Clipboard...up, down, or just lighter?

One thing that Gretchen Rubin has talked about on her IG Live chats is that she has put her clipboard down.  I can relate to that a lot and I am an Obliger.  I have a crazy need to have schedules and know what is happening and when it is happening, it makes me feel centered and safe.  I do happen to schedule my spontaneity as weird as that sounds, but it works for me.


I also know that it does not work for Mr.Padawan, in fact, it stresses him out and is overwhelming.  And for the little Padawans, it is a mixed bag.  I decided to put the clipboard down so to speak and let things just run on a loosey-goosey schedule, using our previous schedule as a guide but not stick to it.

Well, that ended up backfiring on me in the most unexpected ways.  I kept letting dinner slide a bit later, which is not late at all by most people's standards but late by ours.  Well, the kids noticed they were not getting the same amount of play time after dinner with their Dad, and in fact were missing their Dad because he stayed in the office working until it was time for dinner.

Mr. Padawan asked that I start making it ready at the same time to give him that time with the kids and to break him away from work.  I had mentioned how I was trying to put down the clipboard (and how it was both good and bad for me, I was feeling a bit off without my schedule)and why and he expressed how it wasn't working for him.  So I picked my clipboard back up but I am being a bit more careful about what I put on it.  I am not overloading it like I want to do, I am keeping the essentials on it plus a few things.  I am also respecting our family dinner time and not letting it creep out later and later.