Stress kills decision-making
Pre-assigned roles reduce decision paralysis under stress. When each person knows their responsibility before the event, the household moves faster and with less confusion than if everyone waits for instructions or argues about priorities.
The alternative, real-time negotiation during a crisis, wastes time, creates conflict, and often results in critical tasks being overlooked while people debate.
Match ability to task
Go-bags and documents: one person grabs the emergency kits, medications, and document case. House security: one person shuts off utilities, secures doors/windows, checks the house. Children and pets: one person manages dependents, carriers, car seats. Communications: one person handles phone calls, texts to the out-of-area contact, and radio monitoring.
Match roles to ability. The person who knows where the gas shutoff is handles house security. The person the children trust most handles children.
Walk through it once
Roles written on paper but never practiced are barely better than no plan. Walk through the assignments once. Time it. Identify the bottlenecks. Adjust. A single practice session cuts real-event execution time dramatically.
- Pre-assign roles before an emergency, not during
- Match roles to each person's ability and knowledge
- Common roles: go-bags, house security, children/pets, communications
- Practice once: walk through the plan, time it, adjust
- Written plans that are never practiced barely help
- Make a Plan — FEMA family emergency planning.