We have the perfect preparedness prescription for people who tend to put off emergency planning.
June 1st marks the official start of hurricane season and according to the NOAA, it is looking like 2010 will be a very "active" one. The most important thing that anyone living in a hurricane zone can do is to be informed and prepared. Unfortunately the combination of fear and our hectic 24/7 lifestyles means too many will bury their heads in the sand and put preparing off until it's too late. That's why we've put together a plan to help procrastinators overcome their organizational inertia and get ready where it counts.
5 Tips for Getting Yourself to Take Action
When it comes to emergency planning, it's not unusual to feel paralyzed. But if you haven't started the process of getting prepared yet, you clearly need some motivation! Try one of these ideas to get yourself on track:
- Give Yourself a Carrot: make a commitment to family members, a good friend, or just yourself - that if you get your emergency planning organized by Friday, you can have a double scoop ice cream cone as a reward. If you're lactose intolerant or watching your calories, other healthy carrots are: manicures, new fun iPhone app, a new song download.
- Play a Game: Most of the items you need to put in an emergency kit you will already have. If you've got kids, or even nieces/nephews, you'll have your kit together in no time if you set up a scavenger hunt for emergency kit items. The items to hunt for are: water, canned food, cash and a first aid items like band-aids, neosporin, thermometer, tweezers, aspirin, gauze pads, facecloth for compresses, scissors.
- Enlist a Little Mom-o-vation: Call your mother or mother in-law and have them promise to be your faithful nag until you get the job done.
- Post It! There's nothing like committing to all of your Facebook friends that you'll get your emergency plan organized by the end of the week...and encouraging them to hold you accountable to get you off the dime. By doing so, you'll be announcing to your Facebook friends that you're committed to getting yourself prepared for hurricane season. If you don't upload proof by Sunday - you're friends are encouraged to call you out.
Your Hurricane Preparedness Checklist Buttoned Up
"The first thing people need to remember is that being prepared doesn't have to involve backbreaking work," continues Sarah. "The good news is that there are simple things you can do in 20 minutes or less each day this week that will get you prepared where it counts. By the end of the week, you'll be ready for whatever Mother Nature sends your way."
In Praise of Imperfection
A lot of people get paralyzed when putting an emergency plan together because they want it to be 'perfect.' So they either get a tiny fraction of the process started and stop, or they don't get started at all because they psych themselves out. Unless you are a psychic and already know in advance every eventuality for which you must prepare, your plan won't be 'perfect.' But given the choice to be 70%, 80% or 90% prepared versus not at all prepared, you can and should choose the former. The trick is to organize the basics of your plan first and then from there you can layer on details as and when you see fit.