Productive things to do during school pick-up

We’ve made it to the end of the second week of the 2021 school year.

I’ve been doing school pick every day since the schools have opened and this year is a lot easier as I only have one kid to get ready and out the door on time. Even though I leave half an hour earlier than the boys finish the school day. Why so early? It’s harder to find parking on the school grounds the closer it is to the school day ending, and I don’t feel safe parking outside on the street and still having to manage so many kids.

Getting to school earlier means I have time to use to do something I might not have time for otherwise during the day.

I want to say that being a stay-at-home mama gives me unlimited free time, but alas, that isn’t the case.

There are always day to day tasks and errands to be run, and I have a toddler that easily gets bored with anything you give her to keep her busy. Once all the kids are at home again, there’s even less time for tasks because then it’s a homework rush with two kids, still a very busy toddler and right after that, it’s making dinner.

Since we’re social distancing at schools, no one hangs around anymore chatting to each other while waiting for their kids so we’re pretty much all confined to our cars.

Here’s how I use my limited free time during school pick-up to get a couple of things done (and pass the time faster).

Update/organize your planner.

I always have my bullet journal with me no matter where I go, so it’s a good time while I’m waiting to add tasks or mark them off if I’ve done them, make notes for things to follow up, etc. I focus better on it during that time because I don’t have any distractions like I do at home.

Schedule any appointments.

If I need to make, move or cancel any appointments, I use this time to do so. This is where the bullet journal at hand works well too.

Catch up on calls/texts.

I’ve made a point of not being on my phone during the day much, especially social media, because it does take up a lot more time than you’d think and it’s a bad distraction when you’re trying to get things done. So if I missed any calls or texts, I take the time to answer them then.

Read a book.

Extra time means extra reading time on some days, so if I have a few chapters left of a really good book, I bring it along so I can finish it.

Create a list.

Working on a list is a great past time too. You can do a weekly grocery list, or a monthly one, a cleaning schedule, a declutter schedule, etc. I mean, being productive for a productive activity is a win-win.

Do your nails.

Tell me I’m not the only one that has done my nails in the car?

Catch up on social media.

So while I avoid social media during the rest of the day as much as I can, I sometimes use this time to catch up on notifications or scroll through my feeds. It also gives me limited time online, curbing the amount of screen time I have.

Catch up on snacking.

I sometimes skip lunch. Okay, most times I skip lunch, so I’ll snack in the car while I wait. Then I don’t always have to share my treats, otherwise I don’t get any.

Hobby.

Crosswords, sudoku – easy activities to do in the car. I would love to sit in the car and paint a canvas, but realistically that just wouldn’t work. You can take along small hobbies and keep yourself busy, like a mini colouring in book or your latest knitting/crocheting project.