How To Survive The Mornings, When You're A Working Mom

It’s no secret that I enjoy my mornings. Check out my previous post Why I Wake Up at AM. However mornings for me haven't always been so smooth. Its taken a few years of tweaking my morning routine to reach morning schedule peace.

Sometimes the sheer number of things that have to get done before the day officially begins  can feel like a full day’s work! This is especially true if your morning routine includes not just getting yourself  out the door, but one or more little people as well.

While your mornings may never run on autopilot, getting things to run a little smoother is possible with a little pre-planning and determination. Here are three steps to help you gain control over your morning and get you out the door with your sanity intact.

Know what you're up against

The key for a successful morning routine is allowing enough time for it, which often depends on how many people you need to get ready.  If all you’re dealing with is getting yourself out of the bed and presentable, you can probably afford to sleep a tad longer than  a mom with little ones to get read in addition to herself.  When planning for perfect morning start with making a detailed list of the task/duties that you need to accomplish for the morning. Then take that list and figure out how long it’s going to take you to complete each task. Once you have a time block for your morning routine count backwards from your “Zero Hour” (the time you need to be out the door and on your way). This exercise will give you your wake up time.

Keep it simple

Know the difference between must do and want to do. I would like to clean the kitchen before leaving the house however loading the dishwasher and a quick counter wipe down is more feasible. No one wants to come home to a messy house after a long day but as  busy mom it’s completely impractical to think I can clean my house in the mornings. In my house we do a “15 quick clean” Once everyone is dressed and ready I set the timer for 15 minutes and for those minutes we all focus on straightening up the house, making beds, loading the dishwasher and just cleaning any mess from our morning routine. This activity allows me to walk into a clean house after my long day.

Prepping is key

The night before is the key to a successful morning routine. Taking a few minutes the night before to prep is going to save valuable time in the morning. I makes lunches as well as pick out and iron our clothes before bed the night before. Because we share one bathroom in my house my son showers at night as well in order to cut down on bathroom traffic in the morning.

I truly believe that the tone of the morning sets the stage for the day, if my morning is chaotic my day almost will always follow suite. Having an established morning routine that is built on habit stacking has made mornings a lot less stressful in my home especially as my son gets older, and become less and less of a morning person.

Check out my current morning routine;

5:00 AM Up for the Day/ Prayer/Mediation

5:15 Make Coffee/ Make daily To Do List

5:30 Shower/Dressed

6:15 Wake up Nic/Make Breakfast

6:45 Breakfast

7:00 Quick Clean Up

7:15 Out the Door