- Wake up early
- Focus on the important, not the urgent
- Immediately do something fun or productive for yourself
Mornings can be tough. They can be stressful, hectic, and feel overwhelming. It is important to understand that the stress is temporary, since once they are out the door and on the bus you can then let it go and focus on the next task at hand. Depending on how many kids you have, you will have the corresponding level of craziness around you. And you also need to know that you can and will handle it without losing your cool; you will never be overwhelmed.
Waking up early, especially before your kids, is vitally important for a successful morning and also a successful day. Wake up immediately, either when your body wakes itself up or your alarm goes off the first time. DO NOT HIT SNOOZE! Plenty of studies and research have been done on the issue of snoozing your alarm and staying in bed and no matter how good you think it feels, it is NOT good for you. It stalls your body’s natural desire to get up and start moving. It also doesn’t give you any additional quality sleep. Simply put, you are wasting your time snoozing your alarm and staying in bed for 5, 10, 15 more minutes. Be on the offensive for the start of your day. Attack it!
You may often find yourself, if you took a second to try to realize what you are doing, that you are rushing to accommodate the wishes of everyone and everything that asks of your time and effort. This is not the way. If you keep focusing on the things that appear urgent in your life, especially in the morning, you will keep falling behind on the things that are truly important. Urgent things have a tendency of figuring themselves out on their own. Kids can learn, or be taught quite quickly, to take care of their own urgent needs and wants; you can, and should, focus on what is the most important thing you should be doing at every moment.
Lastly, doing something for yourself first thing in the morning, whether it is a quick work-out, reading, purposeful relaxing (No TV!), or a few quick chores that need doing, now is the time to do it. Doing this for yourself will set up the morning, and the rest of the day, for success. You will create a sense of accomplishment that will follow you through the rest of the day. You will develop an ambition that will power you through the mundane tasks that we all face every day. And you will also relax into a sense of pride and quiet calm that will clear your mind and allow you to think much more clearly about your life, your children’s needs, and the all-important meaning behind why we do all that we do.
