Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Errands/Appointments

Depending on what kind of To Do Lister you may be, this one can be on the list several times a week, once a week, or even tied in with Grocery Shopping. For me, it varies. There are weeks when I have errands to run every day and there are weeks when I pick one day for my errand day.

Errands/Appointments


There are so many different kinds of errands, they will vary by person. Errands are a part of my non-writer job, that's what I do-things for other people. Sometimes I take other peoples kids to school or pick them up. I do all of the shopping for my mom-even gifts for people. Hell, sometimes even gifts for me (of course, I don't know that at the time). Shopping in general can be a common errand for people. Some have dry cleaning or getting their oil changed. I don't know what else, but you have them. Even appointments: salon, Doctor, Dentist, taking your pets to the vet. They're all errands that need to get done. We may not like it. But I have some tips...

If you need to make a Doctor appointment, think about your schedule. Is there a time when you will already be out of the house? I find it best to have an appointment around then. If I'm already out, it's easier to add another thing to do, rather than being at home and having to get out to go somewhere I don't want to.( This applies to all appointments.)

When you have shopping to get done (other than grocery) it's easier if you decide where you want to go and try to pick places that are close together. That way, you go from one place to the other. You will use up less time, gas and whatever else. You may also want to think like the appointments and try to get your shopping done at a time when you're already leaving the house for something else.

If you have to get something done on your car that is a same-day kind of thing, that only takes a few hours. This is another good time to knock a few things off the list. You can pick a place that's close to something else you need to get done. You know, kill two birds with one stone.

These may seem like obvious tips, but my sister never does them. She procrastinates on making appointments because she doesn't feel like getting out. When she does finally make an appointment, it's in the middle of the day. So, of course, she winds up irritated that she has to get out in the middle of whatever she was doing. When she has errands, she's all over the place. Going from one side of town to the other. I remember one time we were shopping together and she drove to a Target on 21st St. Then she decided we should go to Best Buy, which was at 71st St. Guess what's right across from that Best Buy (in the same shopping center)? Yep, Target. It was pointless and a waste of driving time and gas. She does that all the time.

So, plan out your errands/appointments and it will be much easier to get them done.

Happy, um, Erranding/Appointmenting?  :)

1 comment:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I plan my errands carefully and line up every stop at a convenient time.