Conquering lateness + an awesome giveaway
[This is a sponsored post from BlogHer through Citi, which includes an incredible giveaway opportunity. As always, all opinions are my own]
I’d always been one of those “late for everything” kind of people. I know it’s rude, it’s embarrassing, but unless it was a job interview, you could pretty much guarantee that I’d show up at least 15 minutes after the event time. It’s in my blood. I thought that having a baby would make this exponentially worse, but on the contrary, I’m usually on time now.
Why? It’s forced me to become more organized. There’s no time for last-minute fashion crises or failing to map out our event location. With everything I need to pack and take with us, it can be more difficult to do it with an active toddler at my side. Instead, I prep ahead and do as much as I can in advance.
Here are some of the things I’ve found to help:
-Make snacks and drinks the night before. I’ll pack up snacks for both of us -mama gets hungry too!- and drinks in the fridge so that I can grab them in the morning and go.
-Pack the “hit and run” bag. I used to carry a giant diaper bag around, but realized that it was loaded with heavy things we no longer needed and… crumbs. Lots of crumbs. So now, I put our snacks, a few diapers and sunscreen in a small lululemon bag that we tote around with us. It’s not fancy, but it works
-Have outfits planned in advance. Even though I don’t set them out (let’s not get crazy now, haha), I have an idea of what we’re each going to wear and where they are.
-Waking up before she wakes up. This was a hard one for me, as I’m not a morning person, but it’s the perfect way to get in a short workout and some work before we start the day. She’ll usually be up between 7 and 7:30, so my alarm will go off at 5:30 to do what I need to do. As much as I dislike waking up early, I love that I’m able to get in some quiet time, maybe a sweat session, and also get dressed and ready before she’s awake. If I have a head start on work stuff, I’m able to be more present while we’re hanging out and save the work until she’s sleeping.
I’ve found that as our family continues to grow, it will be important for us to stay organized. With all of the upcoming fall events, I’m doing my best to remember everything, be where we need to be (on time!) and pick up appropriate gifts for upcoming weddings and holidays.
Some of our current organization strategies:
-Our magnetic calendar. On our fridge, we have a dry erase board where we write work schedules, the Pilot’s flying schedule and any events. This way I know if he’ll be working late (and Liv and I will be getting hot bar for dinner…) and important events on the horizon.
-Alerts on my phone. Birthdays are set on annual renewal, and if an event is coming up, I’ll have an alert go off a day or two beforehand.
-Setting up automatic bill pay. Back in the day, it was hard for me to keep track of all of our bills. They all had different due dates, some companies wouldn’t bill us regularly, and with everything going on, I’d space it. Now, I have a spreadsheet with our monthly finances, our savings goals, and our bill due dates.
Many of them I have set up on automatic bill pay, so all I have to do is check the statement to make sure we’re being charged accurately.
With the holidays coming up, the last thing we want to do is waste time or money dealing with late fees, and the Citi Simplicity card makes it much easier to accomplish this.
Some of the details:
–Citi Simplicity is the only card to offer no late fees, an annual fee or a penalty fee. Ever.
– Citi Price Rewind searches retailers’ sites for lower prices when you buy and register an eligible item with your Citi credit card. Save your credit card receipt each time you shop. If Citi finds your item at least $25 lower than what you paid within 30 calendar days, you can get the difference in price back, up to $250. The average refund is $80.
-Your Citi Simplicity card offers discounts on travel, shopping, restaurants and gift cards, too with Citi Easy Deals.
Another reason they’re awesome? They’re giving one lucky Fitnessista reader a 16GB Mini Tablet LOADED with financial apps to help you stay organized this fall. Enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win.
Here’s how to enter:
Sweepstakes
The Conquering Lateness Sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”) is open to legal US Residents, age 18 or older. Void where prohibited. Sweepstakes ends at 5pm (PST) on October 24, 2013. More details are available here. No purchase necessary.
Only two entries per participating blog per household; if the same or substantially similar comment (as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion) is posted twice, it may only count as one Entry. Eligible persons may enter this Promotion by taking any of the following actions, each of which counts as one entry:
1. Leave a comment in response to the Promotion prompt on this post (how you conquer lateness and stay organized)
2. Tweet (public message) about this Promotion, including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that Tweet in a comment on this post.
