OS X for Apple was a gamechanger. Prior to that point, the operating system didn’t really work with any other system and wasn’t meant to. Whether it was Linux or PC, the Apple OS was simply incompatible territory. Then OS X came out and suddenly Apple computers became professional machines instead of hobbyist packages. The Macintosh operating system (OS) runs its own built-in maintenance routines, sometimes called 'cron jobs', or 'maintenance scripts', automatically between 3:00 am and 5:30 am each day. (There are daily, weekly and monthly scripts).
Aug 21, 2018
For many parents like me, back to school means two things: hectic mornings and stressful afternoons. The first time I had to get two children out the door by 7:30 A.M., I was stressed. Two months into that first school year, my temper started to give and I’d scream, leaving two very confused and upset little girls on my wake. Clearly, I am not a morning person. And having a scene in the morning prevented us from getting out the door on time. When the kids came home from school, there was even more tension. They wanted to do their thing but I wanted them to pay attention to what they needed to prepare for the next day, such as homework projects or notes from school. Chaos seemed to reign as soon as they ran in the door. By the end of that same school year, however, I created a plan that made my mornings calm. Then by the next school year, our afternoons became more organized as well. Today, school mornings are my favorite time of day and I love seeing my kids walk through the door. How did I do it? One of the first things you need to consider when establishing morning or after school routines for your children is to set a goal for those routines. Once you establish that, the next step is to pre-plan the best way to attain it. On that note, you need to consider whatever will get in your way – like my morning temper!
TIPS FOR ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE MORNING ROUTINE
For most of us, the morning goal is to leave on time with all the things your child needs for a successful school day. When it’s taking more than an hour to get two children ready, I knew something had to be out of place. This is how we established our morning routine years ago that we still use to this day:
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Make a plan to diffuse morning stress. Who is the person most likely to be upset in the morning? In my family, that’s me, so I created a plan to calm myself down when I felt my temper rising. It starts with taking a step back, breathing deeply, counting to three and saying a little prayer for help. It was so effective that my daughter actually picked up the habit shortly after! What do you do to diffuse stress in those tense morning hours?
Make your children responsible for their own tasks. My kids have learning disabilities so in the beginning I had to dress them, which took a long time. I taught them slowly, step by step, how to dress themselves. It only took a few weeks and before I knew it, we had a lot more flex time in the morning.
Do things in order. That is, create an order that makes sense for your family. For us that means get out of bed, get dressed immediately, go downstairs, eat breakfast, wash, brush, and then pack your school bag. Don’t stress the order. Take your child’s cues and work from there. For example, if your child likes to pack her schoolbag first thing, let her.
Put things out the night before. This sounds like a no-brainer but I mean everything, including breakfast dishes, utensils, lunch wares, and foods that don’t need to be refrigerated. You have no idea how much time this saves! Put out school bags, lunch boxes, and let your kids set out their own clothes. Finally, figure out what needs to go back in the bag that morning: A doctor’s note? Something teachers should be aware of that day? A signed paper or report card? I leave this stuff in front of my lunch bags.
Give yourself a cushion.We all like extra sleep but it’s wise to tack on an extra 5 or 10 minutes to the morning routine in case something goes wrong. This was the single best back to school tip I ever used and now, we often have plenty of time while waiting for the bus. That makes us all calm and relaxed.
Getting into a regular routine with these tips allows flexibility for the future. When I put my children on special diets a few years later, I realized it was easier to cook for them in the morning. With our schedule, it was easy to accommodate that extra time, however, that would not have been possible without our routine in place.
TIPS FOR AN EASY AFTER SCHOOL TRANSITION
In the afternoon, goals will fluctuate depending on your child and on their school needs. For example, my children have always attended a school that has a “no daily homework” policy but there are projects throughout the year. This year, my older daughter is changing schools and homework is sure to be assigned. How am I going to tackle this new responsibility? By planning ahead with an eye on the goal. Here is how I’ve created successful after school routines for my children:
Assess their state of mind they come home.When my youngest started kindergarten, she was exhausted and stressed out directly after school. She would simply come into her room and crash. I gave her that space for a long time. It worked and by the end of the year, she was used to the long school day and didn’t need to lay down every day.
Feed them first.I don’t know about you, but if I don’t feed my kids immediately after school, they give me a zombie look when I ask them to do anything. More often than not, they come in and head right for the cookie box. I give them two small cookies and after that, it’s all fruits, veggies and healthy snacks until dinner.
Make them responsible for their backpacks and gear.My kids need to clear out their lunch bags and give me the day’s report and any other forms. They also need to hang their coats. Make it easy on little ones by putting up hooks that are mounted within reach!
Use tools that promote organization.We use wall mounted pocket files to sort what important paperwork belongs to which child. We also use a shoe rack in the coat closet for their shoes, which we prefer they remove when getting home, and special drawers in the kitchen dedicated to school and craft supplies. You can also set up centers for homework dedicated for each child and organize them, as you feel best. Finally, use calendars and apps that help you organize your back to school life as well.
