The Longest 23 Hour Day Ever

One Instacart Mom Shares Her Unconventional Tips for A Smooth Daylight Savings Transition

By Jennifer Meyer, Mom and Head of Brand Partnerships at Instacart

Before becoming a parent, I never realized the importance of an hour.

I’d spend an hour getting my nails done, hitting a workout class, or sleeping in without thinking twice about it.

Since having my first (of three boys), an hour has become something I wish I could add into my day. What I’d give for an extra hour to get dinner ready, to play with my kiddos after work, to get to brunch/sports practice/the airport, you name it.

Every year on the second Sunday of March, Daylight Savings Time takes an hour out of our day and disrupts households everywhere (Arizona and Hawaii, we’re all envious that you don’t observe this tradition). While it’s not fun for anyone to lose an hour of sleep, this inconvenience reaches a whole new level as a parent. Waking children up in the dark to go to school and putting them to bed while it’s still dusk doesn’t make for an easy transition.

As a working mom, I’ve adopted a few tricks that have helped minimize the chaos in my house and make the time shift easier for everyone involved:

• Mealtime magic tricks: The first Monday after the time shift can be tough. It’s cold. It’s dark. It’s no fun to have to face a week of school and after-school activities. While it’s not my typical breakfast MO, I’ve found that luring the kids out of bed with the sweet smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls (or other special morning treat) is an easy way to kick-start Monday’s wake-up call.
• Baby steps: On the nights leading up to the time shift, we push bedtime up a bit to help the kids adapt to the lack of sleep. Following Daylight Savings, our dinnertime moves up about half an hour, which helps the boys feel as if they’ve had ample time to play and wind down before their bedtime routines start.
• Outsource, outsource, outsource: I know how easy it can be to resort to takeout when you’re tired and have cranky kids in tow — and believe me, I still do it on occasion. However, I prefer to feed my family home-cooked meals as much as possible. It’s a healthy habit that I want to teach my kids, and it doesn’t have to be super time consuming… Instacart’s delivery and pick-up options have become my lifesaver for when I’m short on time or I’m not in the mood to wander around the store. Having my groceries delivered and focusing on nutritious 30-minute meals makes home cooking not only possible, but enjoyable.
• Clear your mind: If you haven’t locked yourself in the bathroom to avoid rowdy kids and take a moment for yourself, chances are you’ve at least considered it. Using apps like Calm at my desk or during my commute, help me feel like I have my head on straight. I also turn on piano music while I’m making dinner which is relaxing to my husband and I, and helps the boys begin their nightly wind down process earlier. Both the music and the app can be used as tools to help the boys fall asleep when they’re having a particularly hard time nodding off (i.e. when we ‘spring forward’ and it’s still light).

Different tricks work for every household, and the important thing to remember is that the side effects from Daylight Savings are fleeting — so hang in there, parents! If you have any tricks that work particularly well for your family, share in the comments — we’d love to hear!

About Jennifer Meyer

As a mom to three boys under the age of 12, an energetic Australian Labradoodle, and a daughter on the way, Jennifer Meyer is the queen of efficiency, organization, and scheduling. When she’s not helping the kids with their homework, cooking a nutritious dinner for her family, or acting as a chauffeur to weekend activities, Jennifer is the Head of Brand Partnerships at Instacart, the North American leader in online grocery.

During her three years with Instacart, Jennifer has become known as the “coupon queen,” and works with brands to help offer great savings for Instacart’s customers. Previously, Jennifer worked as a Sales Director partnering with CPG brands at Quotient Technology Inc.

As a mom, Jennifer is always looking for tools to enhance her time management and adapt to her ever-changing weekly schedule. She averages about two Instacart orders per week and as a result, has saved nearly 300 hours since she began using Instacart in 2016. If Jennifer could have one super power, it would be to have the ability to be in two places at once.

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Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.