Morning Routine Hacks
4 ways to get out the door quickly in the morning
I’ve written a couple of posts about making dinner time and after school a little easier but I realized I needed to come up with a plan for making our mornings run smoother and help us to get out the door quickly in the morning.
I am not a morning person never will be probably it’s just not who I am. Lucky for me my husband is and has done the morning stuff before school the last few years. He still will do it most days but with his new work schedule I will have to do some mornings. I don’t want to get my daughter to school late or on “my time” which will not be actually on time.
So I’m planning now how to make the mornings easier. Not only for the days I end up doing it but also on the days Blake is up with her and taking care of things. Lucky for both of us Isabella is also an earlier riser so getting her up isn’t a problem just getting her ready and out the door on time.
1. Get prepared the night before
Yes this will give you more to do in the evening but it will make your morning so much easier. It really should only take 15 to 30 minutes depending on your family and how much you need to get ready.
For me that means making sure Isabella has her backpack ready to walk out the door with in the morning. Laying out her clothes and shoes for the next day. How many of us have had rushed mornings do to a lot shoe? I know I’m not the only one.
Then make sure you have what you need to leave in the morning as well. Going to run errands or go to work pick out your outfit as well. Have your bag and keys ready to go. Taking the time to do it in the evening will save time and get rid of a lot of stress.
2. Do everything earlier than you need to
Get up a few minutes earlier than you need to. Leave the house earlier than you need to. That way you have some buffer time built in. You never know when there will be traffic or something to slow you down.
3.Have a to do list ready the night before
I never use to make a daily to do list but now that I do I can see why I never got much done without one. However you want to make it a piece of paper, on your phone, whatever. I like using Evernote myself but find what works for you.
Make a list of what you want to get done the next day and have it ready to go when you wake up. That way you know exactly what you want to accomplish and you won’t waste time trying to figure it out while you’re trying to get your day started.
For me I just copy and paste the current day’s list into a new note. Edit out what has been done and add anything new I want to work on. I do this because I have some things I do each day and I still want them on my list so I remember to do them and because I get satisfaction from checking them off as done each day.
4. Prepare a quick and easy breakfast
Even though you are busy and have a lot to do in the morning it is so important that you make the time for all of you to eat something. Your kids need food to give them the energy to get through the day and so do you. So make a plan to make breakfast as easy and quick as possible.
I headed to Walmart to make sure we have fruit to cut up and have ready in the fridge, yogurts, cereal and other quick and on the go ideas for in the morning. What I wanted though was something quick and easy but also warm and filling.
I was thrilled to discover this new product I hadn’t seen before. Jimmy Dean® Stuffed Hash Browns. There was sausage and cheese as well as meat lovers which has sausage bacon and ham.
This was perfect. A way to heat up something right before we leave for school that would be hot and ready in minutes. It has 9g of protein which I like to try and give my daughter more of in the mornings. She can even eat in the car on the way to school.