I believe it was the excellent 1-2-3 Magic book on parenting that gave me the idea to write notes to my kids about things they need to do instead of telling them over and over. It saves me a lot of frustration, and it's hard for them to misunderstand what's expected.
These pictures, taken of post-its on the kitchen counter as we were about to leave for a family vacation, show 3 ways I've used notes instead of nagging and repetition to get stuff done:
My kids are old enough to pack for themselves now. The first note lets them know what to lay out on their beds, I do a quick inspection, then I usually put stuff in the suitcases. (The thought of items being wadded up or distributed willy-nilly in there is still too much for me).
The second note is one you'll see most Saturdays at our house and has to-dos for each kid. They get up and can have a couple hours of screen time, then we shut it down till they're dressed, have completed the things on their list, and have permission to do more, which is usually late afternoon or evening. "Steps" is almost always on our recent post-its, meaning they have to reach a physical activity goal and show us on their fitness tracker watch they've achieved it. It was my husband's idea to get a tracker for everyone, and it's been a good thing.
The third note was out because I didn't want people to default to their usual frozen corn dog or pizza for lunch when we had leftovers in the fridge that would go bad during our trip. I put this kind of note out when we have house guests too so they know their options.
I feel like I've mentioned my other favorite parenting books in another post, but I'll repeat them anyway:
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