5 Morning Routine Hacks for Busy Moms
Successful mornings don’t come naturally to me. When I was young, my morning routine was a mess. I would stay up too late and I never wanted to get up early.
Then as a mom, I added the challenges of getting myself and 3 kids to wake up (when they don’t want to get up), get them ready and get to school/work on time every day. Without a morning routine that works, my dream of morning bliss would easily become a morning nightmare.
That’s when I learned I needed to change my morning routine. I started practicing the 5 morning habits of successful people and my mornings changed. I didn’t have stress and chaos any longer. These habits are the best morning routine for busy moms.
If you want to have a successful morning, you must have a plan. Successful mornings don’t just happen by wishing and hoping. But with some determination, you can change and get back your mornings.
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5 Morning Routine Habits for Busy Moms
They are prepared to start the day when they get up
Morning success really starts the evening before. As busy moms, you don’t have time to do everything in the morning. Good morning habits start with planning and preparing the night before.
Every evening before bed (or as part of your evening routine), choose your outfit for the next day. Be sure to have everything you need including shoes, necklace, earrings, everything. You don’t want to waste precious morning time searching for lost or missing shoes.
Bonus points if you lay out all your clothes for the week on Sunday night and set-up your children’s clothes too.
Get Backpacks, Diaper Bags and Personal Items Ready the Night Before
When homework is done for the evening, we get the all book bags prepared the night before and placed by the front door (preferably hanging up if they are not too heavy). We double check and make sure all the books, homework and gym bags are ready to go when we are. No hunting for last minute papers and books when it’s time to leave in the morning. Lunches are prepared the night before and kept in the refrigerator till morning when they are placed with the book bags.
If you have little ones, be sure to double check the diaper bag and add more diapers, wipes, a change of clothes and other items your baby will need during the day.
Don’t miss this post: Mom’s Morning Rules
Create a Simple Organization System
Morning and evening routines keep me organized and help me remember to do everything that needs to be done before it’s too late or I am in a panic.
A few simple ideas to organize daily tasks include: keeping school lunches simple. Prep everything for a week on Sunday and store in individual packages in the refrigerator and pantry. Each evening when you prepare lunches, you will be able to quickly and easily grab the items for each lunch.
When my children were small, I used hanging sweater shelves in the closet. I would use one shelf for each day of the week. I placed an outfit and socks/underwear (and sometimes I would include a diaper to make my life very easy) on a shelf for each child. Each child had a hanging shelf for their clothes.
In the morning, once I was dressed, I would go to their room, grab their clothes for the day and dress them. We would be off to school and work much faster and with less hassle. No more scrambling for matching clothes and socks.
My children are older now attend a school that requires uniforms. We still use a similar process. All their uniforms for the week are folded neatly and hanging together in each child’s closet. When they get up each morning, they are able to pick a shirt and pants or skirt to wear for the day. All the uniform tops/bottoms are mix and match.
Keep Breakfast Simple
If we are not careful, we will get slowed down with breakfast. Too many choices, what to eat, everyone wants something different. Breakfast can become a distraction and slow your morning routine down.
Make breakfast simple and only offer a few choices like 2 kinds of cereal or try oatmeal and yogurt. The more choices offered, the longer breakfast will take. We also usually require that everyone gets dressed and be ready first, then eat breakfast. This way, even if they eat breakfast slow, they are still ready to go. Sometimes, I still have to remind them to stay focused and eat.
Plan Your Day
To start your day successfully, you need to plan your day.
Successful people take a few minutes each morning to write down their daily schedule, tasks that need to be completed, and daily priorities.
You can use a daily agenda or planner or just a simple to-do list. But if you don’t know what you want to accomplish today, at the end of the day, you will not know if you were successful because you don’t know if you accomplished or completed anything.
Start every day with a simple action plan and t0-do list.
Recommended for you: How to get your kids to school on-time every day
Give Yourself Margin Time
Life happens. It always seems to happen to me in the morning when I am rushed and stressed trying to get the kids to school on time. The best way to allow for all the little things that will go wrong is to give yourself some margin time each day.
By just adding 10-15 minutes to your morning routine, you will be able to handle most situations that happen in the morning that ruin your schedule and make you late.
Smart Mom Smart Mornings – 30-Day Success Plan
Changing our morning routine means changing our habits. Smart Mom Smart Mornings gives you a 30-day plan to transform your morning chaos into a calm and successful morning.
I haven’t always been a morning person. I would say that for most of my life I slept in too late and pushed the snooze button too many times and my days usually started in a panicked mess. But as I started making the changes in Smart Mom Smart Mornings I was able to get more done and be more successful in the morning hours and you can do it too.
Here’s what you’ll learn in Smart Mom Smart Mornings:
- Why mornings are the most important part of your day
- The one mindset shift you need to make that will change your mornings
- How to overcome the challenges that derail your morning success
- How to set your morning priorities
- How to determine your goals and make them happen
- and so much more…
You are guided step-by-step each day with this 30-day plan that will transform your mornings.
Wouldn’t it be nice to start your day with a morning that’s calm, focused and productive? Let’s get started, get your copy of Smart Mom Smart Mornings now or get the bundle – Smart Mom Smart Mornings and the companion workbook for one low price.
Your turn…
What’s your best tip for morning success?
