Yikes! Where did the time go? I got up early enough this morning, but now I have only 10 minutes till I have to leave and I must choose between make-up and breakfast.
A family member needed a little extra love this morning and now I’m rushing like a crazy woman to get ready to leave for my appointment. I hate leaving dirty breakfast dishes in the sink. It’s daunting when I come home and need to start cooking and the breakfast mess is in the way.
Sound familiar?
De-stress your morning with a good evening routine. We’ve all heard this secret to calm mornings yet we all need to be reminded because we slip back into old habits. Life happens. We women are entrusted with the care of our families. What better reason to prepare for a less stressed morning?
I just re-read a very practical blog post by a favorite organizational blogger about evening routines that help mornings go smoother. (Aby Garvey simplify101.com) I read this article some time ago and saved it to remind myself of these principles because when I follow them my day starts a whole lot better. When I don’t, chaos soon swallows me.
These are Aby’s ideas but in order of importance to me and with my comments.
Tidy up for 15 minutes the night before. This is key for me. Getting up to a neat house, especially the kitchen, sets the tone for efficiency during that important first hour of the day. A clean kitchen helps my attitude. A messy kitchen makes me feel defeated before I even start. Waking up to an orderly bedroom is calming. Walking into a freshened up living room makes me proud.
Finish something you started. Finishing makes me feel successful. Finishing something visible let’s others know I succeeded at my task. Say, putting away the rest of the laundry that sat on the bed after I got that phone call. But there are also the not visible projects that are important to my mind and heart. That person I forgot to email and the last image to be PhotoShop-ed. So rewarding to say, “Done.” There are many projects that cannot be completed in a day or a week or a month. But I can say, “Not finished, but done for today.” and close it in my mind.
Pick out tomorrow’s outfit. My husband used to accuse me of changing my outfit three times before I left the house. Now I usually lay out my clothes the night before even when I’m not going anywhere the next day. It gives me a faster start in the morning. What actually made this a habit for me was winter. Yep, winter. We didn’t heat our bedroom or closet. Standing in the cold deciding what to wear was silly. I started laying my next day’s clothes out by the wood stove so I could dash out to the fire in the morning and dress in warm clothes.
Pack it up. Prepare lunches, work necessities, gym bag, backpacks the night before. This week I had a morning appointment in a town a half hour away followed by a Lowe’s run in a town an hour away. I actually packed my snack and put it into my purse the night before. So glad I did because the morning was hectic and I would’ve gone hungry without the night before prep.
Unplug and Unwind. This is an area I need to improve in. My sweet spot for work output is evening. I get tons done between 8 and 10:30 pm. But, boy, am I revved up by bedtime. I need to decompress and rushing to get ready for bed because my tired husband is moaning doesn’t lend itself to being relaxed. I’m learning that I should make myself stop work about 9:00 and do the bedtime routine, then return to working. That way I’m ready for bed at a moment’s notice i.e. a husband’s plea for sleep. We agreed at the beginning of our marriage to go to bed together and get up together. I know many couples have work schedules that won’t allow this, but it has worked for us. I hated every 5:15am alarm, but I was committed to the unity of prayer together before our work day started. It also meant early bedtimes that eliminated my most productive times, but it was worth it. Now that we’re retired-kind of- we have more control of our schedules which is so great!
