I read this hilarious article the other day. Did you know that [some] men do not get the concept of an errand. Even more foreign to them is idea of "running errands". I'm pretty sure that every female reader in the bunch knows exactly what "running errands" means!
Now this may be a bit of an exaggeration but... studies have shown that women are more likely to practice trip-chaining than men, who tend to prefer a star-burst pattern of "errands".
Trip-chaining, as the name suggests, is the concept of planning your errands in such a way that you can get them all done without doubling back on yourself. Basically running them in the most efficient way possible - least time, least amount of fuel, least amount of kilometres. Maybe if we held it out as a game, it would be more appealing to some folks?
A star-burst pattern of errands is... you're at home, and you drive to the swimming pool to get the kids and come home to drop them off. And then you head to the hardware store to get something and then come home. And then you head to... you get the point. Each trip has one purpose and starts and stops at home base. Very inefficient in so many ways... fuel, time, kilometres, energy, etc.
Even fuel companies know this!!
"Combining errands into one trip saves you time and money. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multipurpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Trip planning ensures that travelling is done when the engine is warmed-up and efficient."A University of Michigan study found that cutting shopping frequency in half reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 44%, while trip chaining cut emissions by about 50% (compared with the base case). What's not to love about trip-chaining!! Ultimately takes less time, less energy, less gasoline, less carbon emissions. Although... it does require waaaayyyyy MORE planning!
Planning Required
Trip chaining requires absolutely exquisite planning. You also need to be able to practice your delayed-gratification muscle. Maybe you've run out of milk and it's a Thursday and grocery day is tomorrow. Can you get by just this one day without running to the store for milk on Thursday? Of course you can! Maybe. If you can, that's way better for everyone involved!
I know I'm making this sound like some sort of epic battle campaign but... what if we did treat it as some sort of gamified competition... maybe more people would actually enjoy running errands? Or at least not dread it?
1. Brainstorm or Track your Upcoming Errands
First step is to keep track of what errands you need to run. Whether it's a paper list or an app, write it all down. You don't want to forget these things. Because there's nothing worse than realizing after a successful Trip-Chain Adventure... that you've forgotten something crucial.
Sometimes, I'll have Costco on my list, for one thing, but it's not urgent, so I'll bump it into the following week. Trip-chaining can work in-store as well. If I don't have to go to Costco for that ONE thing... but can wait until I have several things on the Costco list, that's ideal.
2. Plan Your Meals
We also sit down on Thursday evening and plan our meals for the next week. What do we have in the fridge and freezer that needs to go? What do we feel like eating in the coming days, based on our schedules. Some days we have time to cook a large meal, other days are more suited to left-overs or pulling a ready-made meal out of the freezer.
We can then look at the list of meals and figure out if we need to buy anything. There's nothing worse than trying to cook a meal and finding we are out of something critical. When that happens... we sometimes end up going with Skip the Dishes and that is $$$~
The other thing we tend to do is write items on the list during the course of the week, as we realize that we need them. "Oh, only 2 onions left... better put those on the list". "Oh, opened the back-up mustard jar... better get a new one".
This way... I am not standing there early on Friday morning, looking at a blank list. Planning and preparation are key!
3. Roughly Map Your Route
Our city is a long strung-out string-bean of a municipality. Going to the north-end is VERY different from going to the south-end. But if I do go to the north-end, I can usually weave in a few central tasks as I make my way back to base camp.
So in mapping my route, I look at the tasks and group them - north-end, central, south-end. Then see if any need to be shimmied around. I normally do north-end and central. Recently though, with our cat having some kidney issues, I am making more trips to the south-end where the vet is located. There is a grocery store down there, and a big-box reno store, a recycle depot, as well as a LifeLabs. Sooo... can I move some of my errands to the south-end so that I'm not doing a single-task vet run?
Most of this mapping is in my head as I look at all of the stops on my list... but in the next step, we get concrete.
4. Check Opening Times
This is key. Because you don't want to show up at one of your carefully planned stops and find... it's 9:05 and they open at 10 am. Baaahhhhhhh!!!!! That's sure to generate a muttered OFFS (Oh for F*@k's Sake!).
So I double-check opening times of stores. PetSmart is irksome because it opens at 9 am, when I think it should really open at 8 am! Superstore opens at 7 am, as does Home Depot. Costco opens at 9 am, unless they are ready inside, and then sometimes it opens at 8:45 am. One day, I was in and out of Costco before 9 am!!! The library opens at 10 am but their book drop is open all the time. Vet opens at 8:30 am. Pomme opens at 8:30 am. Canadian Tire opens at 8 am.
I usually write those times next to the locations on my list, just to make it concrete for me. And then... I make a final mapped route on a new piece of paper. I write all of the stops down in chronological & numerical order. And I'll write the opening time next to it, just so I know...
- Leave Home (you'll see why I have this)
- Starbucks (6 am)
- Library (book drop open always)
- Home Depot (7 am)
- Superstore (7 am)
- Pomme (8:30 am)
- Costco (9:00 am)
- PetSmart (9:00 am)
- Staples (9:00 am)
- Recycle Depot (8:30 am)
- Thrift Store (9:30 am)
Now, the starting point of the entire trip is not necessarily the time listed next to the store. The trick is to hit the place during opening hours. Sometimes Superstore goes faster than expected and I'm standing at Pomme at 8:00 am. Not a good scene.
