Morning Routine for working moms: 10 tips for success
Do you ever wish your mornings went a little smoother? Rushing out the door feeling frazzled before the day even starts is no way to go through each week. Creating a morning routine that you can stick with takes planning and an understanding of what you value. Here are 10 tips to help you start a successful working mom morning routine.
Mornings can be stressful. If I’m being honest, there are entire days that are stressful. Starting your day off on the right foot can make or break the day ahead. Even if you did get a full 8 hours of needed rest, it is still important to have consistency with a well-oiled morning routine, especially if you are a working mom.
This takes intentionality and repetition though. It may not happen overnight and that is okay. The important thing is to start a framework for what you want your morning to look like.
Why Do I Need a Morning Routine?
Some people are okay with rolling out of bed and heading out the door. Other people need to do certain morning tasks in a systematic way in order to feel organized. I don’t know about you, but as a working mom, I definitely need to feel organized and a morning routine helps me with that.
There is nothing worse than a stressful morning that can suck the life right out of you. You feel scattered and frazzled before you even leave the house.
A good working mom morning routine is a plan that will set the tone for your day. Research shows that you are more productive, energized, and have an overall positive sense of your life when you start your day with structure.
How Do You Create a Good Morning Routine?
Starting a realistic morning routine starts with recognizing that yours will not look like anyone else’s. You have unique desires and habits. What may seem important to one person may not be to another.
I get up very early because that is the only quiet time I have (and all the moms say, AMEN). Some people don’t do good waking up as early or they just don’t feel the need to. The important thing is to customize your morning routine to suit your needs and that of your family.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your morning routine may change as your kids get older. For example, if you have an infant and are nursing you will need extra time in the morning to pack pumping supplies and make sure you have everything you need.
On the other hand, moms of older kids may have a different morning routine as their children become more independent (except for when your 11 year old decides to experiment with make-up right after breakfast).
Whatever your reason for wanting to create a morning routine you have to have a place to start.
Here are some practical things to consider before you set up a morning routine:
Evaluate how much time you have in the morning
Do you wake up at 6:30 and need to be out of the house by 7:15? if so, your morning routine will look very different than someone who wakes up at 5:30 and leaves the house at 7:30.
Will you plan on getting up earlier? Will you need to shift some tasks to the night before in order to have enough time to do the things you’d like to do in the morning?
It is vital to know just how much time you have available in the morning to have a realistic routine. From there you can consider what is doable for you instead of getting frustrated that you weren’t able to get things done that you wanted to.
What is important to get done each morning?
What are your goals for your morning routine? Are you wanting to have quiet time alone to read or start a new hobby? Or how about a new exercise program? Maybe, it is as simple as getting a head start on household tasks.
What exactly is important to you?
I know a mom who has a morning routine of unloading the dishwasher from the night before, switches the load of laundry from the washer to the dryer, and then runs on the treadmill. Check, check, check!
To her, this is now on auto-pilot. But getting each of those things done as part of her morning routine is what is most important to her in order to have a successful day.
Maybe household tasks will not be included in your morning routine, but knowing what is most important for you to include in that routine will help you put boundaries around this part of the day.
Understand that your seasons of life will change
Creating a morning routine that is realistic will require you to look at the season of life that you are in.
Do you have babies that wake up in the middle of the night and need feeding? Then maybe waking up early is not an option right now. Allow yourself to get a few more moments of rest before starting the day.
Are your kids a little older but still need a “push” in the morning to stay on track? Maybe you work the early morning shift?
Whatever season of life you find yourself in, it is important that you work within that season. Maybe right now you will feel happy to get in a hot shower and a cup of coffee. If so, that is perfectly fine.
When that season changes you may have the margin of time to add in another item to your routine and then another, and so on. Your routine will change as your seasons of life change and that is okay.
Whatever you do, do not get discouraged. Enjoy the season you are in and work with the time you realistically have.
10 tips for a successful working mom routine
1. wake up before your family does (if your season allows)
Waking up ahead of everyone else in your home will give you some much-needed quiet time before your day begins. This is YOUR time to do whatever you choose. Some ideas are reading, journaling, exercising, spending time in God’s Word, listening to a podcast, or just sitting in the quiet with a cup of coffee.
