Sometimes we all experience a little bit of hubris and think that we have a routine down-packed. We feel good about ourselves and take for granted the system that allowed us to be so successful in the first place. The layman’s term for this behavior is: “slacking”. The reason why successful business people are successful is because they stick to a credible and working system, day in and day out.

My major system for calming my nerves and being organized when I travel with my little men is using my TDLs, my To-Do-Lists. They work each and every time and for the most part, the major items on them don’t change – pampers, wipes, extra change of clothes, snacks*, Nintendo DS, towel, washcloth, etc. etc. But for some reason, for a weekend trip we took earlier this month, I lost my mind for a second and actually thought I was an expert at packing the kids up and hitting the road. While my husband was getting his stuff together (which is his only responsibility), I was running around the house sans TDL, grabbing items that I thought were imprinted on the front of my eyelids because I had done it so many times in the recent month. Tsk tsk tsk, mommy. What was I thinking? Between my husband asking me questions, my text messages buzzing away, my oldest son racing his cars back and forth on my hard wood floors, and my one year old opening and shutting my kitchen cabinets, how could I expect myself to remember everything? Impossible. Why didn’t I make a quick list or grab an old one? Who knows? To my frustration and dismay, I forgot my washcloths, our pool towels, my cover-up, a pair of my son’s swim trunks, my infant’s swimmers, and a couple other smaller items. By the time I realized it, we were already at our destination, so there was no turning around to get anything. THAT’s why I write TDLs – because when I’m traveling, besides keeping myself organized and on track, I HATE FORGETTING STUFF! Hear me when I say, it is one of my biggest pet peeves. And rightfully so, because I refuse to purchase something that I already have at home (unless it is a dire need) and therefore, I make myself suffer and do without it.

It is my belief that no matter how many times you’ve packed up your children and hit the road, and no matter how many times you’ve written out a TDL and may think that you have it imprinted on your forehead – if you stray away from that proven system which you established that allowed you to not forget anything and get out of the house in a timely fashion without having to return, you are bound to forget something.

I challenge you to try it next time. Try to pack up for a trip, day or overnight, without your TDL (if you’ve normally used it in the past) and see if you don’t forget an item. Let me know how you do. I’m just curious. I know that I’ve learned my lesson. And though I am one of the ultimate multitaskers, probably an overtasker, I’m definitely not a memory bank. And I take pride in that fact. Hey, I’m a mom, not a computer!  I’m all for my brain working smarter, not harder.

*Here is a list of some “mommy snacks” that I travel with: sugarless gum, protein or granola bars, almonds, raisins, almond butter, water, baby carrots, mini pickles, mini yogurt cups, rice cakes, grapes, sliced apple, and the occasional bag of chips.

Snacks that I pack for the children include: crackers, apple slices, fruit cups, chips, fruit chews, juice boxes, water, pretzel sticks, granola bars, and anything else I see in the house that I consider grab-and-go.