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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Are you always late?

For some reason, I take longer to run errands than my husband does. If he and I had the same exact list, and went into the same exact store, he would sure finish at least 15 minutes before I would.  If not more.  I just take longer to do everything!  I stroll, consider options, compare prices, chat with someone I meet, etc. 

This relaxed approach carries over to most things I do.  Knowing this about myself, I've learned to schedule less that I think I can do. 

Did you catch that?  I always think I can accomplish more than I actually can.  I tend to be an optimist - which is good in most areas, but not when I'm trying to accurately assess how much time it takes to get something done ... or show up on time.

So here's what I've learned to do:

1.  Order my errands or tasks from highest to lowest priority.  That way I can shorten my list as I'm running out of time.

When my kids were younger, I always asked: "What do we HAVE to get done before we leave?"   Then we did that first.

2. I add on 10-15 minutes minutes more than I think I need to do any errand or local driving trip.

3. I start gathering items to take with me the day before. 

4. I've started identifying one significant task a day I want to accomplish ... then if I can add on minor ones, I'm happy.

Even though I always said I value being on time, aligning my life to reflect that belief has been a work in progress.  I'm still working on it!

Grace & Peace,

Glynnis

3 comments:

  1. Those are great ideas. I even do some/most of them, but I'm still late all too frequently. I think my problem is that I always want to get just one more thing done before I leave, when I should just not do it right then. I'm still working on it--well, sometimes.

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  2. You speak from my life! The SAME thing happens with my husband -He is a 'hunter-shopper' and I am a 'browse-and-compare'. Like you, I do take much longer than he does at any task. Thank you for all of your helpful suggestions.
    My prayer: Psalm 90:12

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  3. I love your "prioritizing" the errands approach. Some days I feel like my little ones live in a shopping cart! Thanks for the tips. And I LOVE the cover of your new book.. can't remember if I've told you that yet.

    Blessings,

    Alicia Bruxoort

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