Shifting Gears – Back to School and Routine Tips

Hi All

 

Can you believe we’re reaching the end of summer holidays!  Where does the time go?  I had a busy summer myself but I am ready for the new school year.  Let me tell you what keeps me sane during these busy times.

 

1. Allowing extra time.  It has taken me 53 years to learn to add extra time in for all the unexpected things that come up.  You think you need to leave at 8:10 am but you can’t find your car keys, or your child is dawdling or they need to turn around because you left your cell phone in the kitchen.   Stuff comes up no matter what.  Just allow time for the messiness of life in what ever form it takes today.

 

2. Create a realistic “to do” list.  I use Wunderlist which is an app I share with my kids and my EA.  It’s amazing how much stress I let go of when I know I am tracking times in an app that won’t get lost.  Moving tasks from my brain that has to remember everything and then worry about forgetting – this takes a huge load off.

 

3. De-stress the mind and body with mediation and exercise, yoga or drawing or anything else that helps you accomplish a “flow” state in the brain when you are totally absorbed and the passage of time seemingly stops.

 

4. Mise en place – It’s a cooking term I use for every day:  slow down and put every thing in its place.  I recently moved and downsized. My new space is great, but everything must be in its original place or the small space looks messy.

 

5. Batch together.  I am learning to be more efficient by doing life in bulk.  Why make one batch of meatballs when you can do two and freeze the other? So much easier! I use the same idea for everything.  I check my emails and return them each day in batches, but between – my focus and attention is on the task at hand.  I turned off my alerts and instead I decide when to visit and spend a half hour on my email.  I decide.  The tail does not wag this dog.

 

6. Don’t speed. Several years ago, I lost enough points for speeding to clients and workshops or speaking events that I risked having my license suspended.  I knew I had to drive the speed limit for several years until I got my points back.  The end result is that driving the speed limit was incredibly relaxing!! I loved it.  GO slow and see if you feel more relaxed.

 

7. Practice being Imperfect!  Many moms feel they are being judged or falling down when they bring store bought muffins instead of home made or what have you. Try to not let this eat you up and instead bring in the “pre-mades” as an experiment and see if your worse prediction comes true.  Did the world end? Did the sky implode? No – likely nothing happened and nobody cared but you – so maybe if they don’t care – you shouldn’t either.

 

 

Hope this helps you face a full new year with optimism

Happy parenting

 

Alyson