Maintaining a family is difficult.  Wait, let me rephrase that.  Running a family is the hardest thing you will ever do in your life (sorry to all you priests and single people, but it’s true)!  That’s why it’s more important than ever to find ways to help the family enterprise run smoothly by facilitating open lines of communication.  Businesses use status meetings to keep things on track, why not do the same with your family?

Photo by Kevin N. Murphy

You are probably thinking that I am cold and heartless in suggesting that we should treat our families like a business.  Well, for one I am not suggesting that all aspects of the family should be run like a corporation, but you should make time within the week to get together with everyone, establish goals  & objectives, and meet weekly to determine your family’s progress in meeting those objectives.

I’ve created a video that should give you an idea of what I am talking about.  In it, I discuss the following:

• Setting up a regular meeting time.
• How to create a box chart that shows your goals.
• How to set up tasks to achieve your goals.

Note: I’ll probably redo the video in landscape.  Trial and error is always fun.

You may also want to check out 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family, the author is really big on family status meetings and has a more detailed approach.  I’ve tried to make our method as simple to follow as possible, and I especially wanted to avoid overwhelming my family with too much information to keep up with.

Other posts that you may enjoy:

1. 002 PC Podcast: Getting Things Done for Catholics
2. Episode#9: Don’t Give Up, Like Me!
3. Become the Best Dad Ever with Odadeo
4. What are your Goals and Priorities?
5. 3 Ways for Families to Get the Most from Mass