DITL: Lessons Learned
This week Sarah and Coco have been doing a full seven days of Day in the Life posts! In addition to being so much fun to read, I’ve noticed some common themes in their lives that make things run smoothly. They both have young kids, busy jobs, and run long distances. How do they make it all work? Let’s examine this closely. The first thing that stood out to me is the lack of histrionics around dinner. There’s no “WHAT am I making for dinner! I don’t want to cook! Why do I have to do this every night???” No- the transition from work/after school activities to dinner is painless. Why? BECAUSE DINNER WAS MADE AHEAD OF TIME. Sarah’s nanny prepares several dinners at the beginning of the week, and she just heats them up. Coco also has a helper to prep the dinners. Now, we don’t have a nanny, but that’s not the point- the point is, a person prepares the dinners in advance. I could be that person! There’s no reason why I can’t prepare food on Sunday- even if I just made two dinners, it would help tremendously. This week is already a fiasco- on two of the nights I’m not sure where or how we’re going to eat, much less what (takeout in the car? Probably.) But I’m inspired to do some food prep on Sunday, so I can join the “painless dinner” club. The other thing these ladies have in common is their early wakeups (it starts with a “4”!) They both get up and have time to themselves to journal, meditate, plan the day, and then run before the kids get up. I wish I had embraced this concept when my kids were young. I did it the opposite way- had my “me time” after they went to bed. The problem is, it’s hard to have quality time at the end of the day when you’re exhausted. Instead of journaling and meditating, it’s tempting to watch TV and eat potato chips. My mother-in-law used to say, “Nothing good happens late at night.” Nowadays I get up at 5:30, the same time as my daughter (high school starts EARLY.) I do get a lot done before work, but I’m wondering if I could be even more productive by getting up earlier. I’ve heard that being an early bird or a night owl is a hardwired trait- you can try, but never really overcome your natural tendency. That might explain why I can’t quite seem to pull off the early bird routine- I WANT to get up early, but can never get myself to sleep early enough to make it truly work. But I’m willing to try to prove that wrong! I may play around with my schedule and see what I can do. If you haven’t checked them out, visit The Shu Box and Our New Journey to read all about their lives- they may inspire you as well. Do you think you’re an early bird or a night owl? Do you think it’s possible to change? Do you prep dinners ahead of time? Top photo by David Mao on Unsplash