Martha’s calendar is a popular feature in Martha Stewart Living, and the magazine recently brought it back after a long absence. I like to look at because it gives you a glimpse into Martha’s life. I have to say I find it hard to believe though. I don’t really think Martha is doing many of the household and garden tasks on the calendar. Supervising them, maybe, but doing them, no.

Despite this, I decided to make a calendar for myself for May in the style of Martha’s calendar and then see if I was able to actually fulfill it. The results are in. For about 50% of the days on the calendar, I did not do what was planned. That doesn’t mean I didn’t do the household tasks I had planned though – most of them got done, but on other days. There were a few that never happened. I found that it was nearly impossible to know three weeks ahead of time which day would be the best for dusting the inside of my curio cabinet or buying new carpet for the front porch. In my life, things just come up. With two kids at home, a husband, parents, and work, most of the time I don’t get to dictate my schedule at all.

I did find it helpful to take some time and think about what needed doing that month. I would love to get to the point where I had a revolving calendar of jobs that get done in certain months. It would help me feel so much more organized. But at this point in my life, I’m not as focused on household tasks as I am on people tasks – driving someone to an activity, getting medical records for school, buying milk when we run out, keeping kids and husband in clean clothes that actually fit, and so on. The calendar is a nice idea, but not practical for my life.