Setting a working mom morning routine doesn’t have to be a struggle. Effective morning routines are also super important as they set your tone for the entire day.
However, despite the great importance of these mom morning routines, many working moms struggle with establishing sustainable ones that work for them.
So here we’re going to cover tips to help you start a stress-free and productive morning routine as a working mom.
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Working Mom Morning Routine Examples
Morning routines for moms will vary and there is no true one-size-fits-all. There will be many factors to consider when creating your own working mom morning routine.
Some factors include your work schedule, the family’s schedule, your kid’s ages and more.
However, I also know that it’s still easier to see an example of a real-life example of a morning routine for working moms, so I’ll share them below.
Feel free to use these examples below as a template and adjust it as you see fit based on your working schedule and your kid’s ages.
Outside of Home Working Moms
Before becoming a mom entrepreneur, I worked outside of the home for many years. And as a mama who hates repeating herself constantly, this is the morning routine I followed.
Wake up and drink water
The time you wake up will vary depending on your work schedule and the time your kid’s start school.
You also want to make sure you drink water first thing in the morning to help your stomach wake up.
Practice a self-care routine
Making time for yourself is super important. Practicing a little self-care routine in the morning is a great way to start your day off right.
You can choose to write in a gratitude journal, squeeze in a mini exercise or get some fresh air.
Related Post: Uplifting Self-Care Ideas for Moms
Get breakfast ready and prepare coffee
Depending on your kid’s age, you may be able to get yourself out of this by having them prepare it themselves.
But if they’re too small to do this, then you’ll need to have some quick and easy breakfast meal ideas ready to prepare.
Ensure kids are ready for school or daycare
Once again, depending on your kid’s ages, you may be able to let themselves get ready solo by following a kids morning routine checklist like this one.
But if they’re a bit younger, then you’ll need to allocate time to help them get ready.
Related Post: Kids Morning Routine for Stress-Free Mornings
Eat breakfast (unless eating at work)
You also have to make time to eat breakfast (duh), unless you enjoy eating breakfast at work like me LOL.
Leave
Once your morning routine is all wrapped up, it’s time to head out the door.
However, to make your working mom morning routine even easier, scroll down to read the reliable routine and productivity tips.
Related Post: Time Management Strategies for Working Moms
Work From Home Moms
Now as a work from home mom, my morning routine hasn’t changed much with a few minor exceptions.
Wake up and drink water
Since you’re working from home, you likely have more flexibility on the time you wake up. However, you still want to be sure to drink water first thing in the morning.
Practice a self-care routine
You may be able to take a practice self-care a bit longer since you do have the flexibility of not having to leave your home.
But if you’re still required to sign-in by a certain time, I still recommend practicing one of these self-care ideas for at least 15 minutes when you wake up.
Get breakfast ready and prepare coffee
Still have quick and easy meal ideas ready in advance so that you don’t spend too much time making breakfast for yourself or the kiddos.
Ensure kids are ready for school or daycare
If you’re using the Kids Morning Checklist, this step will be so easy as they’ll essentially be getting ready on their own.
And down below, are some extra tips on how to make this step even easier regardless of your kid’s age.
Drop kids off at school
Now here is where you could set some boundaries and have your spouse help out if possible.
On one hand, he’s the one leaving the house and can drop off the kids at school on his way to work without you having to deal with waking up the other littles at home. This is actually the arrangement I have with my husband whenever possible.
But it’s not always possible as we know, so you may need to allocate time to drop off your kids at school on time.
Eat breakfast
Lastly, you can eat breakfast in peace and quiet or while listening to a podcast (or even while working LOL) once you’re back home.
Note: You may have noticed that I removed taking a shower and getting ready as part of the morning routine. The reason is because it’s actually up to you if you feel more productive when you’re dressed.
If so, then add it into your own mom morning routine. But if you don’t notice a difference (like me), then feel free to add this step into your routine at any point in the day.
And for more practical tips on how to make your working mom morning routine even easier, keep scrolling.
Related Post: Insanely Helpful Tips if You Work From Home With Kids
Tips for Setting a Working Mom Morning Routine
Like I said before, your morning is the most valuable part of your day as it sets the tone for everything that follows.
In addition, there are several reasons why routines are important like improving your overall health and reducing your stress levels.
So once you’ve decided on your own working mom morning routine and schedule, follow these practical tips below will help make your morning even more productive.
Get things ready the night before
This is by far the absolute best productivity tips for routine setting. You’ll hear some people say that your morning actually starts the night before, and this is true.
