True story. Have YOU ever felt so busy you didn’t even have time for a quick drive-thru meal? Because I have! And I figured, if I needed help, why not share the top five tips for busy moms that I’ve found to be SUPER helpful for me! I hope sharing these tips here with YOU and other busy moms who don’t even have time for the drive-thru can make a difference. I’ll even keep this as a reminder to myself! HA! Maybe we could even start the “too busy for the drive thru” club! Haha!
In all seriousness, for our health, it might be a GOOD thing to be too busy for the drive-thru. We all know that’s not the greatest, healthiest choice out there.
But I get it. Sometimes we’re busy because we over-schedule. In this case, I had a sort of perfect mini-storm: my daughter’s school announced they were releasing students 10 minutes earlier this school year, while her gymnastics schedule also changed this fall.
Over-scheduling is not always your fault.
It’s true! Sometimes it’s us … other times, it’s our kids’ activities, plus work, plus church in our case, plus everything else. Oh, and someone needs to throw in a load of laundry. And the front lawn is getting out of control. We need way more hours in the day to do it all.
I was scrambling to figure out a good plan, the best possible plan, before the school year started. But, as usual, the first day of school came and went way too fast. Here we are and and I’ve had to figure it out on the go!
Thankfully, sometimes that’s the best way to do it!
Busyness can lead to productivity
These schedule changes left us with roughly an hour and a half to get home, snack, rest, play, do homework, catch up on maybe half a load of laundry and rush out to both of my kids’ sports practices, ganes or meets.
I quickly realized, that ain’t gone work. *pulls out hair*
So all this “busy-ness” led me to a sort of crisis moment when I realized that we either had to be more productive or we’d crash.
That first week of school, I found myself hungry because I left work at my usual time and as I got closer to the school it dawned on me that I would not be able to go thru the drive thru for lunch. I ended up having lunch about an hour later.
I. WAS. SO. HUNGRY.
Maybe, at that point, I was a tad “hangry.” Not good.
So what was I “sposed” to do?
I had to figure out a NEW PLAN! (Cue the productivity music! … whatever that is!)
Just in case you ever find yourself in the same situation, I’ll share with you my Top Five favorite tips to deal with crazy busy no-time-for-the-Drive-Thru days.
My Top Five Favorite Tips for Busy Moms
1. Always carry snacks. You already get them for your kids. Just throw an extra fruit, granola bar or bag of dried cereal in your bag on the way out. You’ll be glad you have it, in case busyness strikes hard.
…and if the snacks are from a leftover Teen Ttitans Go Movie party, even better!
2. Leave early if you can. I’ve tried to do this at work. When I can, it’s a huge relief… and I get to the drive thru when I forget lunch… which is pretty much all the time.
3. Research other options. Is there an after-school program? Are there sports schedule alternatives, maybe at another school or gym? For our family, we haven’t found alternatives yet, but we’re looking into options to make the schedule work better.
4. Change what you can. At this point, we can’t change the school schedule or the sports practice times. What do you do when you’re stuck? Go back to tip #3. Keep looking for options. And the next tip, #5, might help, too!
5. Ask other moms. There are older moms who’ve been there done that. Ask a few for suggestions. What have they done in similar situations? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, if one of the inventors is sitting right next to you at your kids’ sports practice.
Speaking of which, are you a more experienced mom? Please share your tips in the comments below!
We’ll get this thing figured out soon enough. Hang in there, mom! You’re doing alright!
Laughing (and juggling busy schedules) thru life,
Coppelia