Organizing for the Morning…Is it Possible?

You want to be organized and wake up in time, but somehow the mornings always seem chaotic. If you have trouble getting your family out the door in the morning, there are ways for you to reduce the stress and have a calmer start to your day. Creating a stress-free morning environment will help everyone to focus and will result in fewer forgotten items, and a happier start to the day for everyone in the family.
Organization (and a bit of fun) is the key to success and establishing routines and specific places for everything is a great way to get your morning flowing smoothly. Here are some points you might want to start implementing:

Source: http://yosagiyojimbo.blogspot.com/2011/06/in-deep-end.html

1. Have an established place for book bags, shoes, coats, keys and other items your children routinely misplace. Get them to place items in the correct areas by rewarding them when they do so. For younger children, you can create games to help them remember to place items in the correct areas. For example, place a bicycle bell next to their coat and backpack hook. When they hang their coat and backpacks on their hooks, they get to ring the bell.
2. Delegate tasks – children enjoy being trusted with new responsibilities and learning to cope with mornings is a valuable life lesson to learn. Each month, they should get one more task to do by themselves. You can also get your children to take turns to make lunches for the family.
3. Plan lunches and set out clothes for the next day the evening before. This will mean that you have all the gear you need for sports or other extra mural activities and there isn’t a panic in the morning when you can’t find anything to wear. It’s essential to at least sort out backpacks so that all books, homework and stationary are located and assembled for the morning rush.
4. Get enough sleep! This is the best way to ensure a stress-free morning. Your children must have a bedtime that ensures that they get all the sleep they need. Also, time exactly how long it takes each of your children to do their morning routine. If one of them is regularly late, consider waking them up earlier or assigning them tasks the night before rather than early in the morning. Try to work with your child’s personal style when practical and possible.
5. Start the morning with a positive thought. Give each of your children a positive start to the day by saying something positive. This helps set the tone for the morning rush and put everyone in a better mood.
6. Put reminders on the back of the door. This is a great place to put your calendar or a white board where you can write reminder for yourself and your children. It is the last chance you have before you leave the house. In addition to the usual keys, lunch, backpack, coat and gym gear, you can add things for specific days or remind your children of upcoming events.

It is never too late to start being more organized and planful for the morning. Remember, IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN!

(Note: This blog post is adapted from a TutorDoctor post dated 9/7/12 and titled ‘Tips for stress-free morning routines‘)

Sunday Morning Shout Out

Faster than you can say spring break is over, the school year will be done. With final exams, state assessments, more advanced reading and math, final projects, concerts, plays, and field trips, the end of the school year possesses its own challenges and rewards. As our children headed back to school this week, here are some thoughts that partially spill over from an earlier segment on spring cleaning your school year. These are tips for making the last two months of school shine, building on what your children receive from you at home.

Where your school routines remain fraught with chaos, build calm. There is nothing worse than starting the day in a frazzled way. Anything that can be done ahead of time to make the morning easier is a sure way to make for a better morning. When homework is done at night and reviewed by you, make it your child’s responsibility to see that it goes in their backpack.  Many organizational experts (e.g., Jennifer Fordbery) talk about a launching spot for bags and school supplies. Have your child have their work done, ready, and in this place the night before, to prevent early morning scavenger hunts for homework, bags, etc.

Children can also help make their lunches ahead of time. If they take a lunch, have them empty their lunch bag when they come home if applicable.  They can also wipe it out. This would be a good time for them to put tomorrow’s snack in the bag. You can gather their thoughts on what sounds good for a sandwich.  (I know mothers and fathers who make and freeze mass quantities of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at once to make things easier.) They may even find it fun to help you make them or at least of part of lunch making is done, for tired moms and dads for later.  If they buy a lunch, make sure their lunch money is out for the next day. Or prepay for their lunch with your school’s cafeteria. With lunch preparation done the night before, there is more time for calmness, encouragement, and kindness in the morning, a fine, motivating replacement for grumpiness and the mad dash to get out the door.

Along these same lines, try not to pass your stress onto your children.  We are the first and original tone setters in our home.  A wise, serene, yes serene, mother of six I spoke to told me that her technique is the “cocktail party” technique. She said that when she set the right tone for her busy home, like the host or hostess who does this right, the “party” turns out well.  Where serious stress is an issue, do what you need to do to be well. Seek the family, friend, or professional help that you need.  You are your children’s anchor, ship, and rescue boat. If your boat is sinking like the Titanic, SOS (save one’s ship) and fix yourself for the sake of your family!

Improve your family time. If your family time is less than you want it to be, it is never too late to start making more time for each other. Make it a goal to eat dinner together at least a few times a week. One recent article titled “Family Dinners: Do They Really Matter“explores the benefits and points out that experts say that families that eat together are happier, healthier, more cohesive, and even more successful. Such families are more in tune with one another.  Children feel a greater sense of personal worth and place within their family.

Another thing you can do is play a game or read a book together.  From picture books with little ones to reading popular books like the Harry Potter series or The Hunger Games with older children, reading can be a great way to connect with your family. Lastly, get outside and get active! Exercise is such a fun and healthy way to release end of the school year stress and steam.  Like the school year, time will just keep ticking by. Make the most of it!

Sunday Morning Shout Out

There is something about the blossoms on the trees and green grass that make spring time feel like a great time for a fresh start.  This is the time of year when many opt for a good spring-cleaning of their homes. Well, I will be doing that this year, but I will also be “spring cleaning” the school year.

At the beginning of the school year, I do many well-intentioned things. Come October, they seem to have gone out the proverbial door.  Here is my list of spring-cleaning:

1)     I will really lie out the clothes the night before school. I have two little girls who can be particular about how things feel. This will save a lot of time and temperamental moments for all of us.

