Morning Routine for Busy Mamas

 Your morning sets the tone for your entire day. So, if every day when you wake up, you're rushing to get the kids organized, stressed about the time, and overwhelmed by your to-do list... well, that doesn't bode well for the rest of your day!

Ok, but here's the thing. I have read a lot about morning routines - I'm a morning person and I am most productive before noon. However, I'm also a mom.

Sometimes, my 2 year old decides to wake up 7 times throughout the night. Sometimes, she wakes up 10 minutes after I do, and only mama will do.

The advice given by other entrepreneurs for how to structure your morning doesn't always work. The mompreneur morning routine needs flexibility; you may be required to adapt, to adjust, to accommodate for the needs of a toddler.

Regardless, these tips and strategies can help you change the tone of your morning so that you can reduce stress, increase productivity, and worry less.

1. get up before the kids (if you can)

Ok, this is an obvious one. It might require you to go to bed earlier or to put your alarm clock across the room so you can break up with the snooze button. However, give yourself some grace. If your baby wakes up at 5am everyday and the idea of getting up at 4 is literal misery - give yourself some grace and adapt your routine to include the kid(s).

2. Gratitude is the opposite of stress

If the first thing you do when you wake up is look at the (super depressing) world news or stress about your list of things to do - I want you to stop. Right now. If you can take anything from this list and put it into practice, I hope it's this.

"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." - Eckhart Tolle

Now, you can incorporate gratitude into your morning routine in a multitude of ways and I encourage you to find the way that works for you. Some people turn their alarm off and immediately think of 5 things for which they are grateful. Some might meditate on their gratitude, while some will  focus on what they are grateful for while brushing their teeth. Some prefer to put pen to paper, listing every single day their grateful hearts. It doesn't matter how you do it; it just matters that you do.

And if your kids wake up early with you, include them in this practice. Imagine focusing every single day from childhood on all the things you have to be thankful for. That's a pretty freakin' cool gift to give your children.

3. Exercise

Look, you don't have to run 10k or even do a full workout if you don't want to. Your morning exercise routine might be 10 minutes of yoga (or, heck, even 1 minute of yoga). You can stretch or you can do intense cardio. You can do some push-ups and sit-ups or you can do a full strength-training workout.

Whatever you do will set you up with more energy for your day. Plus, who doesn't want a healthy dose of endorphins first thing in the morning?

4. Write your to-do list

Some people prefer to do this before bed; I like to do a brain dump of everything I need to get done during the day when I wake up. I take a fresh piece of paper and write done everything I can think of that I need to accomplish, whether it's work tasks or wife tasks.

And then, I pick 3 things. Yep, just 3. I reflect on what might be time-sensitive (a blog post that needs to go up or a living room that needs to be cleaned before people come over tonight). And I focus on getting those 3 things done during my day. If I accomplish more? Yay, go me! And if not? That's ok. There's always tomorrow.

5. Read (or listen to) something inspiring

Put down your phone, avoid the newsfeed and the news, and pick up a good book or plug into an inspirational podcast or audiobook. (As a mama of early-rising kids, you might find that listening to books is the key to getting in more "reading.") I always advise my clients to avoid business-related information first thing in the morning; hang out in a positive space when you wake up and you'll feel more ease when you get to your work-related tasks.

6. Give yourself some grace

You're a mom; this is pretty much my advice for anything. Didn't get to write down your to-do list? That's ok, maybe writing it down before bed will be a better fit for you. Didn't get to read before the kids woke up? Cool, turn on a podcast (find my favourites here).

Always, always, always give yourself grace. Don't ever beat yourself up for pressing snooze or skipping your workout. You're human. There's over 7 billion of us; welcome to the club.