Episode 15: Planning for the Unexpected: Productivity Strategies for Working Moms
ITUNES | SPOTIFY
Is it possible to plan for the unexpected? When kids have to stay home sick or a work emergency pops up and you have to throw your plan out the window, what is even the point? Why create a plan if circumstances mean you can't follow it? In this episode, I want to challenge you to see the value of your plan even when nothing goes according to plan. It gives you the information you need to be able to find a solution to whatever has popped up. It helps you see what is actually important and what is not.
And while it may not be possible to see into the future and plan for the unexpected, there are strategies you can use to make things easier when the unexpected pops up. I'm sharing three of my favorites and several personal examples of what planning for the unexpected looks like in my life as a working mom of three young kids.
If you want to learn how to create a plan that will support you even when things change, join me for my holiday planning workshop for busy, working moms. Stress Less This Holiday is happening on November 7th and you can get your ticket at themothernurture.com/holidays.
In this episode, you’ll learn…
00:57 The Frustration of planning when you have kids
02:28 My personal story of nothing going according to plan
04:24 My experiment with NOT planning
05:30 The purpose of having a plan even when you don't follow it
10:03 Strategies to help you plan for the unexpected
14:03 Shift the way you think of a plan
links & resources mentioned in this episode:
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You are listening to the Life Coach for Working Moms podcast, the show where we are talking about what it actually takes to make life work as a working mom. I'm your host, Katelyn Denning, a full time working mom of three and a certified life and executive coach. I'm so glad you're here and I hope you enjoy this week's episode
Hey, welcome back to another episode of the podcast. Today we're talking about planning for the unexpected. This is a question I get all the time and I'm smiling to myself because right now as I'm recording this, I am waiting any moment to be interrupted. We're waiting on someone to come and take a look at our fireplace and hopefully do some repairs. But talk about a little bit of a challenge to plan when they give you those four hour windows or three hour windows and you just have to be home and available.
But Like, do you schedule something during that time? What if they ring your doorbell or call you and say they're on their way and you're in the middle of something? So couldn't be more perfect for the topic today. And of course, if anything, if I do get an interruption, I'll just edit it out and you will never know other than I told you right now.
So,
where to begin with planning for the unexpected? Well, I think one of the things that I hear most often that accompanies this question, how do I plan for the unexpected, is actually what comes next. And it's the question of what's the point of planning? What's the point of planning when everything always changes, especially when you have kids?
Things are always changing. There is no such thing as a normal week. Yeah. When you take the time to plan and then something unexpected comes up and you have to drop the plan, you have to change the plan, it can be so frustrating. You have this vision in your head of how things would go. of how your day would look.
You maybe got your hopes up. You had this big list or these really important meetings or meaningful conversations that you were going to have, or maybe you had an appointment, something for yourself. And then it all falls apart when you get that call from daycare or school that someone is sick or This email comes across your inbox and suddenly you have to drop everything to handle the fire at work.
There's so many examples of how the unexpected shows up, but why even plan when you're going to feel that way? When you're going to get your hopes up and then have it all fall apart? That disappointment? Why would you want to feel that? Why plan? Last winter, I had to revisit this question for myself. I had to really ask myself, why?
Why do I plan? Now, maybe I shouldn't have done this, but I started keeping track of all of the days where someone was sick. We have three kids in our family, and maybe you can relate to this, but it feels like no one ever gets sick all at the same time. Instead, what we like to do is pass the baton so that we can drag it out for as long as possible, which maybe on the one hand is nice because I'm not caring for multiple sick children all at the same time, but what it does is it, it means you go for these long stretches of time where there is no normal week.
Someone is always home. So I started tracking on the calendar just to see, I, I wanted to see, and it was really sobering. It was really sobering. I don't think I worked a full five day work week for maybe a couple of months. You know that season where it's just every single virus, they bring it all home and, and my husband would be sick and then I would be sick and then it would start all over again with some other variation of it.
Yet each Sunday I would create my list and my plan for the week. Now listen to episode six. If you want to hear more about how I do plan, it's called seize the day, but I would plan my week only to have to scrap it at some point and rework everything. Having a sick kid home with me or. Even if I got some support from grandparents or my husband was able to stay home, or he wasn't traveling, it became the new normal.
I did try it. I tried not planning my week. I would just sit down. On the days when I was able to work and work on the things that I do every week, writing my weekly email, which, if you don't get those, you should absolutely sign up for those, posting on Instagram, showing up for my clients, writing client notes, doing research.
I would just sit down and do those things. And then when I heard the cough in the middle of the night, and I knew somebody was going to be staying home, there was nothing for me to rework. I was just working without a plan. But I have to say, after trying it that way, I felt a bit lost. Maybe it was because I wasn't doing what I was used to.
That could certainly have been it. But I found myself wondering, like, am I making progress? Are there any upcoming deadlines that maybe I'm not thinking about or I'm forgetting? What are my priorities right now? What are my goals? What am I working toward? What I realized, or was reminded of through that experiment, a plan, even if you have to change it, gives you a starting place.
It gives you information. This week, this is what has to get done. And this is what I want to get done. This information then helps you make faster decisions about what to change, what to let go of when you now have to stay home with a sick kid, or change your plans because you forgot about that school event that's happening tonight.
Shoot, how did we not get that on the calendar? Having a plan is, is kind of like, have you ever had to create a seating chart? In another life, I was an event planner. I would plan donor events, major fundraising events. And whenever there was a seating chart involved, you know, everyone's very particular about who sits where and how to mix, all of the guests up for great conversation at tables.
