I don’t have many stories about my paternal grandmother, but one of them made a big impression on my mother.  When she was newly married she spent the day with her mother in-law.  After my grandfather left for work, grandma jumped into dinner preparation.

 That’s right. Dinner. 

She set the table, arranged the centerpiece, and began dusting. She finished everything the way it needed to be when the day was over and her husband would return.  She sprayed a bit of Pledge into the air with a flourish for good measure. Then she was free to do any fun things the day presented her with. 

As a very young woman who had not yet run a home, my mother suspected this was “cheating” in some way.  For that reason perhaps, I viewed this routine with some skepticism myself at first. Now, with many late dinners and messy evenings under my belt I look upon my grandmother’s morning chores with new appreciation. 

My house is still full all day, so I can’t always set my table first thing. This happens after lunch when we can.  I can still use that inspiration to start with the end in mind, always.  Later today  I am taking some older folks to a meeting.  After breakfast, I laid out my clothes and printed directions to each of the addresses. (I have no sense of direction and tend to get turned around last minute) A call to the venue confirmed the meeting room name and directions to it. We will clean out the van, pack the meeting items, and have some time to do other things before we go.  

I was not born organized. I’m still not there. At 51 there is no pretending things are going to fall into place without glitches.  Looking ahead to minimize those is a huge stress reducer. 

What does the end of your day look like?  What can you do early on to make sure it’s stress free?  Can you:

Defrost something

Set out materials or pajamas or bedtime books

Check the car for gas

Confirm directions or reservations 

If it’s the morning that starts off with a flurry of activity then all this can happen the night before.