@Elizabeth T- yes, this is definitely one of those things (camp signups) that gets easier over time. I more or less knocked out the summer for my 3 younger kids over the weekend. The older two boys are on their own!

Thanks for sharing your methods, Ms. Elizabeth T.

That makes sense to me too, Ms. Laura Vanderkam.

Wanted to chime in on the sleep time tracking. I have been wearing my fit bit at night for several years now, and it consistently tells me I am awake 1 hr overnight (all tiny increments throughout the course of the night). I feel my best if I have 8.5 hours between lights off and when my alarm goes off. This results in me getting 7.5 hours of sleep. I don’t think it matters how many hours are reflected by a time log versus smart watch. The important thing to understand is what sleep schedule makes you feel your best.
Re: camp sign ups, this is definitely a know your area/camp question! Sleepaway camps in our region were filling up by September. I signed up for our first day camp yesterday. Most camps open up in February, but one of our favorites has a sign up in March (and fills fast). With my kids now in 2nd and 5th grade, this whoe process feels easier since we know the cadence of camp sign ups and experience with which camps the kids enjoy (and have long enough hours!).

@Lisa- glad you will be doing the challenge again! And yes, it’s less time than people seem to think – not sure why we view the time where work/life are in conflict vs. zooming out….

@Yukun – I try not to keep the groceries outside…but if it happens it’s less of a disaster in winter!

@Elisabeth – good for you! Glad you got that taken care of. And yes, that would be disappointing not to be with his friends!

Time tracking/thinking of your week in terms of 168 hours is so helpful. I travel quite often for work these days and I will often hear people, especially female coworkers say, “I bet you wish you had more time with your children and could travel less.” The travel is a challenge, but in reality, I’m missing out on 40 miserable minutes in the morning (our 4yo is NOT a morning person and we leave at 7 so the mornings are a gong show) and 2.5-3 hours at night for each day I’m gone, which is typically limited to 2-3 nights. So in the grand scheme of things, I’m not really missing that much. I just smile and nod when coworkers make this comment, though.