If you are not used to waking up early, or are not a morning person, give yourself time to get used to it.
2. read something you enjoy
If you enjoy reading but feel you don’t have enough time to read, try including a good book in your morning routine. This is another advantage of waking up early. Personally, I love spending time in God’s Word to start out my day.
You may not be able to get a whole chapter in and that is okay. Little progress every morning will add up.
3. Eat a nutritous breakfast
Starting out your day with a healthy meal is giving your body the respect it deserves. Remember the saying- “you are what you eat”? It’s true!
Foods that are low in fat but high in protein help fuel your brain and give you clarity. Some examples are eggs, greek yogurt, or oatmeal topped with dried fruit and nuts.
Don’t skip out on breakfast!
4. start a journal
Journaling has quickly become a recommended practice for stress relief and self-care. Journaling can be done in a day planner, Bible, or plain notebook. The point is to “brain dump” what you are keeping inside. Another practice is writing in a gratitude journal. Gratitude begets gratitude.
5. prep lunches the night before
Keep lunches simple and prepare them the night before. Avoid fancy lunches that require a ton of work (you know, the Pinterest perfect cut-up pieces of fruit). One piece of advice for what it is worth- your elementary kids have so little time to eat lunch, make it really easy on them to get a quick nutritious lunch in. Nothing fancy!
6. make your bed
Making your bed in the morning symbolizes the completion of a task. It’s your brain’s way of checking a box. Not only is made bed aesthetically pleasing, it is also ready to get back in when you are ready for sleep. Additionally, making your bed tells your brain that sleep time is over and wake time has begun.
7. open the curtains/blinds and allow natural light in
Allowing natural light into your home can boost your mood and help start your day in a more positive light. This can jumpstart productivity and help you get more done.
8. drink a glass of water
After sleeping 7-8 hours, your body tends to be dehydrated when you wake up. This is a natural process from going all night without anything to drink. Rehydrate with a glass of water before any coffee (especially if you drink coffee) and reap the benefits of removing toxins at the same time.
9. work on a hobby or side business
As a working mom, I know how limited your time is. Believe me, I feel you mama! Trying to find time for a hobby or side business can be tricky when you have a full-time job and a family. Many times my mornings are spent working on this blog in the quiet when no one else is awake.
I strongly feel that you are worth doing something for yourself that you enjoy. Do not let one ounce of guilt stand in the way of working on a hobby or side business that brings your joy. It is necessary! (If you struggle with guilt in this area, please email me at karen@simplygracetoday.com and together we can work through that).
10. do a 5-minute pick up of your kitchen
Now before you think I am crazy, there is a reason why I recommend budgeting 5 minutes into your morning routine to tidy the kitchen. This is the same place where you will be making dinner later that day and why not take time to clean up after breakfast.
There is nothing worse than coming home to a messy kitchen that you will have to clean, only to dirty it up again while cooking. Simply load the dirty dishes and wipe down the counters before you head out the door.
two final things to consider in planning your working mom morning routine
What day do you plan to start your routine?
Set yourself up for success with your morning routine by carefully choosing what day you will start to implement your morning routine.
I recommend looking at your calendar and picking a week where you have consecutive days that are free to start your routine. Remember, it takes a good 21 days for a habit to really stick.
Also, consider what day of the week will work best for you to start. Is Monday the best day for you? Or do you want to try it out on the weekend first before you “go live” with it on the weekday?
Do you have a vacation coming up? If so, my suggestion would be to wait a few days until after you get back so you have time to get back into the swing of things.
Choose a day that will work best for you, but remember that no time will ever be perfect.
Change your Morning routine up if it isn’t working for you
The last thing I want you to remember is this: if your morning routine isn’t working for you, then by all means change it up. Don’t stay stuck and frustrated.
This is for you, and your routine must work for you. As we talked about earlier with the changing seasons, your likes and dislikes will change too. And that is perfectly fine.
How is your morning routine going? Leave a comment below or email me at karen@simplygracetoday.com
Morning Routine For Working Moms: 10 Tips For Success
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