When my children were younger and I drove them to and from school, the car line wait in the afternoon could last up to forty-five minutes, depending on when I arrived. I remember sitting there one afternoon and deciding to take out a book and read. It was one of the smartest things I ever did to pass the time waiting for the final bell to ring and my kids to be dismissed. I think I read ten books that school year.

And that was the beginning of my journey into becoming a writer.

Don’t let your time sitting in the school car line go wasted. There is plenty you can do to pass the time that can help your career. Or you can use that time for some self care.

30 Productive Things Moms Can Do While Waiting In the School Car Line

Self Care:

1. Drink a cup of your favorite (Starbucks, tea, soda, water…) and call a friend.
2. Scroll Pinterest and save some recipes you’d like to try, a craft you’d like to learn to do, or home decor for that room you’re dying to redecorate or renovate.
3. Read a book. If you’ve recently finished one, leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.
4. Color. Stash an adult coloring book and set of colored pencils in your car’s console and pull them out for some down time.
5. Get yourself a wellness or self-care journal and spend time in it while you are waiting.
6. Close your eyes and take a power nap, if you know you’re going to be waiting a while before having to move forward. For instance, if you’ve arrived an hour early so you could be at the front of the line and you now have thirty minutes until the bell rings.
7. Do a brain dump. Let all the stress out by writing down everything you can possibly think of. The fight you had with your husband. The list of things you have to do when you get home. The dreams you’ve wanted to pursue for years but haven’t had the time to think about. Write it all down.

Plan Ahead:

8. Create a bucket list of things you’d like to do with the kids over summer vacation. You can use a notebook, bullet journal, or planner. Once your list is complete, use a page for each item and note cost, supplies needed, dates, etc. so you can prepare to complete them ahead of time.
9. Fill in your calendar for the next two weeks. Don’t forget to note birthdays and holidays and celebrations coming soon.
10. Make a list of all the spring (or summer or fall or winter) cleaning you need to do and designate family members to help with (or do) each item. Make another list of cleaning supplies you’ll need to purchase before you start. You can also create a cleaning playlist on YouTube. We started this one back in 2018 and add to it when we have family cleaning days.

Clean Your Online Closets

11. Clean out your email inboxes: delete messages you no longer need or won’t read, file (move) emails you’ve already read and need to save, and read and respond to the others.
12. Clear out Facebook Messenger. In the Messenger app, you can go into your list of messages, slide a single message to the left, and select to either hide, ignore, or delete the message. I hide the ones I need to keep but don’t want to see. I delete the ones I no longer need or that are junk (like “Wave at your Facebook friend” or “You are now connected”). Respond to those that need responses.
13. Go through your blog posts in your blogging dashboard and delete the drafts you don’t intend to finish writing. Clean out the images in your WordPress media library that are no longer relevant to your blog design or your posts.
14. Organize your Dropbox files. Delete the ones you no longer need.
15. Check on your Pinterest pins. See if any links have been deemed bad and delete those from your sections and boards. Work on reorganizing your boards if you wish to or need to.
16. Check your contacts in email and on your phone. Delete the ones that you no longer need or that are duplicates. I realized the other day that I still have utility companies’ contact information stored in my cloud from three residences ago. And when I got my new phone and downloaded my apps and contacts from the cloud, several of my contacts duplicated.

Work

17. Make the phone call you know won’t last longer than your wait in the car line.
18. Record the video you’ve been meaning to but haven’t found a moment of quiet to get it done.
19. Write a blog post or a chapter of your book.
20. Schedule social media and Pinterest posts for the next day or week.
21. Write down your goals for the next month and the steps to achieve them.
22. Brainstorm for that project you’re in the middle of, stuck on, or have coming up.

Socialize

23. Talk to the mom ahead of or behind you.
24. Scroll Facebook and comment on 10 posts. Remember to leave meaningful comments instead of just writing “That looks like fun” or “Beautiful” or “I’m praying.”
25. Visit your favorite Facebook groups and catch up on posts. Comment on 10 posts. Share something valuable with the entire group by leaving a post.
26. Scroll Instagram and spread some love on someone’s feed. Favorite at least 5 of one person’s photos. Leave a comment on your favorite.
27. Post a story to your Facebook or Instagram feed. Let people know what life as a mom in car line is really like.
28. Create a TikTok that will resonate with other mamas who spend hours waiting on their kids throughout their lifetime.
29. Share a list of your favorite Instagram accounts with your followers by either creating a post or a story that highlights them.
30. Visit the Life in the MotherShip Facebook group. If you’ve already joined us, find a post you can add value to and leave a comment with a helpful suggestion for the other mamas following it. If you haven’t joined us yet, request membership. Be sure to fill out the questions so I can get to know a little about you!

BONUS: Clean the car.

I would occasionally use the time to throw all the trash into a plastic grocery bag that I could toss in the trash can on our way into the house when we got home. Other days, I’d pull out the Windex or Lysol wipes I kept in the car and wipe down the dashboard and consoles, clean the windows, or clean up the latest mess the kids left in the back seat compartments. You can always hit the car wash on the way home, as well!

I spent hours upon hours waiting in car lines throughout the years. Some days, I still do, since I have two in high school who don’t always ride the bus. When I realized how much I could accomplish in those times of peace and quiet, I got so much done! I hope you’ve found my suggestions helpful too.

If you have something you love to do during long waits in car lines, we’d love to hear from you! Please comment below!