Unlock Your Mornings: Create Time for What Matters

There are lots of reasons to want some extra time in the morning. Maybe you want to read, meditate, work out, go for a run, or like me you want to take a little time for some self care. The only problem is your stuck in a cycle of chaotic, rushed mornings where you barely have time to grab a sip of coffee, let alone enjoy a peaceful start to your day. It's a lot to get yourself ready, the kids off to school, and still make it to work on time.

Well, things only change when you decide to do something different. If you're looking to reclaim precious moments in your morning routine, we've got you covered with some creative strategies to help you save time and stress less in the morning.

Pre-Make Breakfast:

One of my most time-consuming morning tasks is preparing breakfast, especially if you have children. Just keeping the pantry stocked with cereal and pop-tarts is an easy solution, but I felt a lot of guilt taking time for myself by neglecting my families' nutrition. So I decided to try making breakfast the night before and everyone in the house learned to help. I chose to keep it simple and set us up for success, so I only focused on things anyone over the age of 8 could accomplish. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Overnight Oats: Mix oats, milk (or a milk alternative), and your favorite toppings in a jar, and leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, grab and go! There are tons of recipes on the internet, but this was our favorite. To be fair, we used regular peanut butter and took a few liberties with how much honey we added.

• Yogurt and granola: Layer yogurt, granola, and fruits in a container or jar. It's a quick breakfast that's ready to eat. This option quickly turned into opening a container of yogurt and dumping granola straight in, but it still seems better than a pop-tart.

• Smoothie Packs: I bought frozen fruit from the grocery store, we mixed them together, and portioned out 1 cup into freezer bags. The next morning dump a bag into a blender, add some milk and honey, blend it up and breakfast was done. This was extra easy because we could do a lot of bags at one time and it could last us all week or longer. We typically used a Ninja single serve blender but we also found this Hamilton Beach single serve blender to work also (it was cheaper, but just didn't last as long).

• Breakfast Burritos: This actually became a family favorite. It was great because we could scale the recipe quantities up to make a bunch and freeze them. We'd often make enough for 2 weeks at a time. This is the recipe we used. It was easy to leave out ingredients you didn't want, substitute bacon for ham or sausage or all 3, and use whatever cheese you liked.

Pack Lunch the Night Before:

While we were all in the kitchen prepping breakfast, we just kept the momentum going and everyone packed their lunch for the next day at the same time. No one went to bed without a plan for breakfast and a lunch ready to head out the door. I didn't realize how much stress this was putting on me until it was gone. Avoiding the rushed hassle of making lunches in the morning... not only was it a morning time-saver but it allowed us the time to make healthier choices (which I didn't see coming). As an added bonus, we extra time together as a family working on a common goal.

Set Out Your Outfit the Night Before:

I didn't realize how much choosing an outfit in the morning was a huge drain on me, both in the amount of time spent and the mental capacity exerted. Picking my clothes the night before made my mornings much smoother. This small habit made it easier to look put together and not like I threw on the same thing I wear every Tuesday in a last-minute rush to get out door on time. I didn't realize that decision fatigue was a real thing until I started these first 3 habits. Rather than leaving the house frazzled and stressed, I was heading out the door (still in a bit of a hurry) but my mind wasn't shot before I ever began work.

Use a Smart Speaker Assistant:

I'll be honest, I fought this a long time. Something about it just didn't seem like "me". But once I tried it, I wish I would have gotten one sooner. I put the smaller echo pop in each of my boys rooms and then put the echo dot with premium sound in my bathroom. This little thing became my best friend in the morning. I could set alarms in each of my boys rooms, turn on their bedroom lights on command or timed (with the help of some smart bulbs), make announcements to entire house, or give reminders all without ever leaving my bathroom. I could guide the whole family through the morning routine without missing a beat. I also took the opportunity to create a morning playlist in the bathroom. This varied from different podcast, to audio books, or just plain music. I was leaving my bedroom in the morning energized and in a good head space for the day. What a change! To go from leaving the house every morning stressed, rushed, and running on Cheerios to energize, excited, and nourished was a life altering change.

Upgrade Your Personal Care Tools:

It's embarrassing to admit, but I'd been using the exact same $15 hair dryer for the past 20 years. It never occurred to me that advancements in technology had been made in terms of my hair dryer. But after upgrading to this one I found on Amazon, I couldn't believe how much time I saved. Drying my hair has always been arduous and time consuming and this didn't make it fun, but it got done a whole lot faster. I still kick myself for how many hours of my life had been wasted over the past 20 years drying my hair.

Wake Up Earlier:

Sometimes, the most straightforward solution is to set your alarm a bit earlier. This doesn't sound exciting, but getting up 15 minutes earlier or not hitting snooze 4 times can really set you up for success. Giving yourself the gift of extra time in the morning, which you can use for a peaceful start to your morning routine, may be the easiest and most valuable trick you have.

Everyone has a different motive for wanting to reclaim their mornings: a quick workout, simply enjoying a leisurely breakfast, a morning meditation, or more time to take care of yourself. I realize that it can be an over whelming task to think about the cost all the changes I suggested above, but you are worth it. I encourage you to read my post on how I made the side money to begin self care routine. Hopefully you will give these tips a try, because things only change when you decide to do something different. Don't be surprised if you find yourself with a little extra time or you start generating your own ideas to free up your mornings. Your mornings will thank you for it!

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