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Are you ready to tweak your routine and totally transform your mornings? Here is a visual for you:
It’s 7:00 on a Monday morning, and you are filled with dread. You can hear your toddler awake in his bed next door, or perhaps even next to you in your bed, and you do not feel ready to face the the new day. You are not ready for the rush and chaos. It feels like every morning, you hit the floor running, and you don’t stop for way too long.
Mornings can be yucky enough if you are single, especially if you are not a morning person. Throw a baby or toddler into the mix, and things get crazy very quickly. Whether you have to be out the door at a certain time, or you are just trying to get everyone fed and ready for the day, the precious morning minutes seem to fly by in a frenzy. Before you know it, it is almost lunchtime, but you don’t feel like you got anything done.
But what if your mornings didn’ have to be quite so hectic? Imagine if your day could start with a steaming cup of coffee in a quiet, sleeping house. What if you could have a few minutes to yourself before you rush from one activity to the next? What if breakfast, and getting everyone ready could go a just a little more smootly? Sounds magical, doesn’t it? Even if it doesn’t seem like it right now, this can become a reality, at least on most mornings. I’m not saying that your mornings will be perfect, or that they won’t still be busy. I’m just sayting that they could be a little less so. A little less chaotic, and a little more intentional. There are lots of different strategies I have tried that help make my mornings go a litle more smoothly, but these are some of my favorite.
Prepare the night before.
If you have to be somewhere in the morning, gather everything that you need, and put it in a designated location. If you need to pack a lunch, do it in the evening. Lay out your clothes, and if you have toddlers or babies do this for their clothes as well. If you have kids who are old enough to do this for themselves, have them get into the habit of doing this too. This will take much less time in the evening when you are more relaxed, and it will be one less thing to worry about during the morning rush.
Go to bed at a reasonable hour.
One of the biggest ways we sabotage our mornings, is by staying up way too late the night before. As a result, we often sleep later than we intend, and don’t get enough sleep. In addition to being cranky from lack of sleep, we have less time to get ourselves, and everyone else ready for the day.
Wake up before your kids.
The days when I wake up before my kids are drastically different than the days when I do not. Even if I only have twenty minutes, it makes a huge difference in how the rest of my day goes. Waking up before my kids allows me to have a few moments to just sit on the couch and enjoy a quiet cup of coffee by myself, or with my husband. It is a wonderful start to my day. It allows me to move into the rest of my day feeling calm and collected. I don’t necessarily get anything productive during this time, but it allows me to actually get dressed, and get a decent start on my day, instead of wondering what happened to my time.
Start your day with prayer or quiet time.
I don’t know about you, but I like to ease into my day. I like to have a few moments to myself so that I can pray and reflect. Starting my day this way gives perspective to the wonderful, but not so quiet chaos that comes with raising a family. It brings more peace and calm into the struggles that come with motherhood.
Get dressed.
Take time early in the morning to get dressed into something that makes you feel nice. When I actually take the time to do this, I feel so much better about myself and my day. I also take a minute to do my hair, and if I can, even a little make up. Even a little bit of time spent on this area of self care can make a huge difference in our mindset and productivity. It also makes it easier to do something spontaneous like meet a friend, or do some errands that have been on your list for a while.
Conclusion
I am by no means perfect at this, but I have found, that when I do even one or two of these consistently, my days go so much better, and I am more calm and relaxed. Whether I am planning to stay home for the day, or I need to go out, things go so much more smoothly, and I can enjoy the process with my kids, instead of getting stressed.
Stay consistent and by making these tweaks to your mornings you can really transform your day!
I hope you enjoyed this post, and found the ideas helpful!
