Managing Transitions: Get Up and Get Ready!

Teaching a time management class last week, I reminded everyone that, from an organizational stand-point, our daily times of transition can make or break our schedule, our stuff, our brain and our peace of mind.

We all meet many transitions every day: sleeping to waking; home to work or school or both; arrival at work or school; leaving work or school; arriving home; leaving again for the evening; bedtime.  And conquering these transition times will bring us ease, help us be on time, get and stay organized, and get more done with less stress.

Let’s start with the first big transition of the day: Transitioning from Sleep to Ready to Leave!

Over the last week, I’ve run into the two extremes around Morning routines.  One client had no morning routine at all, and one had a routine that was too complicated and overwhelming  to succeed.  Let’s find some middle ground, and make this happen!

Keep it simple, Sweetie.  Start with Need To / Must Do Tasks.

  • And, start with things you can only do at home!
  • Shower (though I suppose you could do this at the gym!);
  • Get dressed (unless pajama day every day is the policy at your office. For the rest of us, though, we have to get dressed);
  • Fuel yourself with breakfast;
  • Brush thy teeth / comb thy hair / shave thy cheeks, etc..
  • If your getting ready routine is still too complicated, consider what tasks you can redistribute to other times of your day, like showering or exfoliating at night, for example.

If that is all you have time for before you leave the house, so be it.

What can you take on the road, if need be? 

  • And, NO, you wacky people on the toll road last week, shaving and applying eye liner while driving are NOT things you should take on the road!  However:
  • drinking your second cup of coffee, in a spill and leak proof go-mug;  or
  • eating your breakfast bar; or
  • reading the newspaper on the train (on my IPad’s Tribune App) are all tasks you can take on the road! 
  • I spent many days on the road this summer.  I still have the habit of carrying a small bag of essentials like lotion, toothpaste/brush, comb, etc., and each has come in handy in the last week!  Pack your little bag of little things, and take that on the road, too.

Get really good at completing the essential tasks EVERY DAY and in a timely manner. THEN… add in the optional items, the Cans and Shoulds and Just Maybes.  These may include:

  • pack that lunch and think about dinner;
  • office tasks like checking email;
  • house tasks like laundry, washing dishes; and
  • whatever other tasks you may tackle regularly but are not truly essential.

Give some thought to your short list of MUST DO tasks this week, get really good at completing those completely and on time, and then add in some of those optional items if you have time.  Conquering this first transition of the day will start you on the right path to a great day!

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