I am sure I am not the only one who finds themselves frustrated by the constant nagging that can occur when one has a child (or two) whom you are trying to get up and out the door in the morning or sitting down for dinner or to bed at night.

Today I decided to get creative with my nearly five year old daughter after another morning battle around getting dressed. She responds well to visual direction and reminders (she’s her mother’s daughter). We used pictures and award charts for things in the past like staying in her bed, using the potty at night and most recently when she decided she wanted help to stop sucking her thumb.

This morning she and I sat down together and in 20 minutes created the below job chart for her morning, evening and bedtime routines. From now on, rather then me repeatedly reminding or nagging her to go get dressed or put the napkins out or brush her teeth, I’ve told her that instead I will simply ask her what is next on her chart.

It’s now on the refrigerator and she is eagerly awaiting dinnertime so she can use it.

As a leader in both your work and your home it’s important to think outside the box, get out of your head, stop doing the same thing over and over if it’s not working and get creative about solving your everyday challenges. I am sure that this job chart will not eliminate all nagging from my house, but I love the fact that my daughter and I sat down together and came up with a plan so that she can feel more excited and successful about what she is supposed to do and I can feel less stressed about getting her to do it.

Coaches Corner:

Think about a specific challenge you have on a regular basis with your kids. Brainstorm some ideas with your children if they are old enough about how you can work together to come up with a solution. If you are stumped or your kids aren’t old enough to have the discussion with, submit your challenge to me and I’ll give you some ideas in a future blog post.