Category Archives: Habits

Recalibrate Your Morning Routine

I always use summer and Christmas break to “recalibrate” my morning routine. You see, things change from time to time, and habits fall behind. A period of sickness will make me give up everything but the necessities during the mornings before school, and we all know that the habits we are talking about here can be broke in a few short days.

They say it takes 30 days to create a habit, but let’s face it, I can lose the habit of exercise in just a couple of days. Then I have to put in the 30 days all over again! So summer and Christmas break is when I do this.

Another important aspect of recalibrating my morning is figuring out when I need to start. For instance, if I want to start school at 9:00, and my morning routine takes 3 hours, then I must get up by 6:00. Periods of time with no 9:00 finishing line help me figure out how long my morning routine takes without additional stress.

First, I consider my wish list – what I want to get done in the morning. For me this list includes:

  • Quiet time (Bible and tea)
  • Exercise
  • Meals (breakfast, some dinner prep)
  • Pick up (my room and bathroom)
  • Laundry (a load or two)
  • Possibly a project (changing the kombucha, writing a blog, etc.)

Then I work out the best order to do all of this. I know exercise has to come early in my list, because if I work on a project, time will likely get away from me, and I won’t get time to exercise. On that same note, most projects have to be done last in my routine. It’s also much easier to exercise before the kids wake up and start vying for my attention.  After I exercise my feet move faster, so I find that’s a good time to do moving items on my list. For that same reason, sitting down to read my Bible or drink hot tea doesn’t work after exercise, so I plan to do it before. Also, my house is two-story, and I don’t want to go up and down stairs a lot, so I plan around that. In the end I find a pattern that works for me, and then I do it in that order every day.

“If you don’t plan out your behaviors, then you rely on your willpower and motivation to inspire you to act. But if you do plan out when and where you are going to perform a new behavior, your goal has a time and a space to live in the real world. This shift in perspective allows your environment to act as a cue for your new behavior.” -James Clear, jamesclear.com, author of the free guide Transform Your Habits

So, my routine becomes:

Upstairs –

  • Make my bed, put on shoes (I exercise in my pjs), and grab the dirty clothes pile

Downstairs –

  • Sort the clothes, start a load of laundry and fold what is in the dryer
  • Clean litter box (which is in the laundry room)
  • Make tea and read my Bible while enjoying a cup
  • Do 30 minutes of exercise (treadmill is in the laundry room)
  • Move now completed laundry to dryer, and fold what I removed (because I’m still in the laundry room)
  • Check calendar (so I can consider the best dinner plan and how I will dress)
  • Possibly start dinner or do some prep (at the least have a plan)
  • Make breakfast (wake up the kids)

Back upstairs – (take folded laundry with me)

  • Put laundry away
  • Shower and dress for the day
  • Wipe down my bathroom and head back downstairs

Back downstairs –

  • Work on a project if there is time

If I do this routine day after day and note how long it takes, then I know how early I need to get up in the morning to be done by a certain time. For a while, my morning routine wishlist meant that I would have to get up by 5:00! That was just too early for me, so I had to cut some things down. For instance, instead of exercising for an hour, I had to figure out how to exercise smarter for 30 minutes. Instead of participating in a Bible study that required 30-45 minutes to complete each morning, I just needed to read a chapter on my own. Instead of completing two loads of laundry, I needed to just get one done.

My list above works for me. I can complete it in two hours if I stay focused. By doing it in order, I don’t have to think about it. Which means it requires less will power.

Here’s the best part – as I begin my day, the part that begins after my morning routine, I have a bunch of accomplishments under my belt. I am already having a successful day! I have exercised! I have completed two loads laundry and they are put away! I have started my day with quiet time before the Lord! I’ve had a little “me” time before the kids have awakened. I am dressed and ready to go wherever I need to. I have a plan for dinner, if not an actual dinner started. I feel successfully and it’s only 9:00 am!

Think about using these last couple of weeks of summer to recalibrate your morning. (And think about me as I prepare to move to a house with no laundry room! My whole routine will have to change.)

Related:
Good Morning Sunshine!
Summer is a Good Time to Practice
A Mom’s Habit of Attention

A Mom’s Habit of Attention

This afternoon I was trying to compose an email to a group of friends. It did not need to be long, but I wanted it to be just right, and therefore, I was considering my words very carefully.  All the while my kids were interrupting my train of thought by asking me questions and pushing me to hurry up so we could go play with their cousins.


I was getting so frustrated, and finally I thought, “What makes these kids think I can multitask like this?!” Hmmm. Let’s see. That would be my fault. 
How often do I multitask in their presence: while I’m doing school with multiple children, checking email while listening to them ramble, directing one of them while talking on the phone.  Good grief! I’ve taught them that I can do multiple things at once, so how can I blame them for interrupting a task I’m involved in? 

It’s humbling when you realize you are responsible for the building up of a negative habit in your children – through your own negative habit.  However, the first step in fixing a problem is usually to at least acknowledging the problem exists, and I am determined that it must STOP!

For the most part I just have to stop multitasking. I have to give my full attention to one thing, one child, one phone call, one email. I also must teach my children to respect my desire to focus on one thing. They know not to interrupt a conversation where two people are face to face, but now it seems I need to set some boundaries in other areas as well. 

Might they also feel more valued when it’s their turn to get my full attention? I think so. This is important I think, so I’m going to give it my best effort. Old dog, here comes a new trick…

Good Morning Sunshine!

I never appreciate homeschooling so much as when I hear the school bus go by at 7 am. Just the thought of getting my kids up and ready in time to catch a bus at that time of the morning makes me cringe.

Conversely, I used to enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling by waking up when my kids came to snuggle in bed with me. We would talk and have such a peaceful morning. Then we would do our morning routines and have breakfast before casually starting school.

The problem with this plan is that my morning routine takes longer than my kids’ morning routines, so I was never finished with everything when we started school. As a result, I was frequently distracted by thoughts of what I needed to get done. I would sometimes even run in to start a load of laundry or return an important phone call in the middle of our school time.

After years of homeschooling, I have found that there really needs to be a middle ground.

Now I get up well before my children. I allow enough time to exercise and enjoy a period of actual quiet time for my devotion. I have time to get a load of laundry done and dress and be ready to face the day, no matter what surprises it brings.

By accomplishing what I need to do before school starts, I can be completely focused on our time together, which means we can get more done in less time. It alleviates anxiety as well, so I’m less likely to be short-tempered with my kids.

Another important reason to get moving in the morning is that our kids need time to play outside each day. If we waste away the morning, then do school all afternoon, there is little time for play and discovery.

Let me just clarify that I am NOT a morning person. This does not come naturally to me. It is a choice I’ve made, in order to have a more productive and calmer day. As homeschool families, we have so much flexibility, which is a real blessing to us and our children, but we need to decide how to best utilize that flexibility. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should!