As I head into another heavy stretch of Together Travel, this reader question arrived via email. Now is as good a time as any to tackle!
So many good questions here. And every household handles work travel differently.
My reply:
Great question. . . Context: Mr. Together (my husband) never goes anywhere. That said, he leaves for work at 6:30 every day and has zero flexibility. #teacher
The Answer:
For a family structure like yours, I think a shared family Google Calendar is the answer. Because both you and your husband travel a lot, I think entry into Google will be easier than sending each other invites, and you won’t be near a paper calendar enough.
Some Pro Tips:
- Synchronize your work and personal calendars in some way. Personally, I have my family Google calendar imported into my work Outlook calendar. VERY HELPFUL.
- Align with the other adult and big kid members of your household about what goes on your calendar, and why. Now that our kids are 5 and almost 8 (ack!), we include:
- My work trips (including arrival time home because it impacts meals, etc.)
- Our babysitter’s work hours
- All playdates, birthday parties, and sports activities. This includes relevant addresses and notes.
- Personal commitments. If I have a work dinner, or Jack is coaching a game, all of that goes in too.
- When I’m at my best. . .Meals for the week. This is just so all parties can see what’s up!
It can be a huge pain when I have to make a double-entry. For example, I lead our daughter’s Girl Scout troop. I have to enter this into the family Google Calendar so Jack knows he is with our son that evening, but I ALSO need to put it in my own Outlook calendar because of travel time and prep. It also happens with my travel—Jack needs to know I’m gone, but I need the actual confirmation numbers in my own calendar. I’ve found no way around this, but I’m open to suggestions!
The Process:
We sit down together on Monday nights (that seems to work best for us!) and walk through the next Friday – Friday. This lets us build our babysitter hours, plan meals, figure out who gets free time when, fill childcare gaps, and brainstorm weekend activities.
Here’s what the overlay looks like:
The stuff in light pink is from our family Google calendar, Katharina is our babysitter, and I had my Girl Scout troop this week!
Last but not least, I create this white board schedule each week so my kids can see where I am, who gets picked up when, and what we’re doing.
PS More about household huddles here! And for when the stuff really hits the fan, here.
