As a mompreneur with a five-year-old daughter and twin three-year-old boys, a day can go sour the moment my feet hit the toy-cluttered floor. The best way I’ve found to minimize frustration and mitigate the crazy is to establish a reliable morning routine. Just like any good marriage, parenthood and entrepreneurship rely more on commitment than motivation.
There are days when I wake up and I don’t feel like making breakfasts, shlepping the kids to school, or exercising. There are entire weeks when I want to skip meetings and ignore emails. When you’re committed to a routine, however, you stay focused even when you’re not feeling the motivation. Homes and businesses rely more on consistency than flashes of inspiration and genius.
So what’s the magic routine that keeps my kids alive and my business thriving?
1. Plan My Day
My best morning routine actually starts the night before. Before I leave my studio each day, I clear my desk, turn my computer all the way off, and write in my planner what I want to accomplish the following day. I know that when I get to the office the next morning, I won’t waste any time preparing. All the prep work is done, so I can dive right in.
2. Move My Body
I spent years with “workout” at the top of my list of yearly goals. I finally realized that I wasn’t going to make it a priority unless I paid someone to help me exercise. I’d forever snooze my alarm if it was just me and some free weights, but if skipping the gym meant throwing away money, I knew I’d show up. So January 2019, I started paying for a 5 am class.
I leave while my kids are still asleep and my husband is home. When that early alarm blares in my ear, my first thought is getting out of the house so I don’t miss my class. I don’t have time to sit on my phone, scrolling through Instagram and Facebook! After moving my body for thirty minutes, I’m fully awake when I head home, and I’m better at chasing after my kids when I’m strong and alert! By waking up at five, I magically add an entire month to my year.
3. Quiet Time
When I return from working out, my kids aren’t usually awake. This gives me time to shower or read or simply have some alone time. Kids are exhausting, right? It’s tempting to try to soak up every last second of sleep before they tear into my bedroom, but I know I’m a better mom when I have time to tune in to myself before I’m busy meeting my kids’ needs.
4. Time with Kids
Once my kids are up, I fully focus on my time with them before I drop them off at school. Since I already readied myself for the day, I’m not multitasking. I can pack lunches, fix breakfast, and load the kids up without also wiping goop from my eyes and pouring coffee down my throat. Do I still forget backpacks when I rush out the door? You better believe it. I have twin boys for crying out loud!
5. Take Kids to School
I have a few non-negotiables that keep my business and personal life aligned. One is that I will drop my kids off and pick my kids up from school. I do this every day, with only one or two exceptions each year. I want to be the one my children come home to. If I get a business offer that would require me to give that up, it’s an easy no. I’m not willing to compromise my time with my children.
6. Head to the Studio
After I drop my kids off, I head to my downtown studio. Even if the day’s schedule contains work that could be done from my bed, I go to the studio. My brain knows that’s the place where work gets done. I also like to protect my home space. I don’t want to blur the lines between my business world and my home world.
7. Most Important Work
I never schedule meetings for the first hour that I’m in the office. That’s my most productive time, so I save that time for my most important work. Anything that requires me at my best gets scheduled for those first few hours in the studio. I don’t have to shuffle around and guess what those tasks should be, because I’ve already planned it the night before
8. Lunch
When it’s time for me to eat, I close my computer and fuel my body. I can’t work indefinitely without rest (or food)!
Bonus: Don’t Check Email!
If you haven’t noticed, I still haven’t checked my email! I know hundreds of entrepreneurs who check their email first thing when they wake up, when they get out of the shower, when they’re on the toilet, while they eat breakfast, and even sitting at a traffic light! When we check emails throughout the day, we’re inviting others’ problems to become our priorities. And we’re not even in a position to solve those problems while we’ve got a towel wrapped around us or we’re waiting for the light to turn green! There is no benefit to checking your email throughout the day; there are only disadvantages to living at the mercy of your inbox. To remove the temptation, I’ve completely deleted mail apps from my phone, and I only check my email after I’ve eaten lunch.
Instead of inviting stress into my bedroom first thing in the morning, I choose to invest in myself, my children, and the work that’s essential to my business success before I say ‘yes’ to anyone else who needs my attention. If you’re constantly responding to the whims of your email, you’ll do so much without feeling like you’re accomplishing anything important.
If you want to learn more about how I eliminate email stress, one of the cornerstones of my productivity, check this out!
