A friend recently said to me "I don't know how I'm ever going to have kids. When I don't have time to myself to recharge I am so moody."
My response; "There is a reason that I enjoy it when I wake up at 5:00 a.m."
Like most Moms with new baby my sleep was sparatic after my second child but after a few months she developed a habit of waking up around 4:30-5:00 in the morning. I would nurse her and she would fall back asleep. There were plenty of times that I was too wide awake to go back to bed and other days I would be exhausted and fall back asleep. On these days I would typically sleep until 7:00 when my older daughter would wake up. These mornings felt clustered and hectic. The baby would typically wake again a couple minutes after her sister and I would drowsily get them both to kitchen where I would poor my older daughter a bowl of cereal which she would then eat in the living room while I nursed the baby again. I felt frazzled and irritable abd it really bothered me yo have my days start out as such a jumbled mess.
Then there were the days that I stayed up at 5:00. After Miss G fell back asleep I then had 2 whole beautiful hours all to myself.
I began to notice a direct correlation between when I'd wake up (and stay up) and how I felt for the duration of the day.
On the days that I was up earlier and had some quiet time to myself to ease into the day I felt collected and energized, despite the fact that I had physically gotten less sleep.
I had originally used my morning time to just do whatever popped into my head; yoga, to-do lists, check social media, read. Then I became intrigued with the way that many of the most successful people in history had a set a morning routine, Tony Robbins calls it his "Morning Ritual".
Additionally, a friend if mine has recently lent me a book called "The Happiness project" by Gretchen Rubin in which the author takes one year to study happines in an attempt to become happier. I have found it very insightful and loved the idea she has about focusing on an area of goals and methods each month.
Fuelled with these four conecpts:
- waking up early
- a healthy breakfast
- personal mourning routine
- just go with it!
I have decided to attempt my own areas of focus. My first goal is to bring a flow to my days.
Waking up early
Many of the world's most successful or creative people have been known to wake up early to get ahead of the day.
Ernest Hemingway was said to wake at 5:00 a.m. and write in the afternoon.
Both Michelle and Barack Obama are early risers. Michelle claims to be working out by 4:30 a.m.
Benjamin Franklin was documented to have arose at 5:00 a.m.
Gretchen Rubin herself had a normal wake up time of 8:00 a.m. and began setting her alarm clock just 15 minutes earlier to get into the habit of an earlier start
Now of course, like everything else, this is not going to work for everybody as we are all built uniquely and live an array of different lives.
Einstein normally slept 10 hours a night and woke up around 8:00 a.m. and Scott F. Fitzgerald was said to sleep until 10 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.
Both Nikola Tesla and Leonardo Davinci are examples of people who practiced polyphasic sleep, a term used to describe those who sleep for short periods of time throughout the day and night, resulting in more overall awake time.
The key is to learn about yourself and take a look at your life and figure out what actions you feel would help you add a nice flow to your days.
For me the early morning works (usually) and makes sense. Even when I am tired in the morning I am almost always happy when I make myself get up. After the initial fog over my brain dissipates it is the time of day that my mind is most focused and clear headed. During the day I am busy with the children so my situation does not allow me to work on other things that would require my full attention or silence. In the evening I do often feel creative but I cant always rely on that because many nights I am over tired and my brain just shuts down. Thus, for me waking up early is the most surefire way for me to have the time I'd like to practice self care and be productive.
My response; "There is a reason that I enjoy it when I wake up at 5:00 a.m."
Like most Moms with new baby my sleep was sparatic after my second child but after a few months she developed a habit of waking up around 4:30-5:00 in the morning. I would nurse her and she would fall back asleep. There were plenty of times that I was too wide awake to go back to bed and other days I would be exhausted and fall back asleep. On these days I would typically sleep until 7:00 when my older daughter would wake up. These mornings felt clustered and hectic. The baby would typically wake again a couple minutes after her sister and I would drowsily get them both to kitchen where I would poor my older daughter a bowl of cereal which she would then eat in the living room while I nursed the baby again. I felt frazzled and irritable abd it really bothered me yo have my days start out as such a jumbled mess.
Then there were the days that I stayed up at 5:00. After Miss G fell back asleep I then had 2 whole beautiful hours all to myself.
I began to notice a direct correlation between when I'd wake up (and stay up) and how I felt for the duration of the day.
On the days that I was up earlier and had some quiet time to myself to ease into the day I felt collected and energized, despite the fact that I had physically gotten less sleep.
I had originally used my morning time to just do whatever popped into my head; yoga, to-do lists, check social media, read. Then I became intrigued with the way that many of the most successful people in history had a set a morning routine, Tony Robbins calls it his "Morning Ritual".
