Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The Never Ready Wife

When we were first married and moved in together Derek and I would have plans to go out to dinner, meet up with friends, go to an event, etc.  and I would hardly ever be ready on time.  Always by accident - I would have every intention to be ready on time and then something would set me behind and I wouldn't be.  It bothered him SO much and honestly it bothered me too.  I like being on time, I like when others are on time.  It needed to be fixed.


I started working on it and slowly got better and better about it (let's face it we all have our days - I'm not ready on time ALL the time, but I've gotten much better).  I know plenty of girls have this problem so I figured today I'd share some things for me that work and ask what works for all of you! 


My newest favorite and motto - Get ready first, relax second.

In the past I would save getting ready until the last minute - especially if I was tired, had a long day, etc.  I'd always find myself in a time crunch.  Once we hit the problem when Derek said "can you please just be on time once" I changed around my thinking.  Instead of cramming in all I needed to get done before heading out, etc. I now do my getting ready first and then with any extra time I catch up on DVR and do any work or house chores I need to get done with whatever time is left.  Game changer.  I also do this in the mornings now before work.  Again - game changer.

Tell yourself to be ready 10-20 minutes before you should be.

I used to allow maybe say 5 extra minutes.  Now I always give myself somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes depending on where I'm headed and if I need to be there at a set time or not.  It's a win, win - If I'm running behind, then we'll leave right on time.  If I'm running ahead of time and don't need the extra minutes then we can get to our destination with a few minutes to spare or have a couple minutes to sit and relax before heading out.  I say "I" and not "we" because seriously - when are boys ever late??? No matter what, Derek can get himself ready before me even if I start way ahead of time.  Anyone else??? 

Keep off the phone.

While waiting for my hair to dry or a curling iron to heat up, I'd play on my phone and end up sitting on the edge of the bathtub way past when I should have been.  Now I just do my best to completely ignore my phone, get ready and then catchup on whatever I'm wanting to - if there's time :)

If time allows, do hair (sometimes makeup too) before.

It's rare that I'm washing my hair and getting ready to go out at the same time - sometimes I do but I like to let my hair air dry (especially in the summer) so I try to get that out of the way earlier or even the day before (I don't wash my hair everyday).  Depending on what's going on sometimes I like to just curl or straighten my hair ahead of time so then I just have to slip on my outfit at the last minute and be good to go.  Sometimes with makeup too but sometimes that's best saved for last.

Layout a backup outfit.
I can have a favorite outfit laid out for days if I'm headed somewhere special or just run in my closet and pick something that goes together last minute if it's somewhere more casual that's the destination.  If there is a dinner or party or event that I need to be at then most likely I'll lay out two outfits - one that I'm aiming to wear and one as a backup just in case I end up not liking how the first one looks.  Nothing worse than leaving your closet with a pile of outfit choices on the floor that just didn't work and need to be cleaned up later on.

Have your accessories ready.

Another flaw - I'd always be cramming items into my purse as I was supposed to be running out the door.  Something that now works well is packing up anything I need ahead of time, laying out shoes and picking any jewlwery pieces so I'm not running around flustered and looking for accessories and can walk out the door calmly.


You tell me…
What are you getting ready tips??




31 comments:

  1. Great tips for being on time! :)

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  2. Great tips! I'm always good with time on the weekdays but weekend plans always throw me off--I always have a hard time judging time. Haha

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  3. I'm hiding this from my husband.... Usually it is the phone that gets me!

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  4. I hate being late as well, but for us it's usually my hubby who's running late. I'll have to share these tips with him;)

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  5. Great tips girl! I hate being late so I always get ready WAY earlier than I need to and then end up sitting around haha! And sometimes that makes me rush because I'll play on my phone while waiting to leave then I'm like "Oh crap, we need to go!" Such an endless cycle!

    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  6. These are definitely handy tips. I'm not great at time management, I have to say... So I am taking notes! I personally have a suspicion that there is a time warp hidden somewhere in my house. I swear, time just vanishes!
    P.S. I love your bathroom! So pretty!

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  7. I think having a back up outfit is key - it never fails for me to not like my first choice! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  8. These are great tips! I definitely need to adapt your get ready first, then relax mentality.

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  9. I used to be able to get ready so quickly now I find myself doing all the things you say not to do! I need to get back to getting ready how I used to!