3. Blog about this Promotion (including a disclosure that you have received a sweepstakes entry in exchange for blogging about this Promotion), and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
4. To enter without commenting, follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt.
Be sure to visit the Citi brand page on BlogHer.com where you can learn more about conquering lateness!
Happy fall!
xoxo
Gina
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I use my iphone and I pack lunches the night before
I use good old post it notes. I could really use this!
I was always early before I had my daughter, now its a struggle to get out the door, prepping things the night before and getting up super early in the morning are the only things that I’ve found that help
I conquer lateness by always assuming traffic is going take forever. I am normally a little early. 🙂
I stay organized by using my reminders, calendar and notes apps only phone. I also always have post-its around to write things down on quick. I know if I don’t write it down I won’t remember later.
I try to add an extra five to ten minuets to my commute in the morning so I can make sure I get to work on time. I also long my phone calender! I use it on a daily basis to add in my schedule for the next week so I dont forget it I have a dinner with my BFF, or a a deadline or something like that.
I have lists for my lists. Haha. This helps keep my mind sane and helps me (and my family) conquer lateness. There’s a dry erase board in the kitchen that is kept up to day, I have a planner in my purse at all times and I will even set alarms on my phone. Bills are on automatic pay and to keep the family running smoothly we prepare meals ahead of time. I’m still getting the hang of this ‘wake before your child does’ .. I do find that the days I wake earlier than she does, I get more stuff done 🙂
I make to-do lists every day in my phone in the notes application. I write it down as soon as I think about it or else I’ll forget! I also use Google Calendar for all appointments!
Honest answer is that my wife keeps me on time.
I’m super uptight about being on time.When I was little my mom was late for everything so I guess that’s why I can’t stand being late.
I have a bill tracker app on my phone I use to keep track of everything. Also I prep my lunch the night before work so I don’t run around in a late panic each morning. But the days I’m exhausted are the days I’m most likely running late because it’s hard to find motivation for anything.
I lay out clothes the night before for myself, my toddler, and baby! It’s so helpful & I just always need to check the weather forecast.
I am notoriously late…for everything! Like you, I try to have as much accomplished the night before because I know how putsy I can be and get caught up in meaningless tasks!
I make lists so I don’t forget. I get distracted often so lists help me remember!
I use my iPhone calendar for everything. And I rely on my girlfriend to remember things like birthdays.
I make lists, pay bills online and write on the large calendar on our kitchen fridge. I finally got the kids to put their schedules on the calendar too!
I make lists everywhere and speadsheets for bills.
I conquer lateness by writing down my appointments in my planner and Outlook calendar for 15 minutes earlier than they actually are. I also do the same with my alarm by setting it for 15 minutes earlier than the time that I actually need to be up.
I’m a grad student and teach at 3 different places – so organization is key. I use a paper calendar/planner. it makes a HUGE difference. And, I set an alarm to remind me when I need to leave to get to school/work!
I have spreadsheets for everything!! Also, I keep my phone calendar updated with alerts and carry a paper planner with me (very old school)!
This is such a great giveaway, Gina! Thanks!!
(Also, just got the DVD yesterday! Eep! Can’t wait to try it out this weekend!)
I conquer lateness by setting alarms and alerts for EVERYTHING! otherwise, i’m destined to be late or forget my meeting/event altogether
I live by my school planner
during grad school, i learned that the key to conquering lateness was by staying very organized (and sometimes i tell myself that i need to leave about 10 mins. before i actually do to ensure that i’m out the door on time! )
Very new for us this year, as I now have two boys in elementary school.
The night before:
Boys go to bed by 7:30-8pm vs. 9-10pm (like last year & they were very hard to wake up)
School folders w/papers signed, in backpacks and ready.
Vitamins laid out for breakfast.
Dry snacks, napkins, germwipe and a little written joke in each lunchbox. Sandwich,fruit & juice added in morning.
Kitchen sink & dishes are clean.
Boys clothes are laid out, down to the shoes.
I wake up knowing that the morning “shouldn’t” be hectic, but organized.
