Some
days, your house seems to have tentacles that draw you in and keep you
there. No matter how hard you try, you can't escape until you are
late. Your house just isn't happy until you're late. You are not
alone!
But there
are ways that you can outsmart your house. If you can plug your ears
and hum, you may already have the skill needed to succeed.
Getting out the door
is yet another facet of the Bad Morning. It's especially bad if you
have a family. Don't get us wrong, families are great, but they don't
usually help us get ready to leave the house faster.
In
fact, we have observed in some households that family members will only
get ready to leave when someone else starts getting ready. But no one
wants to start first. What happens when this system fails? The house
wins. Made you late!
The Morning Putterer.
You prefer to do chores, read the paper or surf the Internet in the
morning. Many days, before you know it, you end up spending so much
time puttering that you don't have time to shower before you leave the
house.
The
solution to this problem takes some discipline, but here goes: Get
ready first! Focus on ONLY doing things that will help you get out the
door. Make sure to do EVERYTHING that you need to do: pack your lunch,
get papers ready to go, find your coat/keys/handbag/water bottle, etc.
Then you know how much time you have to spend puttering and you can
still leave at the last minute if you want to.
Clocks May Help
Despite
what you may think, the clock is not your sworn enemy. Start
collecting clocks, enough so that you have one anywhere you spend a lot
of time in the morning.
Places to keep a clock:
- In the bathroom, a small clock on the vanity or counter where you get ready
- In each room of the house, facing the direction you are most likely to spot it from
- Wear a watch (duh - but it's our job to point out the obvious)
ADDers
usually do best with "analog" (non-digital) clocks. It gives a more
visual sense of how much time you have left. Somehow, it doesn't seem
as urgent to see a digital display reading 7:55. But it does seem
urgent if you look at an analog clock and realize that it's practically
8:00!
If
possible, buy clocks that have numbers on the face and not just marks
(or no marks) in place of the numbers. Trust us, you do not want to
end up an hour late, or an hour early, because you misread the clock.
Other Ideas For Getting Out The Door:
- Set a reminder alarm to cue you 15 minutes before you need to leave.
- Make arrangements to meet someone so you won't put certain things off.
- Have a standing appointment (or check-in time) with someone to create a daily or weekly routine.
- Carpool (creates accountablity) - but only if you WILL be on time.
- Once
you leave your house, don't come back until you are back for the day.
You are less likely to leave again to do errands if you come back to
your house beforehand.
When Getting Out the Door Isn’t the Problem…
Sometimes
harder than getting out the door, is getting something accomplished on
a day that you have no reason to leave the house. We are talking about:
We
thought we should address those days when you really should be doing
something, but you find yourself wandering aimlessly around the house
in your PJs or mindlessly on the computer playing games or surfing the
web. Here are some suggestions for days that are usually spent this
way:
- Make
some kind of standing appointment to start your day – like exercising
with a friend – meeting them going for a walk, or a weekly trip to the
grocery store – or driving your kids to school instead of sending them
on the bus. The key to this strategy is having an outside person to be
accountable to. Once your day is “started” you have some momentum
going – momentum you can use to help you stay on task later on in the
day.
- Make
a point to get out of bed at a specific time, even if you have no
appointments. That way you can maintain a sleep/wake schedule.
- Get
yourself dressed and put together first thing, even if you aren’t
leaving home. Groom yourself, at least to the point that if someone
were to drop by you wouldn’t have to hide in shame. It can be as easy
as simply brushing your teeth and your hair. You might want to set a
timer to keep you focused on getting ready.
- Set
a timer and do some surface cleaning if you feel you must do household
chores (assuming that chores are NOT on your “to do list” for the
day). Look around - which cleanup tasks would make the biggest
impact? When the timer sounds, it’s time to STOP and move to the next
thing.
