Now, if you have been around for a couple years, you know I can be as much of a night owl as any other mom. Heck, in 2017 I remodeled my kitchen between the hours of 11pm and 2am. My day would start whenever my son decided it would, and that was just how things were! They were busy but never productive.
I was constantly busy, but never feeling like I got anything done. Sometimes I look back, and my son’s first and even second year of life is a blur.
I decided it was time to make a change, and started waking up for my child, instead of to him, at least most days.
If you are wanting to make a change to better yourself as mother, start getting up early!
You might be thinking, so what will happen if I do this?! Won’t I be MORE tired?! Eh, you might be the first day or two. But you will make it.
I found that when I got the most pressing things done, first thing in the morning, the rest of the day was full of fun and energy!
Whether you working mom or a SHAM, have a side hustle, or work from home. There is a LIST of things you want to get done each day.
It may be a new blog post or client proposal. A basket or two of clean laundry, meal prep, exercise etc. You name it, it’s never too early in the day to get it out of the way!
Because life will come up, your kids will pull you in 1,000 directions. By the end of the day, you cannot always count on getting them done.
Now, I’m not saying go to bed with toys all over your living room and dirty dishes in the sink. Tidying up at the end of the day, will actually be part of the equation for making your morning more successful!
I want to encourage you to hit the sack by 9-10pm. This will still give you 6-8 hours of sleep. With plenty of time to rise before your kiddos do.
I’m typically in bed between 9-10pm, and I’m up anytime between 430-6am. Somedays I will get up before 5am, simply because my mind is up and running or I’m hungry.
Personally, I prefer to not set an alarm. I find it much easier to rise when my sleep cycle is allowing me. Instead of waking up and spiking my cortisol levels (stress hormone) first thing in the morning.
It will take sometime to get use to, the first day will be HARD. But after seeing how beneficial it is to rise well before your kids, you will be ‘uper motivated to do so.
Are you feeling like you need to take your day by the horns?! Wanting to add more discipline to your life, but not sure where to start?!
You have come to the right place, hang tight, I’m going to walk you through it!
The first thing I do, obs, is make coffee! We do not have a coffee pot (yuck!) so I boil water and get my pour over ready.
Actually JK the first thing I do is brush my teeth! this prevents the bacteria in your mouth from sleeping to head back into your body and damage your gut health.
While the water boils, the second thing I do is, set the scene. (This is when you will be VERY thankful that your living room is tidy and there are no dirty dishes in the sink.) I turn on a lamp, fill my essential oil diffuser, crank up the heater and arrange where I want to sit. I typically like to sit on the floor and support my back with a pouf or the couch.
Third, after my coffee is ready, I fill my 40oz hydroflask with water and a few ice cubes (my goal is to drink 40oz by the time my son is awake.) I grab a notebook, pen, my beverages and ground myself on the floor. (If I wake up hungry, I will have a piece of fruit or a bowl of instant oatmeal to get me by until I make breakfast.)
Next, (for those of you counting, fourth) I take a few deep breathes, really enjoy the first few sips of my coffee and close my eyes.
Typically while my eyes are closed and I am deep breathing, a few words or a phrase will pop into my head. Typically it is something uplifting, or something that coincides with how I’m feeling at the moment.
I continue to meditate on those words or that phrase. If I feel led, I will write them down in the note book or even pray about them.
After a few moments of meditation and a few more sips of coffee, I open the notebook, and write down anything and everything that I am thinking about.
NOW, you might be thinking, that is NOT something I would do! I thought the same thing, I was like “There is no way I will do this more than once!”
I was so wrong, it has been so therapeutic for me to write down what I’m thinking about, get it out and begin to move on with my day!
Last but not least, I make a to-do list of the things I want to get done before my son wakes up.
I typically start this to-do list in my phone before I go to bed. I find it helps me to fall asleep faster, and not feel the need to stay up because “I might forget tomorrow.”
So I glance over that list, and decide what needs to be tackled before everyone is up and at ’em and I have at it!
What have I found that comes out of this morning routine?
I am more present. After the kids wake up, I wrap up what I am doing and start on breakfast. After breakfast, we are able to get up and moving, walking the dog, out the door to the chiropractor etc.
I am able to get on the floor with him and play, because my mind is not on the basket of laundry that needs to be folded or the dishes that need to be washed.
I am less stressed. Because I tackled the most pressing thing first. Whether it is a blog post, a client proposal, editing photos or a social media schedule, I am less stressed because it is taken care of.
I have more grace. For a while, I was taking it very personal that the work that I do was not being viewed as “work” by people in my life. I was getting upset because I felt like no one understood. No one understood why I needed them to take my son for a few hours so that I could finish up something before a deadline. I was upset because no one understood how crucial nap time was for me (my former working hour(s)). Why we would have to leave family functions or show up late because he would still be sleeping.
Now that my most pressing tasks are getting done before 8-9am, I am able to let it go and have grace that sometimes people just don’t get it!
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