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A Working Mom’s 5 Tips For Getting Out the Door in the Morning

A Working Mom's 5 Tips For Getting Out The Door In the Morning | Rochester MN Moms Blog

I’ve never been much of a morning person. Getting up and out the door in 20 minutes was easy when I was the only person I had to worry about.  Now as a mom, I have a lot more to think about and prepare.  I’m still not a morning person, so it takes some purposeful planning and organizing to get us all out the door every morning on time.  Here are my top 5 tips for getting out the door in one piece!

  1. Do anything that can be done ahead of time the night before. Pack lunches and put them in the refrigerator. Pack backpacks and briefcases, and lay anything that doesn’t go in the bag right next to it or on top of it so it won’t be forgotten. Write yourself big notes with black marker and leave them where you will see them for anything you still need to find or remember to do in the morning. (And then put the black marker away… up high… out of reach of little hands… Trust me.)
  2. Prep breakfast. This kind of goes along with #1 –  Do as much breakfast prep as you can the night before to cut down on the time needed to do those tasks in the morning. Prep the coffee pot, fill your smoothie cup and put it in the refrigerator; pour your cereal in a bowl, and leave it on the counter.
  3. Take things out to the car. If I have more things than just my work bag to take to the car in the morning, I try to put them in the car the night before to lessen the number of trips needed in the morning. This would include items that need to be returned after work or supplies needed for an after-work activity.
  4. Get yourself ready first. Get up early enough so that you can shower and dress before the kids wake-up.
  5. Look over your calendar the night before. This will help you mentally sort through how you need to dress and what you need to prepare the night before. I forget “sharing time” a lot less when we pack it the night before.

My last tip would be to avoid turning on the TV or checking electronics in the morning. I reserve these activities only for times when I need to check the weather or for school closings, or I do it once everyone and everything is ready to go and there is extra time.  “Extra time” – that’s funny.

When I feel I have prepared the night before, I don’t feel quite so guilty hitting that snooze button a few times! So if you’re not a morning person (like me), these tips will help you get out the door and off to a great start in the morning!

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