Inside this edition: Are five changes you can make today to get your family out of the door on time everyday.
Hey, hey y’all. It’s your girl Rainey in the struggle together with YOU – my tribe – the Rainey Crew. We are not perfect in this household by any means. The struggle is real. Whether the kids were five or fifteen, making sure everyone gets out of the door on time everyday in the morning is really the top priority for all parents. I have five simple hacks to get you there. If one of them works out for you I have saved you at least ten minutes of precious time.
Lunch
This is a game changer to get your family out of the door on time every day. What you do the night before can save you tons of time the next morning and lets you sleep easier. Speaking to the women specifically, you know that your mind is constantly thinking about the next day and the laundry list of things to do. Calm your mind by planning ahead. If your kids take lunch to school, pack their lunches the night before if possible. I know who wants soggy a PB&J, but that’s where we have to get creative sometimes. At minimum if you can’t pack the lunch at least know what you are going to make, so you can prepare.
For yourself and maybe the kids, Use your leftovers from dinner as your lunch for the next day. I have heated leftovers in the morning and put them into Thermos flasks for the kids. By lunch time they are still warm. Remember part of the frustration you feel in the morning routine is not having a predetermined plan.
Pack it up!
Have the kids get their backpacks ready the night before. Once it is confirmed the homework is done there is no reason to have binders and papers strewn across the floor or desk. This is my life people. I have had a few calls over the years from school asking me to bring an assignment because it was left behind, or a permission slip for a field trip. I started what I call my “Last Call” every night. Confirm that homework is done, any permission slips to be filled out, or just anything that requires parent verification. Do some things slip by? Yes, but they are human. By the way this works for grown ups too. Make sure you have everything you need in whatever bag you plan to use ready to go.
If you are like me make sure that you know where your keys are from the night before. I have been late leaving the house because I could not find them. We have a key-hooks at the front door, but I rarely use it for my car keys. Does not sound very organized right? My life saver are Tiles and the Tile App. When I do misplace my keys I just use the Tile App on my phone. It plays a high-pitched tune and it has not failed me yet. Oh yeah, I use it for my daughters keys and backpack also so a bought a 4-pack. The apple does not fall far from the tree with that one. 🙂
Where are my socks?
Another time saver is knowing what to wear. If you can grab five minutes before bedtime to figure out what you are going to wear, that is five minutes in your pocket in the morning. It is even more time if it is something that needs to be ironed. You can also use “Last Call” to encourage the kids to identify what they are going to wear or to remind them to pack their gym clothes or verify that the gym clothes are actually washed? Hmm… Been there, done that. If you can lay out what you plan to wear you are already ahead of the game.
Stay on task
Before I realized that my son had ADHD I realized that he needed structure and lots of it. To help him stay on task I created a schedule for him. Would you believe simple things like putting a time to each task like brushing teeth, taking a shower, and eating breakfast had to be assigned a time window. Once he followed the schedule he was pretty much on target. When he strayed off the schedule there was chaos. You may or may not want to be so detailed depending on your family. The takeaway is that if you do the same things at the same time each day it will become routine for you and for them. Calling out the times like a drill sergeant as reminders won’t hurt either.
Wake up Call
We are not a family of early risers, we are all night owls. Neither my husband nor I use alarm clocks except if we need to wake up in the small hours of the morning. The kids however, would be late to their own funerals. My son has to get the bus at 6:30 AM. Knowing how difficult it is for him to get up he sets his alarm for 20 minutes before he has to actually get out of bed. He uses the time to stretch and really wake up, before starting the day.
I will be honest with you. This process fails if you are really tired and did not get enough sleep. Chances are you will fall asleep again. More often than not, it does work and he makes it out on time. Taking that time to reflect and plan for your day can put you in the right frame of mind.
Pro Tip: Use “Final Call” to verify that the alarms are set.
Final Thoughts
I like keeping it real. We have different jobs, different lifestyles, and different size families. How we manage in those circumstances is what sets us apart from others. Ask yourself if what you are doing is working, and if it is not how can you make it better. If one of these things works you then I have done my job to help you get your family out of the door on time.