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  10. Oh my gosh I'm so guilty of this. Sometimes I literally have no idea what to wear. Thank you for sharing your tips, I'll remember them so that Chris doesn't get frustrated haha. :-)

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  11. during the week when I was working in an office I always had my outfits planned for the week that was a big help. Now I at least make sure to have my lunch for the next day ready - I hate having to worry about food in the morning because I know if I leave it to the last minute I will just throw things into a bag and it wouldn't be good!

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  12. Great tips! I always get in trouble at the very end when I realize I need to switch purses to something dressier. I don't really have any tricks, I just try and start getting ready waaaay ahead of time so I can be slow. For some reason I'm super quick in the morning before work, but in the evening? I like to take my time.

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  13. Love those ideas! I definitely need to do the backup outfit...if what I have doesn't work I get flustered and put myself behind. And then I end up with a pile of clothes to clean up which is never fun!

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  14. These are perfect!! I am always running late too and Jake can get ready it what seems like 0.2 seconds. I may seem like I am taking a while, but I'm not ready one minute and then ready the next. I give myself a minimum of 45 minutes if I am taking a shower. Long hair takes FOREVER to dry!! I try to stay off my phone too!

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  15. These are great tips. I should share them with my husband. He always procrastinates with getting ready and then I wait around for him. It's so wrong.

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  16. Amen, friend. I always get on my phone for "just a minute" to see I've wasted ten minutes! Which has me frantically getting ready!

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  17. There are such helpful tips. I'm trying to get better at not looking at my phone as I get ready, total distraction. I totally need to start planning a backup outfit, that is so smart! I waste more trying to figure out what to wear some days. It's bad.

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  18. Great tips, I always end up lollygagging in the bathroom while waiting for something to either dry (hair or clothes) while fixing my hair so I end up being in there for 15 minutes instead of the 5 I've allotted myself. Definitely a great idea on the second outfit, I rarely ever need one but when I do, I never know what the heck to wear.

    liz @ sundays with sophie

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  19. Great tips! Especially love the backup outfit idea, as sometimes I'll have an outfit in mind and then I don't like the way I look/feel in it that day and it's back to square one :-P

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  20. #1 rule is totally to leave yourself more time than you think you'll need. It never fails that a button pops off, you used too much hair product or your eyeliner breaks on your face (all 3 this past weekend for me hah). Great tips!

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  21. Great tips girl! I am usually chronically early but when those times come that I know I'll be running late I leave off the things I know I can do in the car, (when Chris is driving or right before I walk into where ever) jewelry, perfume, mascara, shoes, extra bobby pins, teasing. I mean that's like 20 minute right there! ;)

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  22. I'm late all the time, too, and so I have to really limit my phone time when I'm in between getting ready...like while I wait for my straightener to heat up. I'm getting a little better haha

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  23. I feel like I need to always have a couple of outfit ideas... otherwise I freak out and throw up my hands because I'm unhappy with how it looks or comes together!

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  24. These are great tips. I especially like the tell yourself to get ready 10-20 minutes ahead of time. And I hate when I've had an outfit picked in my head for a long time, and it doesn't work out. Having a second outfit picked out would definitely help. Also, how cute are you getting ready in these pictures!

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  25. Before work I definitely do my getting ready first and relaxing after. I love that I know I'm done and all I have to do before leaving is...whatever I want! I could be better on weekends, but a lot of the time we don't have a set time to leave and Michael then asks, "How long is it going to take you to get ready?" I always say I don't know and he makes me give him a time estimate...drives me nuts!

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  26. This post is totally my jam. I too have been trying extra hard to be on time lately, especially when I'm going somewhere with my husband. Why are men never late? I often have to run to the car (while he's already in it) barefoot with shoes in hand because I don't want to keep him waiting any longer!

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  27. Yes and yes to getting ready before relaxing and always be ready 10-15 minutes early. In fact, my sister is notorious for being late and I always lie and tell her a time to be ready by half an hour before we actually need to leave ;-) I think a lot of it is convincing yourself that earlier time IS your deadline, it helps so much!

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  28. i have a playlist, and it helps me gauge how much time i have left to get ready. like oh crap, this song is on, that means like 10 min left!

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  29. These are some great tips! I am always the last person to get ready. If I am wearing rollers in my hair, I will put the rollers in my hair first and then do my makeup. It lets the rollers get enough time in my hair, and gets my hair off my face while putting my makeup on!

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  30. I can totally relate and have recently started doing many of your tips and tricks! Keeping my phone away, picking out a backup outfit and trying to give myself a few extra minutes have helped so much! Xo, Stephanie

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