I understand how you feel because I've been there too. I've never had to run two guides. This year I'm doing a whole guide and additions for my 4YO. But then again - a preschooler and a toddler can really take it out of you too, y'know?
I never thought I'd be a strictly scheduled person. One of the things I always liked about being a SAHM and homeschooling was that we don't have to be somewhere right at a certain time every day (except when we have dance, AWANA, etc, those are all in the afternoon or evening anyway). BUT I will say I have found great freedom and success using the "Managers of their Homes" method (book by Steve and Teri Maxwell). Last year I made a schedule, but I didn't have a set start time. As the school year went on my oldest DD (who is the one who needs to do school) started sleeping in later and later. She would sleep until 8:30 or 9:00 if I didn't wake her (I think she stays up after we put her to bed and this is why). I found it very difficult to start my day, difficult to get school done, difficult to get housework done, and difficult to do anything with others because our schedule was so loose. So this year I decided 1) I will get up before the kids and have my quiet time 2) I will get the kids up at 8:00 if they aren't up already. Doing this, we can get school done by 11:15, unless there are arts & crafts which I leave for the afternoon. Again, I'm not doing as much as you are. But the "Managers of their Homes" method also allowed me to schedule in chore time, along with an incentive for my kids if they do chores with a good attitude and work hard (I let them play educational games on the computer). Having the chore time in every day has helped ME be more diligent. Having my kids help me has... sometimes made me get less done... sometimes helped me get a little more done... ultimately it has helped me disciple my kids in hard work and how to do these things well. Some people have assigned chores their kids are in charge of, I just tend to think through what needs to be done (Wed is vaccuumming day, but otherwise it's whatever) and have them help me in whatever ways they can. Of course, I have discovered they can do a lot! Scrubbing toilets, putting dishes away, wiping the table, sweeping, folding laundry...
I praise the Lord for giving me the wisdom I asked him for to help our day run so much more smoothly! The other good thing about scheduling this way is knowing what your kids are doing/should be doing, planning for one child to entertain a younger while you work with another child (don't know if this applies to you or not, if you have any littler than your LHFHG child), things like that. Again, I am so thankful for how much this has helped me, not as someone who has arrived or feels like I am wonderful in this area, but I have made progress and I feel so much better about my house and my day because of having a schedule. And I don't really do it all the time either, there is flex of course when there needs to be.
The thread of schedules is good, but for me, the book "Managers of their Homes" gave me the whole outline of all the ideas and how to put it all together. I went through the whole process the first time, the second time I just had to list out our activities, the times they take, and start laying it out on a grid.
