planner

I would love to wake up every morning with the first thought being ‘Let’s Do This!’ Sometimes it is, but other times I think, ‘Please, just 5 more minutes.’ All year (only a few months, but that’s ok) I’ve been working on how to have a more positive day from the start. I’ve learned what routines work for me to ensure a more productive day throughout. These may not work for you but perhaps a couple of them could be worked into your schedule to make for a better morning…which always leads to a better day!

1. Shower. This seems like a silly thing to put up here. For some people it’s an obvious, ‘Must shower before I do anything’ and others it’s, ‘Why shower? I’m just going to get spit up on in 10 minutes’. The latter was my outlook for a while after I had our baby! Now, I look at it as ‘I deserve this time!’ Here are the things I use. Obviously I don’t use all of this every day, but I like the variety to take the kind of shower that I’m looking for (relaxing/pampering or exfoliating/rejuvenating.)

Shower by shelly-bergman featuring Margarita body cleansers

2. Accessorize. I got in the routine of wearing yoga pants, stretchy shirt and ponytails. I realized it was making me less productive during the day and I never felt pretty. I now put on at least ONE accessory. It’s usually in the form of studs and mascara but I’ve been getting better at wearing jeans for most of the week and throwing on a scarf. My baby loves the different textures of the scarfs and it gives her something, other than my hair, to hold on to! BTW, do you see that unicorn ring?! It’s over $300 (!!!) but freaking awesome! 😉 Those red glasses down there are what I wear to feel bloggy, as mentioned here.

3. Food. Any kind of food if it’s a struggle for you. I am on the 4 Hour Body right now and my breakfasts consist of scrambled egg whites mixed with black beans and salsa. Every. Day. BUT it stays with me for longer so I’m not hungry or snacky before lunch. It’s crucial for me to have my breakfast within 1 hour of waking up so I’m not hangry. I love our breakfast because we make a bunch on Sunday, which lasts us every morning, so we don’t have the excuse to not have breakfast. You don’t have to eat what we do but if you’re the type to skip breakfast because of time, find some fast and healthy breakfasts you can make ahead of time! There are TONS on Pinterest. Oatmeal or hard boiled eggs are always a great make-ahead meals.

4. Plan. I use this planner every day. I plan meals on the weekends so I know what foods to get out to thaw or put in the crock pot. I use it to remember to send Birthday cards. I use it to keep a cleaning schedule. I even use it to remember to do my #100happydays, workout and meditate (things that most people don’t need a reminder to get done.) My mind gets extremely anxious if I don’t have lists and plans. I get too many things to remember pushing and shoving around in my head which lends to being forgetful. I can’t imagine not having a planner if I had an older child or more than one!! There’s a LOT to keep track of once they’re going to school and in extra curricular activities! I look at my planner the night before to write down anything I want to get done the next day and I look at it every morning to remind myself of my goals. I always have 3 things I plan to accomplish and I love crossing them off. If there’s something that doesn’t get done I move it to the following day- no big deal. I also have a blog planner but that’s a whole separate topic. 😉

5. Do something for you. Before everything gets crazy and you spend your day taking care of everyone else. I’ve mentioned this before but I completely agree with it! I look at one chapter (2 pages) of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Each chapter has a positive stress-relieving attribute that I focus on throughout the day. Some people like listening to pod casts on religious, political or scientific topics to have something to think about throughout the day. Some people meditate to clear their head of the non-sense to have an opened mind through out the day. Having that routine THING that helps you focus on yourself will help you better help you at your job and helping others.

You already do at least one of these in your morning routine, don’t you? Perhaps you do completely different things and they work awesome for your lifestyle! These are the steps that I take in order for me to have a productive day. I’ve watched a lot of YouTube and read a lot of blogs regarding morning routines when I was in a funk about getting motivated and staying motivated throughout the day. For me, since I don’t have to rush to work or get my kids off to school, this works for me. I also wake up at 5a M,W,F and 8a on T,TH to make sure I’m getting enough rest but also having enough time to do everything I want in my day. The days I wake up at 5a I go with friends to the gym to do a ‘couch to 5k’ workout so I’m back to the house and ready to be on baby duty by 6:30a. This just started, which is why I didn’t add it to my 5 main steps that I do to get motivated for the day, but it always seems to jump start me for the day! What steps do you already do? What have you added to your routine that totally rocks for you?! I wanna hear them!