When summer blew up our family's routine, I turned to a business system from Toyota. It helped curb the chaos.

Laura Wheatman Hill, an independent journalist and mother of two, describes using the Kanban method—a workflow system developed by Toyota—to manage her family's summer schedule. Struggling with disrupted routines, she created a visual task board with color-coded sticky notes for her 10- and 12-year-old children, assigning chores and activities like reading, writing a novel, and playing with dogs. The system helped chunk tasks into manageable pieces, reducing resistance and maintaining order while she worked from home and at a summer theater job. The kids initially reluctant, accepted the system after seeing tasks took less time than expected, leaving ample time for screens. The author plans to possibly add her own tasks to the board later.