Bumper Pads for Adults

Today's practical tip is nothing new, if you've read or heard other time management material. Sometimes referred to as adding a cushion or margin to your day, let's think of it today's tip as "bumper pads."

When someone welcomes a new baby to the home, they often set up a lovely nursery. One of the components is a crib that is lined with soft, pillow like material called bumper pads. This is meant to protect the baby from getting caught in the rails of the crib, and provide a soft barrier from the hardness of the wood.

We need bumper pads in our lives, too. To manage time well and stay organized, you need to strategically place bumper pads in your day, that will absorb the inevitable interruptions and distractions that can hit the day hard. Here are some practical ways you can add bumper pads to your day:

Add at least 10 minutes to any drive time/commuting you expect to do (more, depending on where you live.) This will help with traffic jams, detours, etc. If you live 30 minutes away from most places you need to go, plan for a 40 minute drive.

• Cut your to-do list by at least 25% after you write it out for the day. Put the lesser-priority  list in a different spot that you can go to if you happen to have an extremely productive day and want to do more. 
• Overestimate how long a task will take. If it usually takes you 15 minutes to fold laundry, allow for 20 to 30.
• Expect, and plan for, interruptions. I'll write more about techniques for this at another time, but watch for "pattern interruptions" such as visits, phone calls, coworker chats, and the like that tend to happen frequently, and determine a plan to avoid them from throwing your entire day off track.

Speaking of patterns, do you see one here? It comes down to "expect less." We expect way too much of ourselves in terms of what we can get done in a day. It is not healthy to continue to have such demands on our minds and souls. Prayerfully consider what are realistic expectations for the day, keeping your relationship with God as highest priority. He will guide you if you ask for wisdom. (James 1:5)

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