So rather than hitting Home Depot at 7 am... I will now examine my list and try and time it so that I am standing in front of Costco at 8:45 am. Costco is the pivot point because I really don't want to show up here any later than 9 am (it's a zoo). It is a firm anchor in the schedule, around which everything else revolves. Superstore is a secondary anchor. I don't want to do it any later than 9 am either, otherwise it too is a zoo.
The recycle depot and thrift store are enroute to base camp from the north-end so they are not as critical. Unless I am bringing in cans and bottles... in which case I am there at the crack of 8:25 am... any later and... it's a zoo! I generally try to avoid zoos if at all possible.
5. Gather & Stage Your Supplies
You've got it on the list, you've mapped it in your head, you've checked opening times. Now it's time to gather everything that you need for each of those errands.
I generally do this in my head and just scan my list and then make sure I have what I need. Although sometimes, I find it more helpful to write it down, or place the items needed down by the front door, ready to head out.
- Leave Home... Prepared!
- Wallet - obvious. And yet I can't tell you how many times I've shown up at a grocery store with no wallet in my pocket. I now have Google Wallet set up on my phone, just as a back-up.
- Phone - also obvious. If I leave home without wallet or phone, I am in serious trouble. I also have ebooks on my phone, so if I'm waiting in line, I can read!
- Breakfast To-Go (yogurt/berries/nuts) - otherwise I get hangry and cave in to a Starbucks chocolate brownie or a Timmies bagel... (my backpack has a plastic cutlery set so I am' ready to eat my yogurt wherever)
- The List! - Don't leave home without it. Otherwise, the whole thing falls apart. And you're phoning your partner at 6:30 am, waking them up, and asking them to take a pic of your list and send it to you...
- Starbucks
- my backpack with laptop, so I can blog, and my notebook, so I can journal if I have to wait in the car for a store to open (or I can read my ebook on my phone)
- Library
- books I need to drop off
- Home Depot (7 am)
- receipt and item that I need to return
- measurements for picking up something else
- can of paint to get shook up by their shaker thingie
- Superstore
- Pomme
- Costco
- PetSmart
- Staples
- dead pens & ink cartridge to recycle
- ink cartridge number so I know which one to buy
- Recycle Depot
- big pieces of cardboard
- bags of shredding
- various bags of recyclables
- glass jars
- styrofoam trays
- flexible plastics
- metals
- batteries
- Thrift Store
- box of stuff to donate
When a place is on the list, I generally think... "what else could I do there?". For example, with Staples, I need printer cartridges but I also think... "what else is there"? Ah, I can drop off the stash of dead pens so that they can be recycled. Oh, and I can drop off the dead printer cartridge too. And, while I'm there, I might as well get a ream of printer paper.
By the time this is all done... the car is pretty much crammed with stuff! But... I am ready!!
6. Begin the Adventure
The trick, always, is to be flexy-bendable with the errands. Because sometimes... Superstore has run out of something and I need to pivot and add in a quick trip to Save-on-Foods. There are two that I could hit on my route (Item 8.5 or 9.5), so it's just a matter of adding them to the list (don't forget!).
By the end of it... I usually feel like I deserve that brownie that I didn't get because I was responsible and brought yogurt! Sigh. But it's better for me without the brownie.
And now... the errands for the week are done. My goal is to avoid the "oops... forgot to get... [fill-in-the-blank]".
Although, if I am out and about for an appointment on another day of the week, I will add in one or two stops that may have popped up.
Caveats
Some caveats are in order! All of this depends on your own circumstances. Maybe you live in an urban centre and can walk to most places. Maybe you can't carry everything in one trip. Or maybe you don't have the stamina to do a 4-5 hour Errand Extravaganza. Maybe you go to church every morning and you hit a stop after church each day. It all depends.
For us... and our strung-out city, it makes sense for me to combine as many errands in one area as possible. I don't want to have a 20 minute round trip several times a week (plus shopping time).
Or maybe you live in a large urban centre like Vancouver and trip-chaining makes perfect sense. If you're going to drive 30 minutes to the nearest Superstore or Home Depot or Costco or IKEA, you are going to make darn sure that you have everything you need on a list! And you are going to make sure that you combine as many stops as you can.
Conclusion
Usually... by the end of one my Errand Extravaganza's, I am pooped. Satisfied... but pooped. And hoping that I haven't forgotten anything urgent. I much prefer this system though to the star-burst pattern. Trip-chaining saves me time, which is limited. It also saves on gasoline and reduces carbon emissions. For the rest of the week, I can focus on other things, rather than being forced to "run an errand" because we need something urgently.
I love it when a series of errands goes smoothly, without a hitch. When it's been planned well and executed well. It makes my little heart sing and the Inner Organizer in me does a little happy dance! I know... I'm weird... but it's these small steps that make a big difference.
More Reading
Stats Canada - 2013 Report on Trip Chaining
Twitter 2015 - Trip Chaining diagram
University of Michigan - 2022 - Trip Chaining and Carbon Emissions
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