Back it Up

My family came home from an extended-family Christmas gathering with a stomach bug.  Well, a couple family members did.  They then shared this bug with the remainder of the family one or two at a time, stretching the experience out over a week or so.  And I was reminded once again of how important is to have backups built into our plans if we don’t want to be totally derailed on a regular basis.

What’s a “Backup”?

A backup is any fall-back option you build into your routine, schedule, or plan.  Here are a few that I’ve made use of (and/or need to make use of!)

• The same task built into your schedule in more than one time slot, so if you miss it the first time, you still have a chance to catch it the next time
  The first time I put this into practice it was loading the dishwasher.  Loading and running the dishwasher was supposed to be part of my evening routine before bed.  Emptying the dishwasher needed to take place sometime before lunch.  But I kept forgetting to run the dishwasher at bedtime and it was throwing off my days.  So I added it to my first-thing-in-the-morning routine, also.  I still planned to do it in the evening, but this way if I forgot, I could still catch it right away the next day.
• If you’re a blogger, fall-back blog post options
  What do you do when the family is sick (or you’re) sick?  A missed post here or there is not that big a deal, of course.  But if it drags on, you don’t want weeks of silence on your blog!  Having some quick-and-easy options like a favorite quote to post, or a few pre-written posts you save in draft for just this purpose, can give you some options.  (The scheduling function can help with consistency, too!)
• Easy meal options
  Did your errands run late?  Did you get caught in traffic?  Now you’re home late, and you haven’t thawed anything for dinner.  Or it was a rough day of homeschooling.  Or your child put a hole in his head and had to be taken to the ER.  What are you going to eat?  You need some easy, available-at-the-last-minute meal options.  Fast food works, of course, if you have the funds, but most of us would probably prefer to not be eating fast foods out of necessity.  Freezer meals (meals prepped or cooked ahead of time and frozen), pantry meals (meals that can be made completely from pantry items – non-perishables), breakfast-for-dinner, or peanut butter sandwiches could all be options.
• Homeschool backup plan
  If you didn’t have time to plan out this week’s schooling, what would you do today?  Do you have a default you can fall back on?  What if you’re out of commission and not available to teach?  What would someone filling in for you need to do with your kids?
• Must-do’s in your schedule/routine
  You have many tasks on your regular to-do lists: laundry, cooking, cleaning, maintenance, etc.  Eventually, they all have to get done.  But in an emergency situation – or even just a temporary chaos sort of situation – they don’t all need to be done.  What’s essential?  Make note of these things that absolutely have to get done.  This is your backup routine.  (This is probably also what someone else would need to get done if you were out of commission.)This might involve breaking things up more than your regular routine does.  For instance, doing a load of laundry will generally include folding it and putting it away.  But when push comes to shove, it really only has to be clean and dry.  (Remember, we’re talking about a temporary stop-gap plan, not a long-term plan.)

What do your backup plans look like?  Do you have backup plans in other areas?