'First, Then' tasks.This tool is good for kids with learning disabilities and for younger children. Use a “First, Then” chart to illustrate what they need first before moving on to the next step, which is usually a reward. (Example: First; wash your hands and dry them, Then: get a snack.) You can print pictures for children who are too young to read. You can also laminate the page at an office supply store and get Velcro stickies to change up tasks and rewards.
Make sleep a prioritySleep is critical for all family members to effectively function, including parents. Encourage your family to take a tech time out during sleep hours so there is no light or sound distractions from mobile devices. Net Nanny's parental time controls provide online time management for all family members to set specific times of day when you can pause internet access.
Helping your children establish their own routines in the morning and after school is important for the back to school season. You should plan before school starts but if you are always running for the school bus or find afternoons stressful, it’s never too late to design a routine that fits your family, creates a calm atmosphere and encourages your child to be responsible!
Gina Badalaty
Gina Badalaty is a lifestyle blogger for moms raising kids with special needs. She is passionate about living a nontoxic life, inclusion for kids with disabilities and technology to help kids thrive.
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It’s Thanksgiving day here in the U.S., and I want to wish all our U.S. readers a happy holiday. Since Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday, which is also a Mac Gems day on the Macworld calendar, I thought I’d mention a few Gems I’m thankful for—the inexpensive apps and utilities that I use every day to increase my productivity and generally make my Mac-using life a bit better.
This isn’t a list of our all-time favorite Gems; we published the most-recent version of that list back in June (although some of those products appear on this list, as well). Nor is it a list of my favorite Gems of 2009; you’ll see that one the week we publish our annual Eddy Awards. Rather, this is a list of Gems that I continue to use every day—Gems that have become such an integral part of my workflow that I often take them for granted.
To the developers of these programs, and of the many other great-but-inexpensive software titles out there, thank you. The Mac experience is better because of you.
DocumentPalette: I use DocumentPalette many times each day to create a new document in the current folder via a keyboard shortcut—I just choose the type of document from the palette that appears.
Dropbox: Over the years, I’ve tried many methods for keeping particular files in sync between my computers, and for sharing files with friends and family. Dropbox, with its Finder integration and automatic syncing, makes it easy. Typical workings - the demo mac os.
FlexCal: Flexcal lets me create new iCal (or BusyCal) events without having to open my calendar program. I just press a keyboard shortcut and provide the event details.
Growl: More and more of my favorite programs take adantage of Growl to provide notifications and updates. Throw in HardwareGrower, a Growl add-on that informs me of hardware and network connections and disconnections, and my Mac feels lacking without this utility.
Jumpcut: As a writer, I consider a multiple-Clipboard utility to be a must, and Jumpcut remains my personal favorite for its ease of use and elegant interface.
LaunchBar: Jason Snell put it best: “If I could have only one Mac utility, a solitary piece of software that I could use to improve using my Mac and all its programs as I went about my daily business, it would be Objective Development’s LaunchBar. When I use a Mac that doesn’t have LaunchBar running, I simply feel naked.”
MagiCal: Snow Leopard finally lets you put the date in the menu bar, but I still prefer MagiCal, which instead uses a tiny calendar icon for the date; clicking on the icon displays a useful monthly calendar.
Mercury Mover: Among this add-on’s many features, the one I use the most is the capability to quickly restore windows to particular sizes and positions. For example, by pressing Mercury Mover’s keyboard shortcut followed by S, my Safari window is instantly placed in my favorite location with my favorite dimensions.
MondoMouse: I use MondoMouse dozens of times each day to move and resize windows without having to grab a thin title bar or a tiny resize box—heck, without even having to click a mouse button.
ScreenSharingMenulet: Using OS X’s Screen Sharing feature between my Macs has become a regular part of my daily routine, and ScreenSharingMenulet has made making those Screen Sharing connections simple.
Sharpshooter: Tech writers take screenshots—lots of screenshots. When I choose to use Mac OS X’s built-in screenshot features, Sharpshooter lets me choose, on the fly, the screenshot format, name, and save location.
Shimo: Mac OS X’s built-in VPN functionality doesn’t hold a candle to Shimo, which provides more features, more-reliable connections, and many automation options. It’s also a much-improved alternative to Cisco’s OS X VPN software. Did I mention it provides Growl notifications?
SuperDuper: I’m paranoid about data loss, so I have a rigorous backup routine. Part of that routine is to use SuperDuper to schedule six clone operations every day—two each of three different drives. If a drive dies, I can be back up and running without much delay.
TextExpander: In my line of work, a text-expansion utility—which automatically pastes frequently used text whenever I type a corresponding abbreviation—is up there with multiple Clipboards in terms of productivity gains. And TextExpander is my current favorite. According to the program’s own tally, I’ve expanded over 5500 snippets over the past couple years.
Today: Today shows me the day’s events and tasks in a space-saving window, even if iCal or BusyCal is closed.
Witch: OS X lets you switch between windows in the current program by pressing Command+`. Witch puts that feature to shame by displaying a list of every window in every application, letting you easily switch to—or act on—any of them.
There are plenty of other Gems that I use regularly, but these see daily action on my Mac and have worked their way into my routines. What are your most-used—and most overlooked—Mac Gems? Let us know in the comments. And if you’re celebrating today, have a great Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading.
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