As my girls are getting older and involved in more activities away from home, I find that I am spending a LOT of time in my car. When I say a lot, on average, it’s around eight to 10 hours per week, just driving. If you include the time that they are at activities and co-op that’s another 10 hours per week. So I am spending a total of about 20 hours per week (1/2 of a full-time job) in my car or at a coffee shop/park doing some work this year, which I’m happy to do.
Since I also homeschool our girls and own a business, I’ve had to find ways to be productive in the car and keep my sanity, while waiting for my girls. If you also feel like your car is your “home away from home,” hopefully these tips will help you feel a bit more productive as the family chauffeur.
6 Tips For Being Productive in the Car
1. Plan out your week.
I sit down every Sunday afternoon and plan out my week on paper and in our family google calendar. This helps me not worry that I’m forgetting something (like an early rehearsal time, a make-up/re-scheduled lesson, or a dental/orthodontist appointment). This time is so vital to my week running smoothly.
If it’s nice outside I’ll often bring my personal planner, laptop, and homeschool planner out on our back patio. I spend about two hours planning out our entire week including meals, homeschool schedule, and what I want to work on during the week. That way on Monday, while the girls are at musical theater for three hours, I know what I need to pack in my project/work bin to work on during that time.
2. Keep your car organized and stocked.
For me, this is my number one tip. I cannot be productive in a messy or cluttered space. A few things that have really helped me with this are . . .
- Plastic bins: I purchased a plastic bin that fits on the passenger side floorboard of my van. The night before I have to run the girls to activities, I bring it in and fill it with whichever projects/work I am planning to tackle that day and set it in the van. I also purchased three small portable shower caddies from Dollar Tree that I keep in the car for the girls — these are GREAT for eating on the go.
- Small trash can (or trash bag): While I drive around, so much trash tends to end up on the floor when I don’t have a designated place for it to go.
- Since I’m in the car often with kids, the last thing I want to do is have to run an unexpected errand to get something we need. I do my best to keep my car stocked with essentials. I have to restock some items daily or weekly, but most of them can stay in the van and I just have to check it and restock monthly. These are the items I (almost) always have on hand in the vehicle:
- First aid kit with band-aids
- Kleenex
- Disinfecting wipes
- Hand sanitizer
- Baby wipes (Even though I don’t have ANY kids in diapers anymore, I will always have baby wipes because they are SO handy.)
- Folding chair (If it’s nice out, I may want to sit and work somewhere outside while I wait.)
- Outdoor blanket
- Tide pen
- Phone charger
- Hair ties and brush (I have three girls with long hair. I keep the hair ties on my turn signal handle.)
- Pen and notepad
- Feminine products
- Change of clothes and lightweight jackets for my girls (I love the stow-n-go feature on my van for this! My kids are ALWAYS cold in restaurants and grocery stores, so the jackets have come in handy several times. I also switch out the clothes twice a year so they’re seasonally appropriate.)
- Protein bars and a small cooler with water
- “If you bring it . . . you clean it” rule: My final tip for keeping the car organized is to set the rule that if you bring it in the car, you must bring it out of the car when you get home. My girls know that if I clean something they left in the car then they must “earn” it back by doing a chore of my choice. Or if it was trash that I had to clean out, then they have to do an extra chore of my choice in order to earn their weekly allowance.
3. Set out everything you’ll need the night before.
If I could share one thing about myself with you, it’s that my night and morning routines are essential to my mental health and sanity. If I go to bed with a messy kitchen, I wake up crabby. If I don’t prepare for the morning the night before, I always end up feeling behind the entire day! If I know that we have an activity or appointment early, then I will have the girls set out their clothes and everything that they will need the night before. If lunches need to be packed, we do it the night before as well. I also fill my project/work bin the night before and make sure it gets put back in the van so it’s ready to go in the morning. The final thing we always do before bed is fill everyone’s water bottles and put them in the fridge to stay cold.
4. Learn (or just get inspired) while you’re driving.
One amazing thing I’ve come to LOVE this year is podcasts and audiobooks! When I’m driving alone, that’s all I listen to. It’s like having a full library in the comfort of your car. Sometimes my kids will gripe about listening to “another book or podcast” but occasionally I let them pick what we listen to and they always think that’s fun.
5. Brain dump.
When I’m alone in the car, sometimes I may think of something I don’t want to forget, hear something inspiring on an audiobook or podcast, or I may just have a “to-do list” running through my brain. When that happens, I open the voice memo app on my phone and record notes to reference later. (Disclaimer: most cars now have the ability to open apps and dictate voice memos through the vehicle’s sound system . . . please don’t take your eyes off the road to open an app on your phone while you’re driving. If your car doesn’t have this feature wait until you are parked to open any apps on your phone.)
6. Enjoy this time with your kids.
This time with my girls in the car has been nice because I have their undivided attention while we’re driving — it’s a great opportunity to talk to my kids about their day, their friends, family stuff, what they want for Christmas/their birthday and just how they’re doing in general.
