Q+A: Fall Time Management: Manage School, Sports & Holidays

Fall hits and suddenly your calendar is overflowing: school forms, practices, tournaments, deadlines, holidays. It’s predictable—and yet it feels impossible every year. That’s calendar chaos.

In this episode of Ditch the Chaos, we’re breaking down why your weekly planning system collapses in seasons like this—and how to design routines that actually flex with real life. This isn’t about working harder or squeezing more in. It’s about learning to simplify your week and set up rhythms that support you instead of drain you.

You’ll learn:

• Why mental load, overcommitment, and rigid planning create overwhelm
• How to run a seasonal reset to protect your priorities
• Why building white space into your week is non-negotiable
• How a weekly reset system helps you organize your week without daily scrambling
• The mindset shift that makes planning a supportive ritual instead of another chore

These lessons come straight from what I teach inside Chaos Detox—because sustainable time management without burnout starts with systems that flex with your life.

👉 Start Chaos Detox and build your own flexible planning system: https://carachace.com/chaos-detox

✨ Want me to answer your question on the show? Join The Insider to submit yours and get first access to new content and offers: https://carachace.com/insider

Transcript

# (017): Q\+A: Fall Time Management: Manage School, Sports & Holidays

[00:00:00] Picture this. It's the second week of school. One kid has soccer practice, the other has a science project. You just found out about the PTA. Emails keep rolling in and somehow you're also supposed to plan Thanksgiving. You look at your calendar and think, there's no way this all fits. If fall already feels like it's running your life and you're just hanging on for the ride, this episode is for you.

[00:00:26] Welcome to Ditch the Chaos, A snackable podcast for busy women who are done with burnout, rigid routines and productivity guilt. You'll get clear, actionable strategies to reclaim your time and energy without planners pressure or one size fits all systems. I'm Cara Chace, entrepreneur since 2015, mom of two wife to one, and I am unapologetically caffeinated.

[00:00:50] Let's dive in. I am now answering questions that I get from our insider subscribers, and today's question is one I hear every single [00:01:00] fall, Hey, Cara, between back to school, kids sports and the holidays creeping in my calendar explodes. I can't keep up and I feel like I'm behind before the week even starts.

[00:01:12] How do I handle all of this without losing it? I got you sister. Let's get into it.

[00:01:18] First, let's name this for what it is. Calendar Chaos, and it's not random. Fall brings a predictable spike in responsibilities if you have school age kids. School forms, parent teacher nights, practices, tournaments, holiday planning. None of this is a shock yet. Somehow we're still surprised every year because we try to muscle through it, instead of setting up systems and boundaries beforehand.

[00:01:46] Let's break down why getting ahead of calendar chaos feels so impossible. Number one, the mental load. You're not just showing up to the events, you're carrying all the invisible logistics. [00:02:00] Remembering which kid needs what equipment, when to leave early for pickup, who's bringing snacks.

[00:02:05] That mental clutter probably drains you more than the calendar itself. Number two, over commitment. You say yes to everything because it all feels important. School fundraiser. Yes. Volunteering at practice. Sure. Friendsgiving work. Deadlines. Holiday prep. Yes. Yes, yes. And suddenly you've way over committed to the hours you don't actually have.

[00:02:31] And number three is rigid planning. You Tetris a perfect plan on paper for all of these commitments, but then life blows it up. Sit, kid rescheduled, game forgotten. Permission slip without flexibility. Every curve ball makes you feel like you're failing. So how do we approach this differently? I'm gonna walk you through three shifts.

[00:02:56] Shift one is a ruthless seasonal [00:03:00] reset. At the start of fall, reevaluate everything on your plate. What is essential this season and what can wait? School, work, family rhythms, those stay optional events, or just because projects or guilt driven commitments, those need a hard look. And if you don't do this, reset your calendar fills by default with everyone else's priorities.

[00:03:27] Shift number two, using white space as a buffer. This season guarantees disruptions, and you need to build in margin. That means not scheduling yourself back to back every evening, but leaving open pockets on weekends or weeknights and treating them as non-negotiable. White space is not wasted time. It's insurance against the calendar.

[00:03:52] Chaos, and shift to number three. Is your weekly reset system instead of reacting [00:04:00] daily. Zoom out weekly. Sit down with your family on Sunday night or even Friday afternoon and scan the calendar. Spot the conflicts. Batch your errands. Plan for easy meals for game nights. This small habit keeps you from scrambling every morning and avoids conflict with miscommunications about who's supposed to be where and when.

[00:04:25] And remember, this isn't about squeezing more in, you can't be quote unquote productive if you're being dragged around constantly and seriously considering moving to another country to open up a bookstore coffee shop. I also wanna take a minute here to talk about a perspective that might be slightly controversial, and that is our family and our decisions about time and energy do not revolve around our children.

[00:04:53] They are not in charge and they do not always come first when it comes to prioritizing plans. [00:05:00] Yes, we make sacrifices for them and make the time and effort to support their interests and activities, but there is a line, for example, I will probably never say yes to a club sport requiring expensive travel and endless weekends away.

[00:05:16] The finding pet sitting, the mental load of logistics, the financial expense, and the time away from our home is too great a cost for the overall wellbeing of our family as a whole. We view our family as a team, and sometimes that means the kids' activities don't come first. Just something for you to chew on.

[00:05:36] Here's your reset and reclaim action step for the week. Pick one evening and do a seasonal calendar sweep. Write down every commitment between now and Thanksgiving and the holidays that you know of. School events, sports, holidays, deadlines. Then either delegate or delete at least two things that aren't essential.

[00:05:57] Follow that up by blocking one chunk [00:06:00] of white space in your calendar every week, even if it's two to three hours on the weekend, and protect it, like it really matters. Let's wrap up. Fall calendar. Chaos is real, but it's not unbeatable. Do a seasonal reset so your time spent reflects what actually matters.

[00:06:19] Build in white space. So curve balls don't wreck you. And commit to a weekly reset so you're leading the week instead of chasing it. Calendar chaos is one of three types of chaos I talk about inside my course. Chaos Detox, along with mental chaos and external chaos, and it's key to taking back your day when you stop letting the season dictate your calendar and start putting your priorities first.

[00:06:45] The chaos eases even with school sports and the holidays all piling in.

[00:06:50] Thanks for tuning in. Do you want me to answer one of your real life productivity questions on the show? Things like how do I create more time for [00:07:00] myself when my calendar is already so full? Sign up at carachace.com/insider or use the link in the show notes, sign up for free and send me an email. Until next time, I'm Cara Chace reminding you to keep questioning the rules and making your own.