Back in January, I wrote a post called Habits Over Motivation which contained 8 habits before 8am. The post talks about habit stacking to create new routines and the importance of consistency in habit formation. Over the summer I had a really good morning routine {mainly due to being held accountable by my personal development coach!} but, alas, things have slipped and my bed feels a much easier and tempting offer than an early alarm and getting up in the dark and cold.
BUT having said that I know having a half-decent morning routine can be key in setting you {and those around you} up for either a good or not so good day. How you tackle those first few hours sets the tone for the rest of your day from your mood to how you perceive opportunities or even threats.
That being said, of course, you don’t need to wait until the next day to press restart on your mood or level of production. But I’d say for the majority of us those morning hours can be the most stressful out of our whole day {waking up, getting kids ready for school, locating lost shoes/keys/paperwork, defrosting the car, getting everyone fed and {acceptably} clean, walking the dog, feeling lethargic and irritable, toddler tantrums over which coat to wear and so on} so it’s a pretty good place to start thinking about how fairly small tweaks could make a big difference.
What areas cause the most stress?
Getting your child off their iPad? Fussy eaters refusing breakfast? Always running out of time? Random lost items? Three-nagers wanting to do everything themselves at a snail’s pace? Take some time to think about what areas or tasks you find the most stressful then brainstorm ways you could get around them – for example, no iPads before school, tubs for breakfast on the go, getting everyone dressed and teeth brushed first thing before going downstairs, simplifying hats/gloves and other random paraphernalia to limit choices and place in clear areas {I’ve just created a simple system of one box for each child where they keep all those little bits and bobs} and so on. Sometimes it’s literally the smallest change that can have the biggest impact. Then of course there’s the old favourite. Getting up earlier…….!
What do you WANT your morning to look like?
Before you decide to set your alarm for 5am and pledge to get your shizzle together by simply having more time, take time to think about what you’d actually like your morning to look like. Close your eyes and visualise your morning from waking up to starting work or dropping the kids off at school. Try not to overthink it, just let your mind open. Be honest with yourself – you may think you need to cram everything into your morning, but actually it may be better to take the pressure off and prioritise those tasks you NEED or WANT to do.
For me I envisage waking up to a quiet house, sipping coffee over my morning to-do list, maybe answering some work emails and generally getting mentally prepped and organised for the day. I would then get myself ready {having picked out clothes and packed bags the night before} before waking up the kids for breakfast. They would then be responsible for putting their dishes away, getting themselves washed and dressed {with supervision} and even making their own beds whilst I get everyone’s drinks, lunchboxes and snacks ready for the day plus put a load of laundry on. There would be clear expectations for when it’s time to get shoes and coats on {possibly with a reminder from Alexa?} and the hall area would be simplified so that everything they need is obvious and accessible. After the school run, I would get some fresh air and walk for ~30mins {commitments pending} before coming home to make another drink and start work.
Sounds pretty straightforward and idealistic right? Of course I can’t expect every morning to run 100% to plan but I can pull out some key areas to prioritise – the waking up to a quiet house and taking time to myself to get organised, giving the kids some responsibility arond getting themselves ready and simplifying what we need for the day by decluttering and having systems in place. The next step would be to allocate timings to see if this is a) actually doable and b) how much time I need to factor in – including some “wiggle room”. For me this would probably look like a 6am start to have time to set myself up and get ready for the day before waking the kids up at 7am.
How would you like your morning routine to look? What tweaks could you make to prioritise the tasks you NEED and WANT to do?
Here’s a free template to help plan out your morning timings 🙂
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Day 6: Getting s**t done – the power hour
Ellie
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