What we mean by this is to start putting things out (or away) before you go to bed.
For your kids
This could be things like your kid’s clothes for the next day, having breakfast ready to just go into the microwave or setting out the bowls and cereal at reachable locations.
You’ll also want to make sure their backpacks have everything they need. You can even add this step to their bedtime routine instead of adding it to yours.
Related Post: Easy Bedtime Routine for Kids
For yourself
The same is true for yourself. Pick out your outfit the night before, make sure you have all your belongings in your backpack or purse and make sure the keys are where they’re supposed to be.
Have your coffee mug ready underneath the Keurig with the capsule nearby, and check the weather the night before in case you’ll need a sweater too.
Wake up before the kids
In order to truly have a stress-free morning that allows you to do a self-care activity in peace, you’ll want to wake up before your kids.
This way, you’ll have some quiet time in the home to get your mind right before everyone gets up and starts loading you with questions.
Be intentional with your morning self-care routine
Like I said, to ensure you get the true self-care time you deserve, be sure to wake up early. But in addition, you also want to pick self-care activities that you actually enjoy doing.
This way, you wake up motivated and excited knowing you’re getting time for yourself, instead of whiny and grumpy.
Use alarms to wake up the kids
Instead of you going into your kid’s bedroom to wake them up each morning, set alarms to wake them up for you.
This way, you can do the things in your mom morning routine without having to spend extra minutes trying to get them to wake up.
Using an alarm like this one can help ensure they actually hear it and jump up to get ready.
Use a kids morning routine checklist
Part of improving your own working mom routine is by helping your kids with theirs. This Kids Morning Checklist makes it super easy for them to follow and is what my son has been using for years.
Not only will it help them know exactly what to do, but it’ll stop you from having to repeat yourself over and over again each day.
Check out the extremely popular Kids Morning Checklist here.
Prepare lunches and snacks ahead of time
Just as mentioned before, you’ll want to prepare lunches and snacks ahead of time.This means having all lunches in the appropriate containers in the fridge, with the extras already in the lunchboxes themselves.
And if your kids require snacks for school, also be sure to have these ready in their backpacks the night before.
Eliminate morning distractions
Although it can be tempting to want to scroll social media while still in bed or while you’re waiting for your kids to finish eating breakfast, this can be a huge time-suck.
In addition, other distractions could even be turning on the TV or trying to send a quick email before heading out to work.
These may seem harmless, but if carried away, could cause you to run late.
Avoid doing morning chores
Unless you have a very specific cleaning schedule you follow, try to avoid doing morning chores (and especially avoid ones that aren’t on the list).
Instead, you can focus on the little and easy tasks like making your bed or cleaning up after yourself when eating breakfast or washing your hands.
But bigger chores should be avoided as they’ll only make you feel rushed. No judgement here mama if you leave your home a bit messy.
Related Post: Realistic Cleaning Schedule for Working Moms
Meal plan breakfast
Now with planning out breakfast, you have a few options.
You can either have make-ahead breakfast stored in the fridge or you can teach your kids to make their own.
My son has been prepping his own breakfast bowls since he was an older 4, and little by little began adding more breakfast meals to his list including scrambled eggs.
And if you plan to eat at the office, be sure to know what you’ll be having for breakfast whether that means to have a make-ahead breakfast from home or stopping by somewhere to buy something.
Avoid yelling and be flexible
Lastly, just remember that things will happen and your routine won’t always go as planned. And even if you’re teaching your kids to follow their own routine, there may be times where they don’t follow it either.
That’s why it’s super important to be flexible and not have such a rigid schedule.
And when the time comes that your routine doesn’t go as planned or you end up having to miss a step or two, remember to remain calm (as hard as it may be).
Your morning sets your tone for the rest of the day. So if you’re starting by yelling at your phone, your kids or husband, you’ll likely be in a grumpy mood the rest of the day, which isn’t what we want.
When you follow these working mom routine tips, you’ll have a much more productive morning and rest of the day.
Create Your Own Mom Morning Routine
Starting your day off with a routine that sets the tone for what you want to do is one of the best ways to feel productive and accomplished in mom life.
Follow these tips to set a productive morning routine for working moms. Once you have your own rhythm, it’ll be much easier to maintain throughout the day and build momentum no matter what happens.
And tell me… What are some of your favorite tips for establishing a morning routine that works? Do you find yourself struggling to establish sustainable routines or do they come naturally to you? Let me know and comment below.
Want to learn more time management strategies for working moms to stay productive? Grab my Free Time Management Strategies Cheat Sheet below.
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