“We need to plan a time to have everyone over before the end of summer. “

I opened the calendar on my phone and started scanning through the next few weekends. I came to an eye-opening realization: we were in the last weekend of July, and we had no weekend days available until mid-October and every weekend had plans of some sort through the end of the year.

We add dinner in October to the calendar- another full, planned-out weekend.

The cycle continues. 

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Fast forward a year. There we were, again, midsummer, our calendars were overly full, and we were trying to find time to enjoy the best months of the year in the area we live. (Seriously, Western Washington summers are the most amazing.) Not to mention trying to plan time with family and friends while the rain stayed away.

As much as I want to say this was an abnormal level of busyness, the truth is: we over plan our lives constantly. We have family and friends to see, who live a couple of hours away. We have church obligations and community events to attend. In between those weekends, we fill it with odd and end plans, birthdays, and hangout time with friends. Don’t get me wrong, I love all this time with everyone, and spending time with them fills my love tank. But, something has got to give. Rest is important, too.

I finally brought it up with my mother-in-law, my mom, and a few of my closest girlfriends. “How do you do it? How do you manage time with everyone on top of the responsibilities of family life without being drained?” I asked each of them. I got basically the same answer from everyone. “We don’t. We overplan and then wish we hadn’t.”

This conversation led me to start this blog; to write this page right here. I’m thinking it brought you here too. I know so many people are in the same boat as I am- overly busy, not wanting to miss out on fun memories, and finding the best way to prioritize out time.

Like I said, something needs to change. I want to invite each of you to join me on this journey of slowing life down. Planning less, enjoying the quiet, simplifying life. A calming shift to a life that we are meant to be living.

I know, I know. “I don’t even know this lady. How does she think she can help lower the crazy in my life?” You’re right, I don’t know you but I am so excited to get to know you as you join this journey with me. We are going to do tiny tasks, weekly, together to start moving our lives to less chaos, less stress, and all around a simpler life.

Starting January 1, 2026, I will begin by starting to limit how many weekends I can plan- 26 to be exact. I will only be filling 26 of our weekends this year in comparison to every weekend. That is my biggest goal for the year. If you want to take a look at THIS pintable, I used it to help plan out our weekends.  It helped give a quick glance at what we have in store this year.

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So here is what I am asking of you prior to the start of the year!

1. Priorities
   Spend 30 minutes thinking about all the things that are important in life right now. This could be as general as “Faith, Family, and Ice Cream” or as detailed as “Christmas Tree Hunting on Black Friday with Family, Nighttime Routines with the Kids, and Regular Date nights with Husband.” Think about these priorities. These will go into your in your schedule first.
   
2. Prep Your Calendar
   Order a planner (here), Print off 2026 Calendar (link) or use your digital calendar (whichever you prefer) and mark out the weekends you KNOW you will be busy. For me, this meant to block off weekends that I either know I will be busy or I know I will need the down time. My weekend plans can get really specific and then for weekends that are intentionally left blank, I put a block over all 3 days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) saying “Blocked- recuperating weekend” or something along those lines.
   
3. Draining or Fulfilling?
   Observe the aspects of your life that are draining for you. Be honest with yourself. You can write them down if you want but just thinking about it works just as well. Later down the road we will take a deeper look a these and how to help eliminate the stress that surrounds the items on that list.
   
4. Be ready for a year of The Calming Shift.
   This year will come with it’s challenges and learning moments. We will learn what is truly important to us while also finding out some other passions and loves we will have! I cannot wait to hear how your lives have changed after the change of Chaos to Calm.

My goodness! I am so excited to get this going with you all! Don’t forget to sign up for The Calming Shift mailing list to get  the latest updates! If you want to connect in other ways, connect with me on Instagram and Youtube.