Learn the 7 practical steps to streamline your mornings achieve a stress-free morning routine for working moms.
Are your mornings hectic and unorganized?
You’re not alone!
As a working mom, your mornings are bound to be full of activity.
Getting ready for work is a task on its own. Now add the pressures that come with making breakfast, finishing up household chores, getting the kids ready for school/ daycare and making sure that everyone makes it out the door on time.
It’s a lot for any mom to handle, but with careful planning and organization, totally doable.
An effective working mom morning routine will not only help you get you and your family out the door faster, you’ll also be able to start your day with less stress.
You might have heard the saying that goes: how you start your day sets the tone for the rest of the day. If you start your day in a calm relaxed way, your day is more likely to continue the same way.
In this post, we’ll discuss practical morning routine tips for working moms. I’ll share the best tips that you can start to implement ASAP and provide a morning routine checklist so you can easily keep track of all the tasks that need to be done before leaving the house.
Ready to learn how to thrive, not just survive your mornings as a working mom?
A Practical Morning Routine For Working Moms
When you’re a mom, you’ll understand that no two mornings look the same.
Not only that, a morning routine for working moms will look different depending on your situation.
The number of kids you have, their ages, your partner schedule and availability. These are all things that you’ll need to consider when you plan your morning routine.
In general, a practical morning routine for working moms should include morning tasks such as preparing breakfast and packing lunches, getting yourself ready for work. I also recommend carving out time for some alone time. This should be time for you to do your own morning routine- away from the chaos of morning and before you get sucked into the to-do list.
When designing a morning routine, it’s important to focus on tasks that are realistic and achievable.
Here are some practical tips for setting up a morning routine for working moms:
A Successful working mom morning routine starts the night before
The success of your morning routine really depends on the work you put in ahead of time.
Simply stated, you need to start your morning routine by planning the night before. If you can, try to do as many morning tasks the night before. This includes things like:
- preparing breakfast and packing lunches when possible
- setting out clothes for yourself as well as for the kids so that your ready to go in the morning
- packing everyones bags to make sure you don’t forget anything during the morning rush
- emptying out dishwasher so that everything is clean and ready to go in the morning
- setting the table with dry foods like cereal to make breakfast faster
- getting enough sleep so that you have the energy you’ll need in the morning
If you can take care of these things the night before, it will leave you more time in the morning to focus on getting yourself and your kids ready. You increase your chances of your morning starting off on a positive note.
Wakeup before your kids
Waking up before your kids can be really helpful especially when your kids are young and require a lot of help in the morning.
Firstly, waking up to the sound of your child crying can leave you feeling overwhelmed and behind even before the day starts.
When you wake up before your kids, it also allows you to start the day on your own terms. You get some time to shower, get yourself ready and prepare breakfast before having to wake up the kids.
It also means that your entire morning routine is not chaotic.
You don’t have to wake up 2 hours before your kids for your morning to be effective. The goal is to give your self enough time to do certain things with both hands before you have to juggle attending to your kids and doing those same tasks.
Have you ever tried doing makeup with one had?
I have, and I can confirm that I much prefer doing it with both.
Before your kids wake up, focus on those tasks that you feel will be best done with both hands.
Wake up at the same time every morning (including weekends)
Consistency is key when it comes to morning routines.
When you wake up at the same time every morning (including weekends) your body will naturally start to adjust and get used to this morning routine. You won’t be as exhausted when you have to wake up early during the week.
This means that the morning will go much more smoothly and you won’t feel as rushed.
If you’re having a hard time avoiding the snooze button, try setting your alarm for fifteen minutes earlier each day until you’ve reached the time that you want to wake up.
Routine is extremely important when it comes to mornings, so try your best to stick to the same routine every day.
The same goes for your kids. If you are able to get them into a routine as well, it will make mornings much less chaotic.
Actually, get out of bed
I used to wake up in the morning and lay in bed with my eyes closed just thinking about all the things that i had to get done that day.
Not only was this a waste of time in the morning, I also found that it made me more stressed and less likely to want to start my day.
Now, as soon as I wake up, I get out of bed and start my morning routine.
This helps me to feel more motivated and less overwhelmed by the day ahead.
Include some quiet time in your morning routine
I’m a strong advocate for carving out time to intentionally be quiet everyday. This allows you to focus on your thoughts and set intention for the day.
The way you start your day sets the tone for the rest of the day. A few minutes of mindfulness and reflection can reduce the overall stress and overwhelm that’s often associated with mornings. I his TED talk titled The Habits of Happiness, Matthieu Ricard talks about how we can train our minds to generate serenity and fulfilment.
Finding time to practice mindfulness is one of the keys to having a stress-free morning and a stress- free day.
Quiet time will look different depending on the season your in.
You can include practices and morning rituals such as:
- prayer, reading the bible, meditation
- journal
- affirmations
The process doesn’t have to be long to be an effective way to start your day.
For more tips on creating a morning routine and what to include in your quiet time, make sure to check out this post : How To Create A Morning Routine That Works.
Streamline your morning routine
The morning hours can easily slip away if you’re not mindful of how you’re spending your time.
Streamlining morning tasks and reducing distractions during this time will make a big difference in the quality of your morning routine.
Try to keep your routine as simple as possible. This will make your life easier.
Here are some tips and examples of ways that you can streamline your morning:
- Choose easy breakfasts that don’t require a lot of time to prepare and eat the same thing for breakfast everyday. While this may sound boring, it will save you a lot of time. You can eat the same meals during the week and then make a special breakfast for your family on weekends.
- Organize your space to make mornings easier- have a designated area for morning tasks such as getting dressed, packing lunches, and gathering items for the day.
- Avoid screens and digital distractions. In the mornings, when the race is on to get out the door, I recommend avoiding digital distractions. This means don’t check social media, don’t let kids watch their favourite shows. The focus should be on the tasks that you need to do to get out the door on time.
- Have a morning routine checklist and use it every morning. Having a routine that you repeat everyday helps to stay on track and keeps you from forgetting things. It also helps your kids know what to expect next. Studies have shown that when kids have routine, they’re less likely to act out. You avoid meltdowns that can sidetrack your entire day.
You Don’t Have To Do It Alone
It’s important that you don’t try to do your morning routine alone.
If your partner is able to, get them to help. Also empower your kids if they are old enough to help with some parts of the routine.
Involve them in morning tasks such as packing their bag, getting dressed and brushing their teeth.
The more that you involve the entire family in morning tasks, the smoother your morning routine will go.
Final Thoughts
These tips should help make your morning routine more manageable. Remember to customize your morning routine to fit your needs and be flexible if things don’t go as planned. With consistency and practice, your morning routine will become second nature.
Finally, don’t forget to include a morning routine checklist for both you and your kids! The checklists will help keep everyone on task and make sure nothing is forgotten.
Good luck with creating a morning routine that works for you and your family!
We hope this blog post has been helpful in creating morning routines for working moms. With a little bit of planning and time management, it is possible to have a morning routine that works for you and your family.
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