There seems to be two types of people in the world: those who are early and on time and those that are chronically late. I am the second type of person. Do I like being late? Absolutely not, but I have problems with being on time. There are times that I can manage being on time and other times I cannot.
Last year I read a blog by someone who views people who are late as a sign of disrespect and selfishness. I agree that being late can seem selfish, but in all honesty, for me, it is not disrespect but a scattered brain that most often results in my chronic lateness. Adding three kids to my scattered mind has not helped matters.
I am certainly far from perfect with time management but I have learned some lessons during my daily struggles to be on time.
1)Be organized and look at your plans for the following day the night before. Our schedule has routine most days, but our daily schedule has variation. My husband wants to run some mornings, needs to go in early to work or we have early morning appointment. Discussing morning plans with my husband the night before of our morning needs helps tremendously. If I wait until the morning to look at our daily schedule, our day becomes a rushed and chaotic mess.
2) Pack the night before. Pack back packs, lunches, snacks and anything else the night before that can help the morning go smoother. If my kids need to wear specific clothing the next day, laying out clothes for them the night before helps to eliminate the struggle of getting everyone dressed.
3) Build in time for things to go wrong. This is especially important if you have babies or toddlers. Someone always refuses to put on shoes, something spills on the floor, someone calls and many other things that can come up consuming time.
4) Use your phone, Google Home or Alexa devices to help remind you of pending departures. We have several alarms set on our google home to remind us of pending departures depending on the day and times that we need. I need them as much as the kids. Whatever we are doing at the time of the alarm, it needs to be wrapped it up to leave the house.
5) Make a rule of no random chit chat as the car is being loaded. As my kids have gotten older, they have begun to chit chat more as we are trying to get out the door. I have learned to establish a rule that if it is a question about world problems we cannot solve, last night’s dreams or new toys that would be fun to have, it can wait until the car is moving. Limiting chit chat until everyone is buckled and the car is moving can help everyone focus on the task at hand.
Writer Bio: Summer Bolte
I spend most of my time and days with my three kids, husband and dog. My kids frequently play near me as I garden, cook, DIY and volunteer. My most unusual paying job has to be feeding fruit flies in a research lab, and my most fulfilling job was being an oncology nurse for seven years.
