Do you ever find yourself wondering how on earth you manage to get through some days in one piece? I’m sure most modern mums have found themselves overwhelmed at some point or another. I certainly have.
I’m not talking about baby burnout since my kids are school age now, rather that classic angst feeling, when you have a crazy amount of things on your plate and find yourself wondering just how on earth you’re going to keep all of the balls in the air.
I go through stages where my weeks might be generally quite busy. You know, standard stuff, balancing school run routines, work and keeping the house in some semblance of order. Honestly, though, there are some weeks where I actually dread the days ahead because I can’t see the wood for the trees and I literally feel like I’m only just keeping my head above water.
It seems that these days, we’re all moving at a faster pace than what the previous generation did (although I’m sure that they will contest that).
I stumbled across some interesting reading through my work with Epson (I’ve been road testing their new printer ink replenishment service, ReadyInk, in our household). Epson research asked more than 2,000 Brits what things they are most likely to forget and what the repercussions were of being forgetful. The results are quite amusing and I thought you might enjoy the read – there’s some ‘shockers’ in there too.
I know that some answers might seem extreme – when you read on and see what the research unearthed – but actually I can relate to many and can see how they could happen to us all. When my children were babies and I was at my most sleep deprived, I remember that I used to suddenly panic that I’d left them in a car park somewhere and one glance in the rear-view mirror would instantly put my mind at rest. Similarly, if I was on a rare trip out in the car on my own, I would momentarily panic that they weren’t in their car seat before it dawned on me that they were in fact safe with someone else!
Of course, I know now than sleep deprivation is a standard feature of motherhood (though naturally it’s less intense these days)And happy as I am, a busy a family life and running a growing business can feel like a tug of war being pulled in different directions. I forget my fair share of ‘have-to-remembers’.
I have to say that some of the findings are amusing and can be viewed as such, however some alarming and downright dangerous!
1 in 10 stressed out parents have forgotten to collect their own child from school.
1 in 20 have flooded the house when they forgot they had left the bath running.
10% admit they regularly forget to pay household bills.
15% often leave the house without their purse or wallet.
1 in 5 can never recall their phone number.
6% admit they are often leaving their hair straighteners on.
25% frequently kick themselves for forgetting to pick up things like milk and bread on the way home.
50% say they simply have too much going on in their lives, with the average Brit having to remember to do an average 14 things every day.
Over a third put their absentmindedness down to being sleep deprived.
15% have put their partner’s nose out of joint for forgetting their wedding anniversary.
50% said that they often rowed with their other half about all the things they have to remember, averaging 3 times a week.
I hold my hands up and admit to leaving my purse at home a lot. I regularly feel anxious at the amount of tasks I have to do some days and it goes without saying that there can be a lot of bickering about who should be remembering to do what and when in our house.
As there are so many things to do most days, I often have that feeling that I’ve forgotten to do something. I feel a sense of unease and then often a wave of panic if I realise that it’s something pretty important.
Having said all that, we’re all only human after all aren’t we? We can’t be completely infallible but it doesn’t make our lives any easier. Some days I feel like I have everything under control and other days can be an entirely different matter.
If you want one less thing to ‘have to remember’ I would whole-heartedly recommend you try Epson’s ReadyInk so you can tick buying printer ink off the ever-expanding list. You’ll be a hero with no more ‘run of out ink’ moments for homework over breakfast – or for anything else for that matter.
So without further ado, here are the top contenders for what we are most likely to forget…
Nb. In collaboration with Epson.
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