Hazel the Hedgehog bursts into the den with one shoe on. "I was late again! I did everything, but it all ran out of time."
Oliver the Owl nods slowly. "Doing everything is not the trouble. Doing it without a plan is. When must you leave?"
"Eight o'clock," says Hazel. "Then we work backward from eight," says Oliver. "Each job gets a time. The plan tells you when to start."
A morning plan is a list of jobs in order. Each job gets a start time and the minutes it takes.
Oliver plans backward. He starts from the time you must leave. Then he fits each job in before it.
Here is Hazel's morning. She must leave at 8:00.
| Job | Minutes | Start time |
|---|---|---|
| Wake up and stretch | 5 | 7:00 |
| Get dressed | 10 | 7:05 |
| Make the bed | 5 | 7:15 |
| Breakfast with the family | 20 | 7:20 |
| Brush teeth and wash face | 5 | 7:40 |
| Pack the bag and put on shoes | 10 | 7:45 |
| Leave | 0 | 7:55 |
Add the minutes: 5, 10, 5, 20, 5, 10. That is 55 minutes. Hazel is ready at 7:55, five minutes early.
The five spare minutes are the cushion. A cushion is extra time in case something slows you down.
Your plan will look different from Hazel's. That is fine. Your jobs and your times are yours.
Follow these steps to write a morning plan that works.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| A plan lists jobs in order with a time for each. | ? |
| A cushion is extra time in case something slows you down. | ? |
| Oliver plans forward from midnight. | ? |
| Every family's morning plan is exactly the same. | ? |
That is a real plan, Helper! Tomorrow Oliver brings out a timer and plans a whole week.