Time management has always been something that I have excelled with; however, I never understood why moms are always late until I had a child myself. Now, I understand the “mom I need to poop” as we are leaving the door. Or puking all over the outfit that it took so long to pick out. Or just simply trying to juggle a baby in your arms while you get ready yourself.
It seems like the world is sometimes against you when you want to get ready and be to an event on time, so I wanted to provide a couple of tips that help me get to events on time!
1. Always keep a packed diaper bag. Even though it is tedious at the end of the night to make sure that the diaper bag has an extra onesie, snacks, toys, etc. You will thank yourself when you’re rushing out the door.
2. Pretend the event starts 30 minutes prior to the actual start time. Since my husband is always late, I sometimes will tell him the event starts 30 minutes prior just so then he is ready on time. 🤣 You can use this same idea to trick yourself into being on time - tell yourself the start time is 30 minutes prior to when it actually is and starting to get ready 30 minutes prior can help ensure a prompt arrival and can account for any hiccups along the way.
3. Understand your “why”. Meaning, reflect on the last time you were late. Why? Was it because the diaper bag took too long to pack, your kid had a tantrum, the weather made there be more traffic? Reflecting can help you troubleshoot and fix the mistake.
4. Give your items a home. Were you late because you couldn’t find something? If everything has a designated place, this will help streamline the process and ensure you know where everything is to quickly grab it and run out the door!
5. Incorporate bodily functions and create time for “trying it”. Meaning, make time for your kid (or your husband 🤣) to just try to use the bathroom. Or time to just check the diaper. This will ensure that these factors are already set into the time that you have planned to get ready! It will also help mitigate your kid needing to poop halfway through the trip when they originally said they didn't need to use the restroom.
6. Know how long it (actually) takes to get to the place. This means factoring in the time of day you are traveling (ie. rush hour), weather, needing to get gas, and so much more that might elongate the trip. The night before, take a couple of moments to view the GPS, check the weather app, and make a plan about how long travel time will actually take.
Overall, hopefully, these tips help you get to your next event on time; however, if you are still late, the biggest tip of all is to give yourself grace. You are trying to get an entire household ready to go to these events and it is an immense task. Be proud of yourself for tackling that!
If you want to chat more about this or vent about an experience you had about managing your time, don't hesitate to reach out to me (Sam Carney) in the Fair Lawn Moms WhatsApp group!
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