Mornings can be hectic no matter what age your kids are. Whether they are babies/toddlers and need you to do everything or they’re teens and you have to hustle them out the door.
By the time they actually get to sit down to work, many moms are exhausted already and it can take a while to get focused. The longer it takes to get focused, the less productive you are. If you have your own business, this impacts your profit greatly.
Why Have a Morning Routine?
We all know things don’t always go as planned but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a plan. At the very least, a loose plan helps you stay on track and if the kids know what is expected of them, they are more likely to do it.
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” ~ Benjamin Franklin.
Getting your morning routine sorted gives peace of mind, helps everyone know what to do and if planned well, gives you a little time before the kids get up. Many moms find a few moments to themselves before chaos ensues helps them stay calmer throughout the day.
Two Parts to Your Morning Routine
You are probably assuming the morning routine is all about how to get the kids ready easier. That is only one part of a good routine for moms. A great morning routine starts before they even get up.
And that is the part of the morning we are going to focus on first, with tips at the end regarding the kids and morning routines with them.
Before you get scared that they will take too long, a lot of these things, if done for even a minute each will still help sharpen your focus.
The Miracle Morning Routine
In the book, The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, there is an easy to follow routine many have found success with. Using his SAVERS technique, you can improve various areas of your life every morning.
SAVERS stands for silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing. Silence meaning meditation, affirmations being saying affirmations that mean something to you every morning. Visualizations enable you to see the life you want and the goals you are working towards. Exercise can be as simple as 1 minute of jumping jacks, a quick HIIT workout or a short morning yoga routine. Read a page of a book and scribe/journal.
There are variations of this sort of morning routine used by many. It clears your mind, empowers you, and energizes your body thus improving health plus it gets you focused on your goals and progress.
All these things done in the quiet of the morning before your kids rise will help you remain calmer while you get ready, making it easier to focus when the kids are gone or taken care of and you can work.
The Billionaire Morning Routine
Another morning routine people use is the billionaire morning routine. Similar to The Miracle Morning, The Billionaire Morning Routine is supposedly used by billionaires worldwide but it takes longer than The Miracle Morning.
The Basis of The BillIonaire Morning is:
Wake Early: Waking before the kids enables you to have some quiet time to yourself. As difficult as it can be to get up early, it’s usually worth it.
Recall your dreams: Keep a journal by your bed so you can immediately recall any dreams you had. Our minds process so much during our sleep and dreams can help you decipher some of that.
Make your bed: Billionaires aren’t the only ones who recommend making your bed first thing. By making your bed, you have immediately accomplished something for the day which will make you feel good.
Drink a large glass of water: When we sleep, we get dehydrated so drinking water first thing helps our body and brain function better.
Take vitamins/probiotics: Most of us have deficiencies. Get a blood test to see what could help you. For many women, iron, evening primrose oil and probiotics help a lot.
Meditate for 20 minutes: Meditation has been proven to have numerous health benefits and assist you in changing how you think and feel about things. Choose either a guided meditation or simply use music or natural sounds to help you.
1 to 2 minutes of exercise/movement, preferably 30 minutes: Get moving, wake your body up and improve your health. While it says 1 to 2 minutes, ideally, we need to work out at least 30 minutes a day for optimal health so if you can do it first thing, it makes it easier.
A cold shower: Various health benefits have been shown from waking you up to boosting circulation and even potentially aiding weight loss. Start by having 1 minute cold and build up from there if you need.
Your usual get ready routine: Do your hair, skincare, make-up, get dressed, whatever it is you usually do to get presentable for the day, get it done.
Make tea: The act of making tea is a mindful practice when done properly. Boil water, use real tea leaves in a teapot designed for them, let them sit then pour after a few minutes. Do not boil your water in the microwave, use a kettle.
Journal: Writing down your feelings, thoughts, goals and motivation in the morning can help you achieve everything you want to achieve. This includes writing a little list each of how you want to feel and what you want to be. E.g I feel energetic, happy, motivated. I want to be successful, focused and productive.
Read for 20 to 30 minutes: Reading for this long might feel like a luxury to most moms but it can change your life. We learn so much from books if we apply what we learn and dedicate time to reading.
Drink a brain food smoothie: Various recipes exist for brain food smoothies so it is up to you which one suits you. Most include superfoods such as berries, chia seeds, banana, a liquid such as coconut or almond milk and MCT oil.
It might look like a long list but most of these things do not take that long. Having them listed out helps you remember what to do next until it becomes routine though to ensure success.
How to Create Your Ideal Morning Routine
Trial and error is typically the best way to work out the best morning routine for you. Successful people typically include at least drinking water, some meditation and journalling, reading and exercise. Using affirmations and visualizations will help even more.
Other wealthy and successful people swear by techniques such as EFT tapping every morning.
Try different techniques and find the ones that make a difference in your life. Give them at least a month before you decide and be sure to keep notes on how you feel and what a difference different activities make.
How to Implement Your New Morning Routine
It’s one thing to decide what you need to do, it’s another thing to implement it. Write out your ideal morning routine or the one you want to try. Work out how long it will take, even if only dedicating 1 to 2 minutes per task to start with, then set your alarm for that much time earlier.
For example, if you have decided to work with 10 things from the above suggestions, set your alarm 15 to 30 minutes earlier so you can get up and do them.
Have them listed out on paper and trackable. Create a chart where you can tick off each day what you have done as you do them. Slowly, they will become habits and you won’t need the charts anymore.
Morning Routine With Kids
How do you get the part of the morning where you’re trying to get the kids ready to run smoother? Routines! Teach your kids how to do things themselves, prepare what you can the night before and keep a list of their routine in a place they can easily see it and do it.
Children are capable of a lot more than we give them credit for. Start them young and before you know it, they will be doing more around the house than you thought possible.
Organize what you can the night before such as setting out clothes, packing lunches, packing school bags etc. Get your children to do these tasks with you when they are young and encourage them to do the tasks on their own as they get older.
With breakfast, if you are doing a smoothie for yourself, consider doing smoothies for everyone. Otherwise, options such as cereal, breakfast burritos you’ve prepared in bulk earlier or similar are great options too.
Breakfast doesn’t need to take a huge amount of time or create a massive mess. Teach and encourage your kids to clean up after themselves too by rinsing their dishes and putting them in the dishwasher or washing them completely. Wipe the table, sweep if necessary and you’re good to go.
These little habits, when encouraged from a young age set your kids up for life and ease your workload.