The Last Minute Mum Strategy!
15 December 2014
It’s occurred to me that I have a habit which is, in fact, quite a successful strategy for time-poor mums.
Last week, as I went about teaching my classes there was quite a lot of Christmas talk, not surprisingly, and along the way I got asked a number of times if – quote – “I was all set for Christmas”?
Each time I confessed that I had quite literally done absolutely nothing to prepare myself. Not only that but I was working right up to the last minute and so my only prospect of a window of opportunity to “get set for Christmas” was on Saturday the 13th between 2pm and 6.30pm, to be absolutely precise (kids’ activities in the morning and meal out in the evening).
Not much time to sort Christmas out for 3 kids as well as relatives in both the UK and abroad…
Having successfully negotiated all the Saturday morning activities – despite a false (Ok, late) start because I forgot to set my alarm – I headed off with grim determination and total focus to central Leicester accompanied by my oldest son.
I needed a bit of moral support to brave the heaving masses and anyway, I think that at the tender age of 15 he can cope with the notion that mum is the filler of Christmas stockings.
At breakneck speed we wove our way through the shuffling hoards aiming - with military precision – for the shops that I needed: no dawdling, no window shopping, no sauntering, no idle riffling through garments…
… this was all about getting maximum Christmas-shopping results in minimum time!
It work.
Shopping done by 5pm.
Adam and I retreated to St Martin’s Café and sank into their deliciously squashy sofas in time to sip one of their opulent cappuccinos (yes, I LOVE their home roasted coffee).
I felt rather pleased with myself.
And as I thought about it later on that day, I realised that I had just applied one of my favourite work strategies to the domestic sphere and how very beautifully it had worked!
Let me give you an example: as you know, I write regular articles for magazines and this is what I do:
I leave the article until the day of the deadline and if it’s a short one – say the length of this blog – then I wait until 1 hour before I have to stop work and go and collect the children.
So I have precisely 1 hour to complete the article. No negotiation because I really do HAVE to collect the kids!
It doesn’t half focus the mind.
When you’re a busy mum this really is a great strategy and it works on so many fronts: work, Christmas shopping, organising kids’ birthday parties, and preparing a meal for guests (I managed to shop for, and cook, a three course meal in 1 hour and 50 minutes the other day!).
So next time you have some kind of a deadline be brave and give this approach a go. You’ll save so much time because as we all know, work expands to fill the time we have!