Additionally, a friend if mine has recently lent me a book called "The Happiness project" by Gretchen Rubin in which the author takes one year to study happines in an attempt to become happier. I have found it very insightful and loved the idea she has about focusing on an area of goals and methods each month.
Fuelled with these four conecpts:
- waking up early
- a healthy breakfast
- personal mourning routine
- just go with it!
I have decided to attempt my own areas of focus. My first goal is to bring a flow to my days.
Waking up early
Many of the world's most successful or creative people have been known to wake up early to get ahead of the day.
Ernest Hemingway was said to wake at 5:00 a.m. and write in the afternoon.
Both Michelle and Barack Obama are early risers. Michelle claims to be working out by 4:30 a.m.
Benjamin Franklin was documented to have arose at 5:00 a.m.
Gretchen Rubin herself had a normal wake up time of 8:00 a.m. and began setting her alarm clock just 15 minutes earlier to get into the habit of an earlier start
Now of course, like everything else, this is not going to work for everybody as we are all built uniquely and live an array of different lives.
Einstein normally slept 10 hours a night and woke up around 8:00 a.m. and Scott F. Fitzgerald was said to sleep until 10 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.
Both Nikola Tesla and Leonardo Davinci are examples of people who practiced polyphasic sleep, a term used to describe those who sleep for short periods of time throughout the day and night, resulting in more overall awake time.
The key is to learn about yourself and take a look at your life and figure out what actions you feel would help you add a nice flow to your days.
For me the early morning works (usually) and makes sense. Even when I am tired in the morning I am almost always happy when I make myself get up. After the initial fog over my brain dissipates it is the time of day that my mind is most focused and clear headed. During the day I am busy with the children so my situation does not allow me to work on other things that would require my full attention or silence. In the evening I do often feel creative but I cant always rely on that because many nights I am over tired and my brain just shuts down. Thus, for me waking up early is the most surefire way for me to have the time I'd like to practice self care and be productive.
Personal Morning Routine
one of my goals this month is to get away from spending my morning time as frivolously as I have been. I have read plenty of information that supports the positive effect a morning routine can have on the rest of your day.
Life coach, Tony Robbins told Oprah in an interview that he has a 10 minute ritual that he does every morning to prepare him for the day. His three focuses are; he thinks of three things he is grateful for, he then envisions three successes he'd like to see down the road, lastly he thinks of three outcomes he's committed to that he calls his "Three to thrive".
I am going to implement a 30 minute routine. I will have 6 things I'd like to incorporate and give each 5 minutes of my time. I have selected 6 pieces of music or audio to go along with each step so that I know when time is up for each step (I tend to get lost in thought easily so some sort of a cue will be a great tool to keeping me on track).
Below is the my morning routine after I get the baby back to sleep
-get up at 5:00 a.m.
- gratitude: in my journal write down three things I am grateful for
- meditation
- visualize goals for the future
- yoga
- journal: thought dump
- make a plan for the day
Your plan might look different depending on your personality, lifestyle and goals. Maybe a workout or a run will be part of yours or perhaps diffusing essential oil or reading. The more you tailor a routine to your personality and desired outcomes the more chance you have of sticking to it.
one of my goals this month is to get away from spending my morning time as frivolously as I have been. I have read plenty of information that supports the positive effect a morning routine can have on the rest of your day.
Life coach, Tony Robbins told Oprah in an interview that he has a 10 minute ritual that he does every morning to prepare him for the day. His three focuses are; he thinks of three things he is grateful for, he then envisions three successes he'd like to see down the road, lastly he thinks of three outcomes he's committed to that he calls his "Three to thrive".
I am going to implement a 30 minute routine. I will have 6 things I'd like to incorporate and give each 5 minutes of my time. I have selected 6 pieces of music or audio to go along with each step so that I know when time is up for each step (I tend to get lost in thought easily so some sort of a cue will be a great tool to keeping me on track).
Below is the my morning routine after I get the baby back to sleep
-get up at 5:00 a.m.
- gratitude: in my journal write down three things I am grateful for
- meditation
- visualize goals for the future
- yoga
- journal: thought dump
- make a plan for the day
Your plan might look different depending on your personality, lifestyle and goals. Maybe a workout or a run will be part of yours or perhaps diffusing essential oil or reading. The more you tailor a routine to your personality and desired outcomes the more chance you have of sticking to it.
Add a smoothie
I used to start every morning with a smoothie. Now sometimes I make them with breakfast, sometime I have one with lunch, and sometimes I don't have one at all. My older daughter loves them and I even feed some to the baby with a spoon so why we don't have them everyday is a mystery that makes no sense. I intend to start having them with breakfast every day that way I know that no matter what else we have with it we have started our day with fruits, fibre, and maybe even some vegetables!