Last year, I compared myself w/a military evac shouting at the kids to “hurry,hurry!” or that one scene in Overboard where Goldie Hawn is trying to get the kids off to school and wildly making lunches at the same time. lol
This year, it has really been more zen. Thank you God! :))
Thanks for a fun blog,
Mary Mitchell
I put everything in my google calendar and set multiple alarms so I (hopefully) will never oversleep.
I enter all activities/appointments in my outlook calendar and include reminders. So I always get a reminder on my phone to leave by a certain time. Works pretty well. 🙂
Getting ready the night before is key! Pack diaper bags/purses, get sippy cups and snacks ready, pick out everyone’s clothes (and I actually do lay them out for all 4 kiddos), locate shoes and sock (because those are always the things I can’t find as we’re walking out the door). Lol! Could you imagine doing all of that in the morning before the coffee has kicked in?! 🙂
I put EVERYTHING in my google calendar! And I’m a compulsive list maker. Great giveaway!
I usually get overwhelmed on the busiest weeks when I try to keep everything in my head! It’s impossible. So, written lists and apps like Evernote help me stay organized.
Phone calendar and alarms! We also have an old school wall calendar i write things in also!! Tablet would be amazing!!
I sync my husbands work and iphone calendar to mine, so it’s all in one place. We also have written planner to reference so nothing gets overlooked 🙂
Lots and lots of lists!
I write down everything in my planner. It’s a pain but it helps!
I conquer lateness by keeping a constant list!! It has helped so far as I’m usually always on time and prepared
I go old-school to keep myself organized: I use my planner and lots of to do lists. I like being able to see my entire month laid out in front of me.
I keep on time and organized many different ways. Sundays I meal prep for the week and get everything put in plastic containers so it is grab and go the night before to make my snacks/lunch for the next work day.
I plan my workouts on Sundays as well and the night before I add my workout clothes to my workout bag.
Which leads me to my next method of staying on time: I have a pre-made bag for things. Since I mainly workout on my lunch break at work, I have a workout bag that always has my essentials in it (ie sneakers, headphones, heart rate monitor, shower wash, etc). I just change the clothes out daily.
For sailing races once to twice a week, I have a sailing bag with my gear already in it so I just grab and go.
Last but not least, My husband and I sync our calendars on our phones so we always know what is going on and our bills are in an Excel spreadsheet with due dates for all the bills so there is never a late payment.
All this together makes us very organized and hardly ever late. With two boxers, sometimes you can’t help running a few minutes behind trying to round them up 🙂
We use the refrigerator magnetic board as well! It works great! Each Sunday we go over what is going on that week. My husband is in medical school rotations and has an insane schedule. I can keep my sanity if we somewhat lay out the week so I know what to expect.
i always have my meals and outfits planned ahead of time. for whatever reason, those are the two things that i’m most indecisive about!
I have to set all of my clocks fast-helps trick myself into leaving 5-10 min earlier than I would!
I lay out all of the things I need to get ready in the morning (tea mug and tea bags, clothes, etc) so I can grab and go!
I conquer lateness by always giving myself an extra 5 minutes. My iPhone helps a lot to with scheduling things and putting in my calendar. Always plan ahead!
https://twitter.com/LvngwithPurpose/status/383696724180488192
my little agenda planner book…couldn’t live without it!
It may sound crazy, but my computer has a “post-it” note program. I use it as my reminder list for everything!
I spend a few minutes every Sunday night looking over my calendar for the week and planning ahead so that nothing springs up on me!
I conquer lateness by setting my clocks ahead by a few minutes. Even though I know it’s not the exact time, seeing it on a clock causes me to remember to HUSTLE and get ready to get out the door.
A couple of ways.
• I have a huge planner that I keep in my purse so I can see days, weeks, months ahead.
• I pack my lunches the night before, so I can grab and go to work.
• I also pre-make my breakfast items to I can throw them in my purse and eat them while at my desk.
I’m still late, but I’m getting better about being not as late. Small steps.
This is something I definitely struggle with! I make daily to-do lists so that I can break everything down to easy, manageable tasks.
I try to get things ready the night before
My husband and I share calendars electronically so whenever he adds something I know about it. I also tend to assume it will take me much longer to get somewhere because of traffic so I am habitually early. It keeps my stress down because I’m not sitting in traffic staring at my clock. I also forced myself to get up earlier than I think I need to so I can have a relaxed morning and not be rushing around my house trying to get out the door.