Prioritizing your day, three easy steps

Last Wednesday, I woke up 15 minutes later than normal.

My dear husband was giving me a break by letting me sleep in (bless his heart). The night before, I didn’t get to bed until much later than usual, and my kids both woke up for various reasons through the night , so I was pooped.

For some, that 15 minutes can create tons of stress for that short morning window of time to get the day started. I managed okay that day, but I always feel under pressure when I am running late. I hate to be late. Here is my typical day…

6:05 a.m. alarm goes off and I attempt to get myself riled up (if the kids haven’t come in already)
6:20 a.m. my dear husband brings me coffee in bed and I flip on the news to check weather
6:35 a.m. bathroom rituals for mom (while fighting off kids coming in and out wondering what I am doing)
6:50 a.m. kids come in (if they aren’t already there) and kiss my hubby good-bye while I get dressed
6:55 a.m. dress kids, brush their teeth
7:05 a.m. head downstairs to feed kitty
7:15 a.m. get kids breakfast on the table and check my schedule and emails for the day
7:30 a.m. last reminder to finish up breakfast and make lunches
7:40 a.m. shoes and coats on to get out the door in the next 10 minutes.

Not a whole lot of margin for error right??? The reason why I don’t have margin for error is because I am meticulous about planning ahead so that I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to get my day going. On this particular day, I was able to make up some time by not checking my schedule before I left, and thankfully, Wednesday, is pizza day at school and my son loves pizza, so I didn’t have to make lunches.

Here are three steps to ensuring a stress-free day, even when you are 15 minutes late:

1. Plan ahead. Know what your day entails before you go to bed the night before. Checking your schedule and the kids schedules, making lunches, packing backpacks or briefcases, making lists, clearing dishes… whatever your hang-ups are in the morning, eliminate them the night before.

2. Know your time. As women (mostly women), we always think to ourselves, “…just one more thing…” before we head out the door. Stop! It just makes you late! Know exactly how much time each task takes and plan it out. As you can see above in my schedule, I know exactly what I am doing and how long it takes me.

3. Add a buffer. For me, my buffer is turning on my computer and rechecking my schedule and my emails. I can always forgo turning on my computer, which gives me an extra 10 minutes to catch up. It’s important to plan ahead and be on time (or even early)