Disruptions to Routines: Medium – Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog series I talked about those small but annoying disruptions to our daily routines.  If you missed it you can read it here.

Now I’m going to talk about those medium disruptions that have a tendency to throw off your routines for a least a day or more. Although they are usually temporary you’ll probably have to adjust your routines until the disruption is over.

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 Medium Disruptions:

1. A minor illness of a family member or yourself.
A bad cold, stomach virus, migraine headache, or other short term illness.

2. Bad weather like snow or ice.
These can result in an unplanned day or two at home for you and your children. School, work, and home routines will be out of whack during this time.

3. A scheduled day off school or work for a holiday.
These can also throw the regular routines out of whack but at least you can plan for them.

4. A major appliance or electronic equipment breaks down.
If the furnace quits working in the middle of winter you’ll need to get it repaired ASAP. If it can’t be repaired you’ll have to make a quick decision on a new one.  The same for a refrigerator, or air conditioner (in summer). If a TV goes out it’s not an emergency but if your computer goes out and it’s needed for work or school it needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

 

These are just a few disruptions that may set you back a day or two. The biggest key to handling medium disruptions is to not let your perfectionism stress you out.  It will be a matter of prioritizing what should be caught up on first.  Paying the bills on time is more important than dusting and vacuuming the house.

 

Here are a few specifics to help you be prepared by planning ahead. This can reduce the stress and minimize the amount of disruption the event causes.

Plan Ahead

1. Everyone gets sick at one time or another.
Make sure you always have on hand basic OTC medicines that are not expired.  Keep all doctor’s and pharmacy phone numbers up to date in an easy place to find.  If you are sick ask for help with some of the basic routines.  Don’t expect perfectionism. Be grateful for any help you get.

2. Plan for bad weather days and/or that scheduled one day off.
Have a list of activities to keep your children busy:

  • Craft activities
  • Board or card games
  • Household projects such as going through old school papers.

This article can help you with that. Decluttering Children’s School Papers  

3. If you have a day off and don’t have children.
Take advantage of the time to catch up on projects around the house or just do something you enjoy.  You deserve it.

4. Be prepared ahead of time for appliances and electronics to break down.
Many times they can go out without notice.  The best thing to do is have a backup plan in place.  Keep a list of phone numbers to call for repairs.  If your appliances or electronic equipment is getting old start shopping around for possible new ones. Research online and keep a folder on the computer with links and articles to help you when the time comes to replace the item, especially if it needs to be done ASAP.  Be sure to save info about new computers on another computer/smart phone or print and put the info in a file folder.  That way you can access it if the computer crashes unexpectedly.

 

By acknowledging and accepting that these kinds of things will happen you can be prepared ahead of time to minimize the disruption.  Just don’t get obsessed with the planning. Life will get back to normal within a short period of time.

“If you don’t start out the day with a smile, it’s not too late to start practicing for tomorrow.”      ~Author Unknown

 

Part 3 of this blog series talks about large disruptions, good and bad, which will require some changes in our routines. Some are longer term but still temporary.  Others will require a “new normal”.

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To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

Disruptions to Routines: Small – Part 1

Disruptions to Routines: Large – Part 3