If you feel that your home and life is chaotic, this will help you get back on track. Post contains affiliate links.
Do you struggle with starting the day feeling as though you’re already behind?
Honestly… this used to be a huge problem for me. It still can be.
When I’m pregnant and Feeling All the Feels or in a super busy season, I can wake up and already be annoyed with everyone because I feel that the day has started off somehow later than it should. When I have that feeling I can easily become these things:
Nobody does anything right and everything annoys me. I hate feeling like this and never want to give my kids less than my best, but often it can’t be helped. I can’t focus and relax when the necessary things aren’t done and the little things seem urgent.
That’s a sure sign our routines and systems are out of whack.
Here are some things that typically stress me out during the mornings:
- I feel behind if I wake up “to the kids” instead of “for the kids”
- When I start off the day reading my Bible I feel better, but I don’t always have time.
- I go in cycles and half the time am like… “Right… 5 kids are staring at me. What’s for breakfast?”
- Exercise is hard to fit in when I’m having to chase kids around. Wait… chasing kids should count as exercise.
We don’t have to get up at 5 a.m. (unless we like that) or become the most organized women around, but there are a few things we can do that’ll make our lives easier.
How to Start Off Your Day Ahead
If you are a Type a person, feeling behind or overwhelmed is enough to make you lose a grip on your emotions.
The Evening Before, Think Ahead
If we wake up to kids begging for breakfast before we’ve put on our clothes, brushed our teeth, or even thought about the day ahead… we’re behind. This won’t matter from time to time, but it’s a slippery slope. When I don’t keep in mind what needs to be done on a given day, nothing gets done.
Whether this be basic chores the little ones do or errands you need to run, there are things that need to happen and it’s a good idea to have thought this through the night before. My best days and mornings come from a little planning the night before.
Get a Jump Start
Whether you need to get up two hours or 15 minutes before your kids is up to you… but having a few minutes of time to yourself can be the difference between a reasonable mom and an angry one. Depending on what you like to get done before the kids wake up, you may do any of the following things:
- exercise
- read your Bible and journal
- eat breakfast
- shower and get dressed
- prepare the kids’ breakfast
- work from home
Decide what you’d like to get done before the kids wake up raring for attention, then give yourself enough time to make that happen. Remember, you’ll have to push through the first few days and weeks, but eventually it’ll become a habit.
Take Things Off the To Do List
One of my favorite ways to shorten my to do list… is to delete things from it. We often brain dump on our to do lists to get tasks out of our heads. They can stay there for days, weeks, months, and contribute to us feeling guilty and overwhelmed. But the fact is, we don’t need to do everything.
There are seasons in life and we need to respect them. Some seasons we need to shave down our To Do List seriously, others we will need to push through. If you look at your list (whether it’s on paper or in your head) be realistic about your limitations and what you’re actually able to accomplish without becoming super stressed. Whatever tasks don’t really need to be done, just cross them off.
Get a Clear Morning Routine (And One for the Kids)
One of the biggest things I’ve found helpful in our home is this: not allowing children to come out of their rooms until we come to them. Each child has to wait in their crib, bed, or room until we either come to them or call them to come out. This helps encourage them to sleep later as well as preventing them from getting into trouble before you’re up.
This routine as well as a few others (some morning tidy up routines the kids do on their own) help our mornings stay on track. When we stray too far, things are chaos. When we keep routines in place – even if they change with regularity – we begin our days in peace.
Join me in a morning challenge!
Starting October 3rd, we’re going to take back our mornings. Crystal Paine from Money Making Mom has created a 14-day course called Makeover Your Mornings and I want us to go through it together every day for 14 days. Don’t worry if you’ve already done it, I have too! Here’s how it’ll work.
What you need to do to join the challenge:
- Snag your Makeover Your Morning course using the coupon code MFFHMorning for $7 off (special for my readers) or, if you’ve already got access, make sure you know your login info.
- Request access to the my private Facebook group where we’ll have live videos, discussions, and tips to share with one another.
- Soak in the chaotic crazy mornings because on October 3rd we’ll kick them to the curb!
What Makeover Your Mornings Is About
According to Crystal of Money Saving Mom, “This 14-day course is designed to help you revolutionize your productivity, streamline your routines, invest your time in things that truly matter, and find more joy and peace in the process.”
It’ll help you get organized, stop feeling frazzled, begin your day with confidence, and help you stop feeling overwhelmed at all the To Do’s you just can’t manage to get done.
Even though each lesson on average only takes around 15 minutes a day (yes, it won’t take tons of time), you’ll get the following:
- 14 encouraging videos
- a comprehensive workbook
- daily projects
- printable worksheets
- additional links and resources
And because it’s the Money Saving Mom, the course is priced extremely low for its value. It will not in any way break the bank and you’ll think it was worth skipping out on 4 or 5 Starbucks lattes.
Makeover Your Morning is self-paced, you’ll have lifetime access, and there’s a 100% money back guarantee. Be sure to use my coupon code MFFHMorning to get it for only $10 instead of the normal $17.
What the Challenge Involves
The challenge involves me and you showing up for 14 days in a row (15 minutes or so a day) to change our mornings. Each day of the 14 day challenge (starting October 3rd) I’ll do a live video in our private Facebook group where we’ll keep each other accountable, share ideas, and encourage one another.
To join the free challenge simply:
- Get your copy of Makeover Your Morning with the coupon code MFFHMorning (for $7 off) so you get it for a big chunk off.
- Request access to our private Facebook group
- Get ready for October 3rd when we begin :)
The post How to Start Off Your Day Ahead (Not Wake Up Feeling Behind) appeared first on A Mother Far from Home.