Summer-ends-school-begins Sanity Tips, Part 1

Summer-ends-school-begins. It’s time for the 2018 marathon. Ready or not, it’s time to move. Let’s lace up your shoes!

I started doing something different for the summer-ends-school-begins event. In this series, I’ll show you how to make this transition better. Picture the next few weeks as a marathon instead of a sprint. Depending on where you live, you may not be quite in the midst of back to school shopping and preparation as we are right now in the Atlanta area. But hang on, your time is quickly approaching.

This time of year brings extra madness to our routine because my daughter Jessa’s birthday is this month. When I was given the choice of the date to be induced for her birth, I had no idea I was choosing a date in the middle of the summer-ends-school-begins craze.

Each year, I tweak our routine and instead of thinking of it as a sprint, I now picture a marathon. When you run a marathon, you must pace yourself and get prepared for the 26.2 miles ahead of you. Rush out from the start and you’ll end up on the side of the road somewhere. But, when you pace yourself, you are reserving energy to finish–and in some cases finish strong.

Keep that analogy in mind as you consider the first tip to keep your sanity:

Tip #1: Shift your expectations. Yes, school will start on August 1st for us. But, I don’t have to get EVERYTHING done by then. I’ve prioritized what I need for 8/1, the other must-have’s or must do’s will be spread out over the next few weeks.

Have I sold you on this alternative method yet? I hope so. Check in next week for Tip #2 if you’re ready to finish strong in the 2018 summer-ends-school-begins marathon.