Now of course, smoothies are not everybody's top choice of foods but it is generally recommended to ensure you fuel your body with healthy foods first thing in the morning so whatever foods you prefer it can be a great boost in the morning to make sure you eat breakfast.
I used to start every morning with a smoothie. Now sometimes I make them with breakfast, sometime I have one with lunch, and sometimes I don't have one at all. My older daughter loves them and I even feed some to the baby with a spoon so why we don't have them everyday is a mystery that makes no sense. I intend to start having them with breakfast every day that way I know that no matter what else we have with it we have started our day with fruits, fibre, and maybe even some vegetables!
Now of course, smoothies are not everybody's top choice of foods but it is generally recommended to ensure you fuel your body with healthy foods first thing in the morning so whatever foods you prefer it can be a great boost in the morning to make sure you eat breakfast.
Plan and prep ahead
When researching morning routines many people point put that making a to do list and using a planner are essential to making their day run smoothly.
Being at home with teo kids has taught me that without at least dome sort of an idea of what I want to accomplish or activities for us to do it is ridiculously easy to spend the better part of the day deciding what we are going to do that day. I also found that without a to-do list I will acctually forget tasks that need to be done only to remember them at the most inconvenient times.
This way of running my life amounted in significant wasted time and feeling of always having to "catch up."
I began to think about when I was working. I had a schedule that I was able to manipulate in ways that worked for me. Other people had the ability to book appointments for me but I was able to put in my own appointments and block out time that I needed to get paperwork done, take breaks or do a course. Being able to see what my day had in store as well as a certain amount of time slotted for each task helped me stay focused and organized. I realized that I thrived with this type of time management and I think applying something similar to my life at home would not only help me be more productive but also enhance the enjoyment that my whole family will experience in our day-to-day lives.
When researching morning routines many people point put that making a to do list and using a planner are essential to making their day run smoothly.
Being at home with teo kids has taught me that without at least dome sort of an idea of what I want to accomplish or activities for us to do it is ridiculously easy to spend the better part of the day deciding what we are going to do that day. I also found that without a to-do list I will acctually forget tasks that need to be done only to remember them at the most inconvenient times.
This way of running my life amounted in significant wasted time and feeling of always having to "catch up."
I began to think about when I was working. I had a schedule that I was able to manipulate in ways that worked for me. Other people had the ability to book appointments for me but I was able to put in my own appointments and block out time that I needed to get paperwork done, take breaks or do a course. Being able to see what my day had in store as well as a certain amount of time slotted for each task helped me stay focused and organized. I realized that I thrived with this type of time management and I think applying something similar to my life at home would not only help me be more productive but also enhance the enjoyment that my whole family will experience in our day-to-day lives.
Things will not always go as planned - just go with it!
I have young children.
There are going to be nights when the kids wake up with colds or bad dreams and I will have to sleep later just to be able to function.
There will be mornings where nothing is going right and I will reach for the juice boxes and cereal.
There will be times when the baby won't go back to sleep and my routine will be replaced with peek-a-boo.
My days will not always coincide exactly as to what is on my planner (in fact, I am sure it will be miraculous if they ever do).
The point is for me to create habits that are my normal and easy to pick up again and my plan will be there as a reminder of what needs to be done or what we are doing that day, I think the key will be for me to look at it as a guideline rather then a schedual. Most resources I read stated that they also rarely did everything on a to-do list but that it helped them keep track of tasks and they would just move them to the next day if they were incomplete.
Your situation will look different from mine and you will have your own distractions and hurdles but creating a constructive routine that ends up a natural process for you will benefit you greatly on the majority of your days and make the tough days less frequent and easier to overcome.
Do you have any routines that have enhanced your quality of life? I'd love to hear them!
I have young children.
There are going to be nights when the kids wake up with colds or bad dreams and I will have to sleep later just to be able to function.
There will be mornings where nothing is going right and I will reach for the juice boxes and cereal.
There will be times when the baby won't go back to sleep and my routine will be replaced with peek-a-boo.
My days will not always coincide exactly as to what is on my planner (in fact, I am sure it will be miraculous if they ever do).
The point is for me to create habits that are my normal and easy to pick up again and my plan will be there as a reminder of what needs to be done or what we are doing that day, I think the key will be for me to look at it as a guideline rather then a schedual. Most resources I read stated that they also rarely did everything on a to-do list but that it helped them keep track of tasks and they would just move them to the next day if they were incomplete.
Your situation will look different from mine and you will have your own distractions and hurdles but creating a constructive routine that ends up a natural process for you will benefit you greatly on the majority of your days and make the tough days less frequent and easier to overcome.
Do you have any routines that have enhanced your quality of life? I'd love to hear them!