Care and prepare

As we have been discussing the time management topic, we must take a moment to discuss planning.  Now, I know some of you think that you aren't great planners or organizers....that is OK. It may not be a natural skill for you, but you can do enough of it to make life more simple for you.

When it comes to time management, we tend to develop the bad habit of not caring enough to prepare enough.  My husband's favorite saying is, "Failure to plan on your part does not necessitate an emergency on my part."  Man, when I epicly fail to plan and he throws that statement at me....whooo, it burns me up...and it does because it is sooooo true!  I love him for his honesty!

When we don't plan, we make rash decisions. Remember the ol' saying, "haste makes waste?"  Well, it's true!  The other thing that happens when we don't plan is that we don't offer up our very best. Vanilla Ice said it so profoundly in his one hit wonder, "Ice, Ice, Baby"...."anything less than the best is a felony." When we don't give our all, we let others down who are counting on us and we feel disappointed in ourselves.


So let me offer these suggestions -

1) remember that it comes down to 90% preparation and 10% perspiration.  Work smart not hard and plan your work. Take time to plan your day. Here are some ideas:

• At night, pack lunches for school the next day, lay out clothes to wear and get all the stuff together that you need to take with you in the morning...put it near the door you go out of so that you won't forget anything.
• Plan for spills in the car - you know they're gonna happen.  Keep wet wipes, paper towels and even garbage bags in the car. When I was in sales, I was in the car a lot. So I kept extra clothes and shoes in there for when I hit a pothole and dumped coffee all down the front of me. And I always had extra pantyhose in the glove box.
• Schedule in time for laundry before your family is naked!  Don't wait until everything is dirty. This preparation tip will keep everyone happy and eliminate the endless question, "Do I have anything to wear?"
• Plan meals and menus.  That way you avoid the haunting question, "What's for dinner tonight?"
• Make a list and schedule a day or time for errands. Don't run yourself ragged driving all over town to do one errand each day.  It saves on gas, too!

Here are some bigger things to prepare for:

• Have a will or some sort of estate plan for you and your family should there be a death. That is the best gift you could ever leave your family.
• Make financial plans for health care, retirement, etc. How much you save or what plans you make is up to you...but make a plan.
• Things we consider emergencies really aren't emergencies so plan for car repairs, home repairs and things you know come every year....like back to school shopping, Christmas, birthdays, vacations.  Prepare now for those things and although you might not have saved 100% of the funds when the time comes, but having some saved is better than none saved!

Tomorrow- more helpful hints on ways to be in control of your day....