Working on GoKid has motivated me to investigate the facts underlying some of my theories, for example, my belief that carpooling saves not only my sanity but a lot of my time. I wanted to know really how much time I was saving, so I broke out a pencil and a pad of paper and did some math. It was rather astonishing and really persuasive.
One week this past spring, Sunday through Saturday, I participated in eight carpools. One for school, one for a birthday party, and six for sports practices and games (doubling up in lacrosse and soccer was a brutal commitment this spring).
Time I saved by carpooling: 8 hours and 20 minutes in one week
The time I spent driving: 5 hours and 25 minutes
That is a lot of time. It would not have been possible for my kids to participate in their activities that week without the help of other parents, and I definitely would not have had any time to work on the GoKid app!
For those of you who want to understand the nitty-gritty of those 8 hours and 20 minutes, I broke it out below.
The time I saved while other parents drove:
School carpool: 100 minutes, split with one family
A’s travel soccer: 40 minutes, split with three families
A’s lacrosse: 80 minutes, split with three families
L’s lacrosse: 90 minutes, split with three families
C’s soccer: 30 minutes, split with one family
C’s lacrosse: 60 minutes, split with one family
C’s tennis: 30 minutes, split with one family
Birthday party: 80 minutes, split with 2 families.
I knew I was saving a lot of time by carpooling, but I really had no idea how much. Eight hours and twenty minutes in seven days is really significant. How many times have we all said, “there are not enough hours in the day.” By carpooling I am effectively giving myself back an hour and 20 minutes a day, or carving out a full workday of hours in just one week. That is a lot of time. And because I am also driving other people’s kids, I am returning the favor by giving them time back as well.
After doing the math for one week, I was so excited that I calculated out how much time I save a season by carpooling.
Time savings by season:
A’s soccer carpool, practices only: 90 minutes a week for 10 weeks: 900 minutes
A’s lacrosse carpool, practices only: 120 minutes a week for 8 weeks: 960 minutes
L’s lacrosse carpool, practices only: 120 minutes a week, for 8 weeks: 960 minutes
C’s soccer, practice only: 30 minutes a week for 10 weeks: 300 minutes
C’s lacrosse, practice only: 40 minutes a week for 8 weeks: 320 minutes
In this ten-week sports season carpooling frees up 72.3 hours. This is equivalent to two 36 hour work weeks. If I add in carpooling for games and tournaments, like the week I did the math on above, I think I would end up with closer to 85 or 90 hours a season. My kids take the summer off from travel sports (hurray!) so I get those 8-10 weeks off, but I still have fall and winter. With three 10-week seasons a year, I gain 270 hours by carpooling.
I was talking though this analysis with my friend Tiffany, mother of three ice hockey playing boys, and she pointed out that I am not counting the time I save by skipping the waiting at the practice or watching the game. This can be a tricky topic for parents because sometimes you want to watch the game or practice, and even if you don’t, it can feel bad to admit that you don’t want to stay and watch your adorable son dribble around orange cones for an hour. Truthfully on a lovely day when I feel like the chaos is only moderate, it can be very pleasant to watch a practice, but more often I am scrambling to find time to pay bills, get groceries, make dinner and schedule orthodontist appointments. So Tiffany is right, it is not just the drive time I like to skip, but sometimes the practice as well. Either way, carpooling saves me many hours, quite a bit of money, and is good for me, and the environment. I believed this was the case, but actually doing the math makes it really clear.
