I don’t know about you, but with 5 busy people in my house, I run a lot of errands. Dropping off, picking up, shopping, occasionally returning. And between errands and shuttling my family here and there, I spend a lot of time in my car! Few things irk me more than having to re-run an errand because I forgot something or didn’t plan ahead, and so I make every effort to run my errands well and get things done the first time.
Here’s how:
If you know something needs done, do it soon. I encounter “all or nothing” people, who don’t take care of personal business for weeks and then expect to run 20 errands ranging over 40 miles in 3 hours. This is unrealistic, inefficient and destined for failure. If time is an issue for you, consider shopping or returning on-line. It may cost you money in shipping, but saves hours in errand time!
Have a Master To-Do List. I always have my Master To-Do list on my phone. Several times a day, I update it with errands and tasks and synchronize it with my computer. Errands on the list include: Routine / weekly errands (farmers market every Thursday, dry cleaners every Friday, pay Kohl’s bill on the first of the month); and episodic errands (drop off flag, purchase clarinet reeds, new dress shoes for A.). I attach a date to all of them, then group them based on my schedule.
If you’re in your car a lot, too, run your errands on the way to somewhere else. For example, when I used to work in the city, I frequented the post office, dry cleaners and grocery store that were on the way to my office. These days, I am more likely to lump my errands into bigger blocks of time, based on a free hour or two some weekday morning.
Make a plan: Think through today’s to-do list and each errand. This past Saturday, I planned to shop for myself at one store, return stuff to another, shop for a gift at a third, and buy groceries at a 4th. As I planned, I pulled my gift certificates and coupons for the first store, and located the receipts for the returns. I packed shipping materials and labels for the gift, so I could box it up and ship it out as soon as I purchased it. Then I made sure my cooler bag, reusable grocery bags, coupons and grocery list were in the car. I had quite a pile of stuff to go, but I got everything accomplished in the time allotted!
Bring your tools. I have an errand basket at the back door for returns, receipts, items to go to other people, etc. Right now it contains a CD to go back to my brother and a flag to drop off to a fellow scout leader. My Iphone is also a tool, to google store locations and directions.
Keep details with you: I keep regular purchase details on my IPhone. Along with the contact info for my local Office Max, I list the printer ink I use, to reference if I need to pick some up. Attached to the contact to my local music store is the type of clarinet reed my son uses (I never remember). In addition, I have my family’s current clothing and shoe sizes, plus gift ideas, in case I find myself with motivation and opportunity to shop.
Remember you are super but not superhuman. Take a snack. Take a water bottle. Take a deep breath, take a break. Then get back to it.
I wrote this for a friend I chatted with last week about how to make the most of her on-the-road time. I hope it helps you with that, too!! See you on the road!