and much of the time I felt like I wasn’t getting much accomplished. I knew I needed to start scheduling my time better, so I started researching time management ideas.

While researching, I came across Jordan Page’s block scheduling as a stay-at-home working mama. Perfect. Just the visual I needed to organize our day. I highly recommend you check out this video and resource on how she block schedules. This was my inspiration!

So, I took what I learned from her blog post and went to work.

Here is what my block schedule looks like-

(I made this block schedule using Google Drive. )

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How I organize my block schedule

Block #1 Morning Routine “Mommy Morning”

I start with the boys’ morning wake time (around 7:30) and worked backward, timing how long things would take to accomplish. After doing so, 5:30am became my wake time. BLAH. I can’t say I love getting up that early, but when I make that promise to myself to get my butt out of bed and accomplish my planned tasks for the morning, I feel ready to start my day.

My morning routine is VERY important to me. It’s what gets me in the right mindset for the rest of the day. When I skip it, I am less productive and more anxious throughout the day. Not a good combination.

What the morning looks like:

1. Wake, put in contacts, brush teeth, wash face, get workout clothes on
2. Warm lemon water, put dishes away (or my husband does this), daily gratitude journal
3. Workout- right now I’m doing yoga each morning using my Beachbody app. This is usually a 30 minute workout.
4. Shower, dry hair, get dressed into my day clothes
5. Prepare boys breakfast while listening to a podcast, make matcha tea
6. Sip matcha outside for 5-10 minutes before I wake the twins.

Block #2- “Outing”

I like to get out of the house as soon as the boys are done with breakfast. Most days that involves going for a long walk. Other days we run errands, walk around Target, go to the park, etc.

1. 7:30- get the boys up, get them dressed
2. Eat breakfast, clean up and brush boys teeth/take supplements
3. I put on a little makeup to feel alive and get dressed in my “leaving the house clothes” if I haven’t done so already.
4. Get shoes on and leave the house! Fresh air daily is extremely important to me.

Block #3- “Morning Activities”

During this block of time we eat snack, play upstairs, eat lunch, clean up and get ready for nap.

1. Snack (outside if it’s nice out)
2. Play upstairs- I try to plan a few activities each week to do with them. These are OPTIONAL activities. If they aren’t into something I’ve planned, no biggie. I either leave it out for them to explore later on if they change their mind, or I pack it up for another day. I believe toddler learning comes from play, so I’m very flexible with activity time. I usually just follow their lead on this. I’m trying to do more observing and less “teaching.” (which is HARD, having an education background!)
3. Lunch- While I prep lunch, they generally read books, play with toys , climb on their Nugget or “watch” a short show (this is last resort).
4. After lunch we clean up and it’s nap time!

Block #4- “Nap”

The boys nap from 12ish – 3ish. During this time, I do the following:

1. Quick reset- clean up toys left out, wipe counters down, finish cleaning up lunch, vacuum floor where boys ate.
2. Budget and balance phone app to bank account (this is a few times a week)
3. Menu plan– I generally menu plan on Thursday or Friday. I plan a week at a time. Right now times are a little different due to Coronavirus, so I’m trying to plan 2 weeks at a time so we are only going to the grocery store once every two weeks.
4. Clean– I wipe down surfaces daily, and vacuum the kitchen daily. Once a week (or every other week) I do a deep clean where I clean all bathrooms, dust, vacuum everything, etc. (I’m currently working on a better cleaning schedule …more to come)
5. Blog– I’m trying to find “balance” between home tasks and blogging. I blog when I have extra time during nap. This does not happen daily. I try to focus on home/family tasks first, then fit in blogging when I can.
6. Prepare dinner and snack- I prepare what I can for dinner during the boys nap. Doing this relieves a LOT of stress when it comes to dinner time. The boys get crabby around dinner and I do not enjoy trying to make dinner with crabby toddlers.

I’m still tweaking how to get the most done during this block of time. What has worked more recently for me (that I think I’m going to continue) is doing a house task from 12-1 (cleaning, organizing, laundry, etc) , working from 1-2:30 (blog/budget/menu planning) OR just relax and read a book, 2:30-3:00 dinner prep and get snack ready. So far, this schedule has made me most productive.

Block #5- “Afternoon”

This is the biggest chunk of time during the day. It covers getting the boys up from nap, all the way to putting them down for bed.

1. Get boys up, change diapers.
2. Snack, clean up snack
3. Unscheduled play time- when nice, we play outside or go for a walk. Otherwise we play upstairs in their play area until I need to finish making dinner.
4. 5:00/5:30 dinner prep
5. 5:30/6:00 dinner, clean up
6. Books, play and bedtime. Our bedtime routine – play, put on jammies, read the boys a few books, brush teeth, drink water and go up to bed. My hubby and I both hold a twin and sing nursery rhymes with a little dancing (or rocking back and forth) then give kisses, turn on the sound machine and fan, and lights out.

Block #6- “Wind Down”

Once the boys are in bed, my husband and I finish tidying up.

I make lemon water with magnesium (to help me sleep) and we might eat a snack. I like to review what the next day is going to look like and what I’m hoping to get accomplished during the day, and during my nap block.

Setting my intentions before bed helps me sleep better so my thoughts aren’t floating around in my head while I’m trying to fall asleep (even though this still seems to happen…but it’s not as bad when intentions are set. 😉 )

This is also a time my husband might catch up with work and I’ll work on the blog or read, while TV is on in the background. I tend to overwork myself (BUSY BODY), so I’m trying to shut everything down by 8:30. After 8:30 I’ll read or just hang and talk with my hubby before bed.

Lights off by 9:30.

Weekly block schedule planning sheet

I made this on google drive. I print it out on Sunday and fill in what I want to get accomplished for the week. I write out dinners, what my focus will be for the blog/Instagram, and any planned activities for the boys. Then, I review it daily and make changes as needed.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what block scheduling looks like. Setting intentions is EVERYTHING and sticking to a schedule helps so much.

Drop any questions in the comments below, or let me know if you block schedule and how it’s working for you!

Enjoy, friends!

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Here are some other posts you may be interested in-

Family Planning Sheet
April Meal Calendar