Organizing the Chaos: A Dance Mom Survival Guide

Written By Nichole L

Let’s be real. The life of a crazy dance mom (or any crazy parent, honestly) is not for the faint of heart. Without some kind of system in place, it’s guaranteed you’ll get lost in the shuffle. Between rehearsals, competitions, costume fittings, school commitments, work, and just trying to keep a household running, it’s a lot.

And for many of us, we’re not just “dance parents.” We’re also working full-time, supporting other family members, running businesses, trying to fill our own cups, and still holding it all together.

In the last year, I’ve gone from working full-time to launching my dream gig, which has forced me to get even more diligent about managing my time. Because when you’re self-employed, no one is holding you accountable but you.

Over time, I’ve found a few things that work for my family and me. I also know there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, but I wanted my first blog to share some tips, tricks, and hacks that have helped us wrangle the chaos of scheduling. Some I use now, some I’ve seen other families thrive with, and some I intend to get better at.

1. The Shared Family Calendar

This was the biggest game changer for us. For some families, it’s a giant paper calendar on the wall. For others, it’s a color-coded digital system. For me, it’s both, because I can’t resist a cute planner, but our shared Google Calendar has saved my marriage more than once.

Before we started sharing calendars, my husband often didn’t realize how late we’d be at the studio or when our son needed to be dropped off somewhere. Once we synced everything into Google Calendar, it was a night-and-day difference.

Our setup looks like this:
Shared Family Calendar: dance schedule, school events, work shifts, overtime weekends, and more.
Personal Calendar: my gym time, work blocks, and appointments. Both display on my phone so I can see the full picture.
Kids’ Access: they can peek at the calendar to see who’s driving them where and what’s on deck.

And yes, I’ve even been called out for forgetting to update it. “Well, I didn’t see anything in the calendar, so I made other plans.” Fair point, husband.

👉 Want to try it yourself? Here are some options:

2. Learning to Ask for Help (and Say No)

This one was hard for me. As a recovering people pleaser, I used to feel like I had to do everything and say yes to everyone. But I’ve learned that asking for help, or simply saying no, actually makes me a better mom, partner, and business owner.

Need someone to grab your dancer from rehearsal so you can wrap up work? Ask. Overbooked and feeling burnt out? Say no to that extra commitment.

And please, don’t feel guilty for scheduling downtime. A lazy Sunday on the couch is not wasted, it’s necessary. For us dance families, building in intentional reset days is just as important as making it to every competition.

3. Meal Planning (or at Least Trying)

This one’s still a work in progress for us. We go through phases. Some weeks we’re great, other weeks we’re living off Starbucks runs and McDonald’s fries (those app deals get me every time). But the truth is, eating out adds up quickly.

With me trying to grow That Crazy Dance Mom and my business Collaborative Edge Marketing, sticking to a food budget is key. Plus, healthy(ish) meals keep everyone fueled for long competition weekends.

Some things that help:
Slow Cooker Favorites – Toss it in at lunch, dinner’s ready after rehearsal.
Instant Pot Meals – Quick dinners when you’re already running late.
Preplanned “fast food” nights – Instead of spending $40 at the drive-thru, grab a $10 frozen meal at the grocery store and heat it at the studio.

Resources worth checking out:

4. Timers and Focus Blocks

I love my calendar, but I also need micro-accountability. Enter timers.

I’ll literally schedule my day like this:
Monday = That Crazy Dance Mom work
Tuesday = Collaborative Edge Marketing work
Wednesday = Studio/Foundation catch up

And within those days, I set timers. “Work on this task for 45 minutes before checking email or TikTok.” It’s not perfect (hello, teenager texts at lunch), but it keeps me moving forward.

Apps I’ve tried:

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, none of us have it all together, no matter how organized we look on Instagram. What matters is finding small systems that actually work for you and your family. For us, that’s a shared calendar, saying no when we need to, trying (and failing and trying again) at meal planning, and using timers to stay on track.

Your version might look totally different, and that’s okay.

I’d love to hear from you: What chaos life hacks have saved your family’s sanity? Drop them in the comments and let’s swap ideas. And make sure you’re following That Crazy Dance Mom for future blogs, memes, and content just like this.

Disclaimer: Some links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work and this blog—it truly means a lot!

Nichole L
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