Many parents will say that the choices they make the night before have a profound effect on how the next day begins.
When you are a parent the morning just takes on a whole new meaning. Your leisurely shower has been replaced by dry shampoo and regularly sniffing your clothes to make sure they’re acceptably clean. The hair straightener is only for special occasions so a quick hair-brush is as good as it’s going to get.
As for make-up? It’s done in the car while parked outside your child’s school after drop off. Breakfast is often in a wrapper and you are perpetually almost late for wherever you need to be. I’m out of breath just thinking about it.
Many parents will say that the choices they make the night before have a profound effect on how the next day begins. There are so many things that can be left until the next day but if they are taken care of the evening before the stress levels are significantly reduced when trying to get out of the house the next morning.
Evenings are usually the time of day where motivation and get-up-and-go are at an all-time low. You’ve been dreaming about that cup of tea and bit of chocolate all day and the mere thought of having to do anything that doesn’t absolutely have to be done is unbearable.
Here lies the problem. When you are tired and cranky you really don’t care about the next morning. You can’t see past how you are feeling right now in this moment. You can’t entertain another task.
When your day starts off as a stressful, shouty affair it is very likely to have an impact on the entire day. Everyone is starting their day on a negative note and that is unhealthy for everyone involved. This is the zone where lunches are forgotten, tights are ripped and you forget to put the alarm on.
Here are some evening habits that really do make it easier to get out of the house in the morning.
1. Make lunches while you’re making dinner. While waiting for the pasta to boil or chips to cook you could tick another job off the list. You’ll thank yourself in the morning and eventually, it will become a normal nightly habit.
2. Shower at night. This has been a game changer for me. Showering at night helps me sleep better and gives me one less thing to do in the morning.
3. Leave clothes out for everyone, including yourself. This one is huge. The kids might wear the same uniform every morning but taking two minutes to lay it out with pants, socks, shoes and any accessories they need will make dressing them a thousand times easier. There will be no stressful fumbling for yesterday’s jumper or socks that match. Do the very same for your own outfit!
4. Set a timer on the heating so that the house is nice and warm when you wake up. It makes it a lot easier to convince yourself to leave the bed.
5. Leave bowls, spoons, cereal and breakfast accessories on the table so that they are ready to be used and easy to manage.
6. Leave the place as tidy as possible. We know, we know, BUT we also know how much you hate to wake up to dirty dishes and mess.
7. Do not take your phone to bed with you. It affects your quality of sleep and makes it much more difficult for your brain to slow down and relax. Reading or meditating will put you in a more relaxed state and waking up is a lot easier after quality sleep has happened.
8. Check the weather forecast for the next day. If raincoats and wellies are needed you can root them out now and if the traffic is worse during rain you can set the alarm for a couple of minutes earlier.
Tracey is a happy mammy to four-year-old Billy. She is a breastfeeder, gentle parent and has recently lost five stone so healthy family eating is her passion! You can find her at www.loveofliving.ie/.