Managing Transitions: Coming Home. Do Future You a Favor!

At first draft, this post was going to be called “Don’t Drop Your Stuff In a Heap!”, but that seemed a little too rude.

Imagine with me… It’s the end of your work day.  You get home tired, hungry, perhaps a little frazzled.  Your defenses are low, your decision making muscles are all wrung out.

Admit with me – we could very easily give in, drop everything at the door, leave a trail of dirty clothes on the path to our PJs, grab a bowl of cereal or a bag of chips for dinner and flop on the couch for the rest of the evening.

Tempting… so tempting…

But, let’s look into our crystal ball…

How will Future You feel about your poor choices in the morning?  You may not have slept too well, with such a sad dinner.  You will be frustrated by the mess, scrambling around to get ready and make up for lost time.   Let’s face it, Today’s You and this evening’s choices are setting up Tomorrow’s You to fail.

What can Today’s You do right now, to ease your transition to home?  To help you spend a pleasant and relaxing evening, and to spend just a few moments tonight making tomorrow go more smoothly?

First things first, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR STUFF IN  A HEAP BY THE DOOR.  Take the extra 30 seconds and hang up your coat and bag, kick off your shoes and leave them by the door and NOT in the middle of the floor, and put down your keys in their Home, so you can find them again when you need them.

Next, address immediate needs and take a few minutes to decompress.  Change your clothes, grab a big glass of water and maybe an apple, then get dinner started (perhaps your menu plan is in place already?).

Whew.  Now that your physical needs are met, you can take a few moments to think ahead – what do you want tomorrow morning to look like?  Crazy and stressful?  Calm but energized?

If you still have some energy left, do more to take care of Future You:

  • tidy up the kitchen, run the dishwasher, set up tomorrow morning’s coffee, pack tomorrow’s lunch;
  • take care of today’s clothes, and plan ahead for tomorrow’s;
  • check the weather forecast plan ahead appropriately. Jacket? Umbrella?  (It’s October in Chicago, this is VERY important these days, with 85 and sunny one day and 60s with rain the next!);
  • line your gear for the next day near the door.

Future-You will thank Today’s You!