I would sit down with my piece of paper that had circles on it. Those circles represented the round tabletops, and then I would have post it notes. With all of the guests names on a post it and I would sit down and I would start arranging those post it notes Around those circles of eight or ten. I have all the information I need and now it's just a matter of where do they go?
or actually in this season right now as I'm changing over clothes for my kids from warm weather clothes to cold weather clothes. I wonder if any of you are doing that shuffle as well. It's like looking at all of the clothes that I want to fit into their dresser or armoire drawers and prioritizing the items that I know they'll need.
And then there are the extras. And if All of it doesn't fit. I pull the extras. I put them in storage or I pass them on to a friend, but I know that what is in there are the essentials. The pants, the shirts, the, the tights, whatever else. If you had your day planned out with meetings and projects that you were going to make progress on and to do's, but now you have to go get someone from daycare or your nanny called in sick this morning.
Now you have decisions to make. You can look at the plan, the plan that you thought was going to happen for your day and start to ask questions. Can I reschedule these meetings? Yes. Okay. Go do that. No. All right. What can I do instead? Is there a meeting that you absolutely have to be present for? Or can you get someone else to attend in your place and take notes?
Can you join virtually if it's not already a virtual meeting? Or do you know that for that hour you really need some support? Is there, A sitter or a colleague or friend or your partner, how can you trade off during that time, but now you have the information of exactly what time you need the coverage for.
Do you need to let someone know that you're not going to be able to meet the deadline or get them that report or presentation today, it's going to be later in the week. You can be proactive in letting other people know that there's been a change.
With a plan in place, you have all of that information, you can start taking action to solve for the fact that you're not going to be able to work the way you thought you were going to. Even thinking about the holidays coming up. All of the events and activities and things that need to happen, having a plan that includes your to dos and where you need to be, the things that are important to you, that will help you when things don't go according to plan.
You'll know what's important and what's just a nice to do, and you can adjust and shift into problem solving mode with that information in hand. Having a plan is like having your eyes wide open.
There will be disappointment either way. This day isn't what you expected. This is not how you thought it was going to go,
but the plan is actually there to help you pick up the pieces and to make it easier for you to be able to find a solution.
I'd like to take a quick break and remind you that my holiday planning workshop for busy working moms is coming up on November 7th. You'll plan your entire holiday season in 90 minutes, so there's no last minute scrambling and you can just relax, enjoy, and be present. We're talking all the lists for gifts, events, things you need to research and decide, and more.
And then mapping it all out on the calendar. So you can be sure it fits and aligns with what you want for the season. There's a lot that's packed into the final months of the year, but it doesn't have to be exhausting and overwhelming. Get your ticket today at the mother nurture. com forward slash holidays and join us for the workshop.
Now there are some things you can do to plan for the unexpected, and I'm going to put plan for the unexpected in quotes because We both know that's not really possible, but things that you can do to maybe make it easier for your future self who's going to have to figure this out.
She's going to have to take the new information, alright, somebody has to be home, or I forgot about this thing, or we have this last minute change that now has to happen. I keep picturing, I think I've talked on here before about our recent, we had to purchase a new car, talk about unexpected if you are someone that lives in a city where you rely on a vehicle to get you places.
Maybe you're not, you know, public transit or walking isn't an option. I mean, walking out to turn on your car and it not turning on, that is the ultimate unexpected as well. And I've been there myself way too many times over the last few months. So your future self is going to have to figure this out.
So first think of her, what can you do today to make her job easier? Now, there may not be any way for you to anticipate your car not turning on, and we're going to have to trust her to be capable and figure it out and have a mechanic on speed dial, but for the other things, can you think ahead, work ahead and help your future self out, get started on that project a little bit earlier than you think you need to.
Research some backup childcare options that you could call and at least try on a day where you need that extra support. Prep dinner. Get that started. Chop at least some of the vegetables or put all of the ingredients that you need together in a space in your fridge. You like your future self. You want the best for her.
And so today, or now, while your schedule is going according to plan, do something for her. The next thing you can do to plan for the unexpected is to add in some buffer time. I like to add in, most days, at least 30 minutes of what I call buffer time. This is time that can be moved around. It can absorb an interruption that I wasn't planning on.
It can absorb a task that takes longer than I thought it was going to take. It can absorb a last minute request that I do want to honor, but I wasn't planning for my day. And it also helps if something bigger, like a sick kid, comes up. It's space for me to shift things around and into if I need it. I literally write buffer on my calendar and I plop it somewhere random in between tasks, projects, or calls.
Again, so I can shift it around and move it as needed. Another thing you can do to plan for the unexpected is to create your plan. Maybe you don't want to go all out into something detailed, but have at least a sketch of your day or your week. Know what you absolutely have to do this week.
Know what's happening, what you're going to have for dinner. Know who needs to be where and when. This information will help you so much in the event of something unexpected happening. So think of your future self. Add in some buffer time and have a plan. Your plan doesn't make the unexpected any worse.
The wrench in your plans is happening whether you know it or not. That's the thing about the unexpected. It was always going to be there. We just didn't know it when we created our plan. It's going to happen. That's life. And that's especially true of life with kids. Shift the way you think of a plan and think of it as a tool that helps you when the unexpected happens.
It helps you when the unexpected doesn't happen, too. There's a reason that I really recommend planning or at least having that sketch of your days and your week, but see it as a tool that helps. It's not pointless. It's not worthless, even when you don't end up following it.
It actually makes changing and adapting and adjusting to the unexpected so much easier.
If you want to learn how to make a plan that will support you when things change, come join me for my holiday planning workshop for working moms. Stress Less this holiday is happening on November 7th. You can get your ticket today at themothernurture. com forward slash holidays. I hope to see you there. All right, take care, go plan for the unexpected, and I will talk to you in the next episode.
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