The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Emily at So Damn Domestic.
While it’s possible to reboot your day if things start out all wonky, honestly, it’s just easier for the day to start off on the right foot to begin with.
Leaving it up to chance isn’t such a great idea, though. Just hoping and wishing for a day that starts well isn’t likely to make it happen.
You might wake up and have a fabulous day. All of the pieces fall into place, you feel refreshed and energized as you and the kids, fully-dressed and well-fed, head out to the library or park well before noon, leaving a tidy home and washed dishes behind.
Or you could wake up groggy, schlep around kids, laundry, and out-of-place objects without actually accomplishing anything, feed everyone random food that sort of adds up to a meal, spend 20 minutes looking for your toddler’s left shoe, and decide to just stay home and watch movies instead or doing anything worthwhile.
(Don’t get me wrong – I love a good pj & movie day! I just prefer them to be intentional.)
It doesn’t have to be a gamble.
You’ve read all of the roundups. Historical figures‘ schedules, modern successful women‘s morning routines, and countless “day in the life of” from bloggers with families like yours. And the one thing they all have in common, if they’re successful in any way, is a morning routine.
Sharon (Mom of 6) wrote about creating a morning routine for her family here on OrgJunkie last year. One of her keys is to wake up well before the kids, so that you can have a few minutes to do things on your own and “put on your own oxygen mask” before you’re responsible for everyone else. If you’ve never done this consistently, I promise, you’ll be blown away by the peace it brings each morning!
Courtney Carver wrote, at BeMoreWithLess.com, about how she gets her day back on track, even when it starts with worry and stress. Because when we are “thrown off” and everything feels wrong, that’s when we need self-care rituals (like morning routines) the most.
When you’re ready to begin creating a morning routine for yourself, you’ll want to be sure to avoid these 3 Morning Routine Mistakes. Don’t sabotage your day before it even starts! (I’m working on getting #1 back on track for myself, because it made a HUGE difference when I was consistent with this.)
And when you’re ready to ramp up your basic routine, go ahead and graduate it into a Morning Productivity Hour to find even more freedom in the rest of your day.
And if there’s no way you can wake up before the kids? Here are 11 strategies for making your morning count anyway. I’m definitely going to be trying some of these this summer, when my kids are out of school. For right now, I have a brief morning routine with the kids before we get into the car for school, and then another solo morning routine when I get home from dropping them off.
No matter what strategies you use, you need a morning routine. Otherwise:
- You’re gambling with your entire day.
- You enter your day in reactive mode instead of proactive mode.
- You’re voluntarily giving up the most productive hours of your day.
Are you convinced?
Will you begin working toward having a morning routine right away? Or do you already have a great one?
Or do you think I’m totally off base?
Share in the comments below.
Emily Chapelle is an expert homemaker, who’s setting up her 8th home in just as many years. She offers motivating guidance to busy women who are ready to make the kinds of changes that last. Why? So they can spend more time on the things and people that really matter. She shares home organizing tips, decluttering your life, time-management for homemakers, and other homemaking topics at So Damn Domestic. Her ebook, Finding the Awesome – 3 Steps to Doing More & Stressing Less, has been downloaded over 3,133 times, and you can get it for free.
Irene says
Thank you… Your words have made me realize that I need to go back to the basics. List of things to do is perfect for me. Chores and errands were checked off when completed. I felt tired but happy. Without a list, I feel overwhelmed, angry, and useless. It’s time to get back to a regular routine. That will make me happy. With mom happy everyone else is happy.
Emily Chapelle says
You’re very welcome. 🙂
Meredith from Penelope Loves Lists says
Hear, hear! You are 100% right: morning routines are key to making sure you manage your day, rather than the opposite. Loved this.
And the title of this post made me giggle. Huzzah, sister!
Emily Chapelle says
Hehe I’m glad you liked the title too. It made me chuckle.