ADHD glossary · Family perspectives
Errand planning
Errand planning is deciding what a trip is for, which stops belong on it, and what each stop requires. A useful plan can include a decision not to make a trip or not to add another stop.
General education and practical perspectives. Editorial standards.
This page answers: What do we need to agree before combining several household errands? A checklist records items or actions. Errand planning connects those actions to places, timing, materials, and people. It is not a claim to know the fastest route or a replacement for checking actual opening hours and travel arrangements.
An example: three proposed stops, two agreed
In this invented household, Pat offers to visit the library and a repair counter on Saturday. Their partner, Mina, asks whether Pat can also collect a parcel. Their teenager, Sol, wants to choose a library book and asks to come along.
Before agreeing to the parcel, they look at what is still unknown. Mina has not checked where collection is available. Pat has not confirmed the repair counter's Saturday hours. Sol wants time to browse rather than only return books.
They make this page trip card:
Stop: Library
Purpose and preparation: Return the selected books; agree browsing time with Sol
Person checking: Sol gathers their books; Pat checks the visit arrangements
If it does not fit: Return on another agreed day
Stop: Repair counter
Purpose and preparation: Ask about a household item's repair; bring the item and relevant details
Person checking: Pat confirms the counter is open before deciding to go
If it does not fit: Leave the stop off this trip
Stop: Parcel collection
Purpose and preparation: Location and collection requirements still unknown
Person checking: Mina finds the actual instructions
If it does not fit: Not part of Pat's accepted trip yet
They have not chosen the order until they check the real locations and hours. The card is a plan to resolve those questions, not a declaration that every stop is feasible.
Build a trip around one clear purpose
Start by naming the main purpose. Then list proposed stops separately from accepted ones. For each accepted stop, write what needs to come along, who is preparing it, and what information needs checking before departure.
Discuss the people as well as the objects. Who has agreed to travel? Does someone want to take part in a choice at a stop? When does each person need to finish? Do not count another adult's availability or a young person's participation as confirmed merely because their name is on the list.
Finish with a change rule:
“We agreed to these stops: ___. Additional requests are proposals, not automatic additions. If ___ is unavailable or the trip no longer fits our time, we will leave ___ for another arrangement. ___ will tell the person waiting for that item.”
Keep a partial trip from becoming a failed trip
Mina can take responsibility for finding the parcel details without being assigned the whole trip. Sol can decide not to browse this time. Pat can decline a new stop without retracting the two they already accepted. These are different decisions, not votes on who is most helpful.
If a stop cannot be completed, record the concrete next step: “Counter closed; Pat will check a different day,” not “errands unfinished.” Avoid keeping private reference numbers or another person's documents in a broadly shared planning note.
Reorder, shorten, postpone, or cancel the ordinary trip when its assumptions change. This example excludes transport-safety instructions, urgent errands, and medical or legal collection requirements; those need their own applicable information rather than an improvised household template.
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