My Morning Routine

Yesterday, my friend, Phyllis of Napkin Hoarder, shared a post about her morning routine, inspired by a recent article on Forbes.com about the morning routines of highly successful women. Phyllis wrote about her routine in order to show what the morning routines of regular (i.e., non-CEOs, non-Hollywood-types, etc.) look like. Her inspiration caught on, and my friends Danielle of Another Version of Mother and Lisa of Squared Mommy shared their morning routines, too.  I love this idea and their posts, so I am adding mine to the mix. Consider our morning routines yet another way the lives of women are vastly different. One routine, one approach to the morning is not better than another; we all ease into our days differently, though we all share a race against the clock.

6:00 AM – My husband’s iPhone alarm goes off. He gets up and showers. Some mornings, if I go to sleep on time (say at 10 PM) the night before, I get up before him to write, read, or catch up on email. For the past few months, I’ve been stuck in a habit of going to bed too late, and consequently need every single minute of sleep. I’m a morning person, but if I don’t get enough sleep, I’m not good at all.

6:15 AM – I wake up, as my husband gets out of the shower and goes back and forth across our room to get dressed. I wake up via my alarm (which I let snooze at least once) or because I hear him moving around.

6:20-6:30 AM – I get in the shower to kick off my morning. Then, I get dressed.

6:30-7:00 AM – The kids wake up. They migrate into our bedroom, one at a time, climbing into our bed as we finish getting ready. They are each 100% ready to go when they come in, though sometimes, there’s a bit of snuggling. My husband leaves for work during this time, sometimes getting one of our early risers breakfast.

7:00 AM – The kids and I go into the kitchen. I’m dressed; they are still in pajamas. We all eat breakfast. The kids have cereal, milk, and vitamins. Sometimes, they have yogurt; sometimes, oatmeal. Their food choices go in phases. Lately, I have been eating a gluten-free English muffin with peanut butter and banana or egg and cheese. And tea—multiple cups of tea. The kids, R especially, typically ask for a second breakfast of fruit or more cereal. (That kid is in the midst of a crazy growth spurt.) While we eat, I empty the dishwasher, put snacks and lunches (packed the night before) in backpacks, make sure homework/library books/notes to teachers are in the backpacks, and place the packs by the front door.

7:30 AM (on a good day) – I cajole, threaten, or bribe the kids to get dressed. If I have been really organized, G’s clothes have been picked out and are hanging by day in her closet. But, that rarely happens, so it’s more likely that I am picking out an outfit for her that she will reject. I pick out another. She rejects that one. Exasperated, I give up and go into R’s room to select his clothes. He wears whatever I pick out—if I can get him to stop reading to pay attention to me. Eventually, after much frustration on my part, the kids will get dressed, brush their teeth and hair, and make their beds. (For R, this means placing his comforter on top of his stuffed animals. Lumpy, yes, but he’s trying.)

8:00 AM – “Put on your shoes. Put on your shoes. Put on your shoes.”

8:05 AM – “Put on your shoes. Put on your shoes. Put on your shoes.”

8:10-8:15 AM – We leave for school. Sometimes, we walk with neighborhood kids—it depends on the weather.

8:20-8:25 AM – We arrive at school. The kids hang out with their friends on the playground.

8:30 AM – The bell rings and school day begins. I try to say good-bye at the door, but the kids always want me to come inside. I walk them to their lockers, give hugs, and say good-byes. I say hello to their teachers, and sometimes, get a chance to catch up with G’s teacher.

8:45 AM – I arrive back home. I grab another cup of tea and head to the office.

9:45 AM – After a 15 mile commute, which takes about an hour (it could be worse!), I arrive at work.*

*Generally, three days a week, I go into the office, working a 10 AM-6 PM+ day. One day a week I work from home, which means no commute; I’m at my kitchen table, working, by 9 AM. And one day (the day the kids get out of school at 12:15 PM), I don’t (normally) work, so my morning routine includes (hopefully!) exercise after dropping the kids at school.

Everyone’s morning is different, right? The trick, for me, is to do as much as possible the night before. It’s been my saving grace since the kids were small.

What about you? What’s your morning routine?

Photo credit: Nomadic Lass via photopin cc