On Time

Another surprising mini-goal has been to get to work on time. "How are these things related?", you ask? Well, I found that packing my lunch, my breakfast, my snack, and my gym clothes was causing me to need a lot more rounding in my schedule. Like, the time reads 8:02, that's close enough to 8 in horseshoes and hand grenades, right? Well...then it started reading 8:06, and sometimes 8:12. It is not as though I have a boss who is breathing down my neck about it (heck, I do just as much rounding when leaving work or going to lunch). But, being late does cause added stress, and makes me forget to tend to my other important morning duties like feeding the cat or putting on nice earrings. (Do not worry - my cat could stand to lose a little belly fat herself, and when human #1 leaves without feeding her, she proceeds to bug human #2.) I found I was often leaving things behind in my rush to get my behind out the door, like the gym bag I had just packed, or the breakfast I had just made.
I try to allow for flexibility, but one reason this diet works for me is because I plan ahead, when I am thinking with my brain and not my tummy. When I forget a meal, I am forced to be hungry. And when I am hungry, the candy dish is enticing, the snack machine calls my name, and I am a sucker for the burrito place across the street. Likewise, when I forget a gym bag, I am not likely to make it to the gym. Go home first? And then leave? This plan of attack is effective only in theory, and has never been successful in lab trials, let alone real life.
So, every Sunday I make a list based on my spreadsheet which includes all my meals for the week. The list is on the fridge so I know what to pack each day. I also pack my gym bag for the next time as soon as I get back from the gym. I have a friend who packs her bag for the whole week, but alas, my gym bag (a free give away from an Orioles game) is not large enough to accommodate this.
This goal was a difficult one for me to meet. I have this weird "lateness" gene, inherited from my parents who made me wait for rides for hours at a time as a child. Even when it looks as though I will be on time, I find something to distract me enough so that I will not be on time. It is a gift. I did find that having a little foresight helped a great deal with my ability to remember my gym bag and my lunch...and most days, my brain.