Do you feel that pressure to be Super Mom? It seems like there’s an unwritten rule that moms need to be super productive, always happy, and exceptionally organized. But that’s just not possible, especially when it comes to creating routines for moms or following and evaluating a morning routine to make sure it’s productive.
If you have a morning routine but it’s just not working, it might be time to evaluate your morning routine.
Even though I’ve taken Make Over Your Mornings, an entire course dedicated to creating your ideal morning routine, I still have days when I feel like a failure. And even though I bought the course over a year ago, I still review it periodically.
As you go through life, your seasons change.
Maybe you’re waking up with a newborn during the night and an early morning routine isn’t practical for you now.
But maybe your kids are getting older and you want to start using the early morning hours for yourself (even if it’s just to enjoy a cup of coffee while it’s still hot).
When your season changes, your morning routine might need to change, too.
Over the past couple months, my routine was to wake up when my daughter started tapping me on the face.
Not exactly the ideal morning routine I had planned.
I don’t know about you, but my morning routine needed an overhaul! It didn’t make me feel productive, happy (unless you count the flop on the couch part), or organized.
As I thought about my existing morning routine and how I wanted my ideal routine to be, I realized that there were three main steps to create or update a functional morning routine.
(If you need help creating a morning routine from scratch, read How to Create Your Ideal Morning Routine first.)
How to Evaluate Your Morning Routine
1. What’s working well and what needs improvement in your existing routine?
If you need to evaluate your morning routine, think about what’s currently working (and what’s not).
One of my favorite parts of my current morning routine is my coffee/reading/flop on the couch time, so I wanted to keep that (maybe not on the couch, though). Quiet, relaxing time helps me start my day on a peaceful note. It also helps me stay calmer and less frantic during the day.
Think about the current pace of your morning routine and everything that you’re trying to fit into your routine.
Is your routine too hectic? Or do you find that your “routine” has so much packed in that you aren’t able to complete everything until noon?
(By the way, if you’re struggling with getting organized or being more productive in general, get these 46 time management, self-care, and productivity resources in the Ultimate Productivity Bundle. Learn more here.)
2. What are your priorities or goals for your daily routine?
Choose one or two priorities, or things that you want to include in your morning routine.
Base your routine on your top priority so that you know it’ll get done. For me, that meant creating my routines so I’d have time for exercise, but you may want to include quiet time or time for a hobby.
Once you know your top priority, create your routine around that. Add in the details, like eating breakfast and taking your shower after you’ve completed your main task.
3. Is your morning routine realistic?
On a side note, don’t feel guilty if you need to tweak your morning routine (or “start” it for the fifth day in a row). I find that I need to reset my morning routine at least twice a year, if not more, depending on the season and even what’s been going on recently.
Everyone’s been sick in our house lately (and we’re still worn out from Christmas break), so we’ve been sleeping in. Needless to say, our morning routine went out the window. If that’s you, give yourself grace, but make sure you try again before you totally forget about it.
If you get sidetracked from your morning routine, spend some time evaluating it and making sure that it still fits in your season of life. If not, make some changes and then start again!
Related reading on Organized Motherhood:
How to Create Your Ideal Morning Routine
11 Ways to Simplify Your Morning Routine
7 Simple Hacks to Make Mornings Fun
What’s in my morning routine?
As I was creating my morning routine, I realized that I needed to include quiet time. Also, I want to make exercise a priority, so I based my ideal routines around my goal to exercise.
I ended up making two basic routines based on my goal to exercise – one for the days when I exercise at home and one for the days when I go to the Y.
If you have a schedule that changes or if you have different goals, feel free to create more than one routine. You’ll be more likely to stay on track if you have flexible routines that actually help you accomplish your goals.
- 6:00 Wake up
- Put on exercise clothes
- Run on treadmill/listen to podcast
- Start laundry
- 6:30 Shower
- Fix hair and makeup
- Put on mommy uniform
- 6:50 Kids up
- Give medicine and brush teeth
- Get kids dressed
- Eat breakfast
- 7:20 Get my son to the bus stop
- 7:30 Monday or 8:45 Tuesday/Thursday Leave for preschool dropoff
- 8:00 Monday or 9:10 Tuesday/Thursday Work
- 10:50 Monday or 11:20 Tuesday/Thursday Leave for preschool pickup
- 6:00 Wake up
- Put on exercise clothes
- Start laundry
- 6:10 Coffee/read/work
- 6:50 Kids up
- Give medicine and brush teeth
- Get kids dressed
- Eat breakfast
- 7:20 Out the door
- 9:15 Shower
- Fix hair and makeup
- Put on mommy uniform
- 9:45 Work
- 10:50 Monday or 11:20 Tuesday/Thursday Leave for preschool pickup
So far, I haven’t been perfect at following these routines every day, but I’ve noticed a difference on the days when I do. I’m so much more productive, and I’m also calmer (and more likely to be on time for preschool dropoff and pickup).
Don’t expect perfection when you’re first starting out. Baby steps!!! ?
To recap, if you need to (re)create your morning routine, think about what’s currently working (and what’s not).
Also, choose one or two priorities, or things that you want to include in your morning routine. Try to base your routine on that priority so that you know it’ll get done. For me, that meant creating my routines so I’d have time for exercise, but you may want to include quiet time or time for a hobby.
Then, think about your end time and work backward. What time do you need to be out the door or finished with your routine? What tasks do you need to complete before then?
Choose your start time based on what’s realistic, as well as how long it’ll take you to complete your task list. I chose 6:00 because that’s the earliest that I could get up. However, if your morning routine is too tight (for example, you’re not sure that you can actually get out the door with everyone dressed), you may need to adjust your start time.
Use the morning routine worksheet if you need help deciding on what to include in your routine, as well as your start and end times.
On a side note, don’t feel guilty if you need to tweak your morning routine (or “start” it for the fifth day in a row). I find that I need to reset my morning routine at least twice a year, if not more, depending on the season and even what’s been going on recently.
Everyone’s been sick in our house lately, so we’ve been sleeping in. Needless to say, our morning routine went out the window. If that’s you, give yourself grace, but make sure you try again before you totally forget about it.
If you get sidetracked from your morning routine, spend some time evaluating it and making sure that it still fits in your season of life. If not, make some changes and then start again!
Here’s to making a productive, happy, and organized morning!
Noleen Miller
Tuesday 27th of February 2018
I did a blog post a couple of months ago about "surviving the morning rush." To me it's all about planning most of the things the night before. Thanks for sharing.#Dreamteam