The Nightly List

Remember a few days ago when I posted about cleaning my house? Well, since so many of you seemed to relate to that, let me ask you this:

Are your mornings filled with panic and anxiety?
Are you always running late?
Do you forget things?
Do you sometimes think to yourself "I didn't think this through?"

Well, we are are kindred spirits, my friend.

As I have been practicing being an adult in the last few months (hooray!) I have also tried to come up with a new way to be more efficient and prepared. I have always been a procrastinator and I struggle in the mornings, especially when I have somewhere to be. I always forget to pack something or start the process too late. Frazzled doesn't even begin to explain it. Frazzled, sweaty, ticked off and cranky is more like it.

But, once again, I had to ask myself: "You complain all the time about this area of your life... BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CHANGE IT?!"

So, I've started a new little ritual called THE NIGHTLY LIST. It's a very creative title and I'm sure no one has ever ever come up with this concept ever before. I AM AN INNOVATOR.

Look, it's really pretty dang simple. I downloaded an app called Evernote (you could just as easily use pen and paper but that is easier to lose and I can access this list from my iPhone, iPad or computer) and every single night before I go to bed, I create a list for the next day.

As an example, this was the list I made last night as I was preparing for Ellie going to school today:

It's pretty self-explanatory, but the general idea is to literally write out everything you need to do/accomplish/pack before you leave the house the next day so there are no surprises. I even decide when I need to wake up since I now know I have a bit to do before I leave the house. This has been helpful in the past especially when it comes to deciding what you're going to make for dinner. If you're making a crock pot meal, make a note about what time you need to turn the crock pot on. That way, you won't be standing in your kitchen at 6pm looking at a crock pot recipe that says you needed to turn the crock pot on high for 7 hours. Not that this has ever happened to me. This is all hypothetical and I totally didn't order Chinese food when that happened.

Again, for those of you that can do this in your mind without having to write it out, I applaud you. But, you are not my people. My people are the ones that are trying to frantically pack a lunch 5 minutes before it's time to leave and you realize you are out of fruit and the school doesn't allow peanut butter so you throw a granola bar and 6 Ritz crackers into a ziploc bag along with a packet of graham crackers shaped like the Minions from Despicable Me.

Again, this is a total hypothetical situation.