trying not to be late

Running late seems to run in my family…really and truly, especially the female part of the family. Unfortunately, I am no exception. I have no idea why this is. Dr. Phil once told Larry King's wife that this means that the tardy person thinks that they are so important that it's okay for people to wait on them. Well, Mister Dr. Phil, I beg to differ. Although I am a confident girl, I do not think that I'm so important that people should wait for me. Honestly, I hate being late. It's something that I really, REALLY, want to improve on in my life. Husband, if your reading this, don't laugh!

Now imagine the challenge I had before me when I started teaching (did I forget to mention, I'm NOT a morning person?). Schools start really early here. I have to be signed in at work by 6:45am!!! Now imagine that challenge with a 3 month old baby in the picture. So I had to formulate a plan and fast! I decided to make a routine and stick to it, and believe it or not, it worked. I managed to have myself ready, my baby ready, and all of our million things ready every morning in order to leave by 6:10am.

Here's what I did:

- The number one step is "NIGHT BEFORE PREP" (this is my little name for it), prepare anything and everything that you possibly can the night before.

- Also, NEVER think of saying to yourself, "I'll just do it in the morning."…BIG MISTAKE…there will NEVER be time in the morning, unless you are one of the very few of our population who wakes up before the sun, you will not find extra time in your morning. Don't fool yourself.

- If you have a child or children, include them and all their things in this "Night Before Prep" plan. Lucky for me, my school has a daycare so I didn't have to stop at a different location before heading to work. I did however; have to allot time to take my son to the daycare which is in a different building on the school's campus. For my son, I packed his entire bag the night before; diapers, wipes, extra clothes, blankets, bibs, bottles, formula, and the list goes on. I used powder formula (the only kind I could find here), so I was able to pre-measure the quantities into a cute formula dispenser that fit nicely into the diaper bag. I also pre-measured the water into his bottles (which yes, made the bag heavier, but I was very picky about the water used for his bottles). Because women dropped their babies off so early in the morning, they'd bring them in their PJs. I decided to try this idea and it was the best for him (comfy for morning napping and playing) and for me (another time saver).

- As for myself, I prepared everything the night before. My sandwich made, salad cut and stored in a small plastic container (with dressing on the side), and anything else that needed to be done. The goal: grab and go.

- Showering…for at least the first half of that first school year with my baby, I would shower right before bed. I don't really like to do this, I prefer morning showers, but I couldn't chance it. This saved me a ton of time in the morning. As I got the hang of things and my baby would sleep for longer periods throughout the night, I was finally able to change to the morning showers.

- Everything thing I needed to get ready would be set out ahead of time. Here are some pictures to show as examples. I still do this.

For fun I thought I'd post the info about everything in the pics.

Outfit:

NOTE: If it needs ironed, also do that the night before!

white button up top – promod

white strechie tank - rue21

black skirt - promod

sash - target

shoes – payless
bag – nine west, bought at tj max

Jewelry:

bangles – rue21 (I think)
earrings – gift from Mom (thanks!)
watch – burberry, bought at fossil outlet

rings – my wedding set

Make-up:

moisturizer – l'oreal revitalift
concealer – cover girl
powder foundation – cover girl
brow pencil and eyeliner – rimmel
eyeshadow trio – cover girl
mascara – l'oreal
blush – cover girl
brush – mary kay
lipgloss – beauty rush, victoria's secret

Extras:

lotion – vaseline (use a pump, it saves time)
deodorant – secret
perfume – givenchy absolutely irresistible
hairspray and gel – aussiecomb – walmart (4get brand)

continuing on...

- WAKE UP ON TIME! No matter what, if I don't wake up on time, I will be late and/or rushing around like a mad woman. This is the key to being on time. I would wake up at 4:30am that first year. I had to. My baby would often wake around the "get ready" time for a feeding so I had to make time to sit with him in the rocker and feed him. As he grew, he'd sleep longer, and eventually I would wake him to leave, not him waking me. This also leads to my next point….GET ENOUGH SLEEP! The average adult should get 7-8 hrs of good sleep a night. So plan accordingly. When I had to wake up at 4:30am I made sure I was in bed by 9pm at the latest (baby and me would wake up a few times throughout the night for feedings, I needed my sleep!).

I know that some of my close family members may read this and laugh. But these tips truly worked for me, and for once in my life, I wasn't known as the "girl who's always late". Now, I just have to get to work on all the other things I'm late for...