Sometimes everything can be carefully choreographed, planned to the letter and still go to pot. Sometimes things can be totally chaotic yet you get where you need to be with time to spare. Such is life and acceptance of this mind boggling fact is key.
Getting things ready the night before to save time is a seemingly harmless aspiration and man will you feel smug if you manage it, but it’s only possible if you are not totally knackered by the end of the day. So if you’re too tired, let it go.
Avoid rushing and beware of overcommitting. One of my closest parenting friends and I are constantly questioning why we are always so tired. Then we take a look at our schedules. Sometimes two or three playdates in one day, three days on the trot, rushing from a-b-c with no downtime in between. So enough. I adopted the ‘only one thing per day’ rule recently and regular downtime happens daily. Plus, when I do say yes to another thing in the day, I get the added joy of spontaneity, hoorah.
Another upside of consuming too many hot drinks? For some reason, my kettle can take up to five minutes to boil (is this normal?!); using these slots to be ‘productive,’ has made me see how much can get done in only five minutes
When I am totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount I have to do in short spaces of time, writing down the absolute bare minimum I need to do to make sure we all survive the day is hugely beneficial. Then anything I do get done is a bonus.
One of the reasons time does this to us when we become parents, is because we are parenting in a society full of pressures to live this way. So, if all else fails, rebel against society by slowing right down and carving parenting for yourself.
Writings by me 
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