2)     Instead of opting for more shut eye, I will get up a half an hour before the kids each and every day. Not only does this give me a jump-start on the day, it centers me, focuses me, and provides a peaceful start each morning.

3)     The folders will be reviewed as soon as the girls get off the bus. I will stop this year’s bad habit of reading things before bedtime or in the morning. I am fortunate to have an older daughter who diligently completes all homework on her own accord.

4)     The lunches and snacks will be completely made the night before.  This will save precious time in the morning.

5)     I will have my work done by the time the girls are home from school so I can be more present when they are home and not preoccupied with my to do list.

6)     More frequently, I will go beyond the normal homework and apply the principles of what they are learning to regular life.

7)     We will look up and research the things we say we want to with the kids.

8)     My husband and I will better model a better balance of work and play for our children.

9)     We will give the kids more credit and appreciation where it is due. They have their moments as all children do, but they are great kids overall. Great kids!!!

10)  I will make these changes more permanent and not just for a short season.

Off to clean!!!

We hope you are having a good holiday weekend.

 

Manic Monday Morning Routine

Ah, the morning routine. Racing around the house holding a mug of cold coffee, getting into a screaming match with your teenager about leaving for school on time just this once, finding socks and packing lunches and signing a last-minute permission slip…there’s no denying that mornings can be hectic. The tone of your morning can dictate the way the rest of your day goes, so it’s important that everyone in your family wakes up on the right side of the bed. Whether you are a veteran of the school morning routine or a beginner, there are ways you can help make your morning less stressful and more satisfying. The following are some tips we here at Tutor Doctor have found help our mornings become a little less hectic, but we are always looking for new ideas!

Pack Lunches (or Lunch Money) the Night Before

Many was the morning my mother chased me around the kitchen wielding a peanut-butter knife and pleading with me to get my brother out of bed. Making our lunches in the morning and being able to get out the door on time meant that my mom had to be up almost half an hour earlier than anyone else in the house. Maybe that works for your biological clock, but for those who like to get a few extra minutes of morning sleep, why not try making lunch the night before? By packing the night before, you miss out on the chaos of the morning and get to leisurely assemble whatever is on the menu. Packing at night also means you can make more deliberate choices about what to pack. Rather than tossing a whole apple in your kid’s lunchbox when you know she won’t eat it that way, you can take the extra time to cut it into sections and make sure she will. Some items, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, don’t do well refrigerated overnight, but you can use the time at night to get everything done you can and lay out the things you’ll need for last-minute preparations in the morning. If your child doesn’t pack lunch, take a few seconds at night to slip the money into your child’s backpack. For kids who buy, see if the school offers a way you can pay in advance, which will make your job even easier.

Lay Out Clothes the Night Before

The night before is a magical time for the morning routine. While no one in my family ever really managed to master this tip, the few times I used it proved to be very successful. Something happens to my brain in the morning where I can stand in front of my closet for hours, unable to find an outfit for the life of me, whereas the night before I can lay out five outfits like magic. Check the weather report and announce it to the entire house so everyone can pick out an outfit that will suit the predicted forecast. This will also let you pull out umbrellas, raincoats, and any other weather-specific items in advance, rather than rooting around in the closet for twenty-five minutes the next morning. This isn’t a foolproof solution, as anyone who has ever depended on a weather forecast will readily tell you, but on most mornings it should be helpful.

Set a Bathroom Schedule

Growing up in a one-bathroom house with three people meant that sometimes, you had a tough time getting sink access, and there were a few times I ended up brushing my teeth over the kitchen sink. If bathrooms become a stressful issue in the morning, try setting up a bathroom schedule. Maybe all showers will happen the night before, or your son will do his hair before breakfast instead of after. Find something that works for your family, and hopefully some morning meltdowns can be prevented.

Visualize It

A great visual reminder of what the morning routine is for younger children! (Image Credit:http://themerrymummy.blogspot.com/2010/09/routines.html)

For younger kids, having a visual reminder of the steps they need to take in the morning can be helpful. Post it near their bed, on the fridge, or wherever it will be most effective. This will keep you from having the follow them around the house all morning, reminding them of what to do, and will make them more independent.

Keep Everything In Its Place

“Dad, where’s my backpack? Lindsay, have you seen my gym clothes?” Keeping everything in its place means that there will be less morning rushing around looking for things. Put backpacks, already packed, by the door. Put your keys and other odds and ends you need for your morning on a table near the door or hung off of a coat hook. Part of keeping everything in its place is knowing what you’ll need for the next day, so if your child has a art or swimming one day you’ll need to make sure the necessary extras are packed as well. One way to remember this is to post a list of what each child needs somewhere near the door. If Mondays are soccer practice for AJ and band for Jasmine, you can make sure that they both have the necessary materials packed and ready to go. Get your kids involved in this routine, and do a check the night before. Hopefully, as the routine becomes more ingrained, they’ll need less help from you and will take more initiative themselves.

Weekends are for Relaxing

Monday morning routines may be the most difficult of your week, as you’re coming off a (hopefully) more relaxed weekend schedule. Make sure you’re in a good place for Monday mornings by getting dirty gym clothes washed before Sunday night, permission slips signed when you get home from work on Fridays, and any other miscellaneous tasks done before Sunday night. Leave Sunday night as a time to unwind and relax rather than run around frantically. Believe me, you’ll feel a lot better come Monday.

Practice Makes, Well, Almost Perfect

The reason routines work well is because you do them so often they become a habit. By repeating the same routine every morning and night before, you’ll eventually feel very comfortable with the routine you’ve set up. This isn’t to say the occasional morning crisis won’t arise, but if the routine works you should find these problems decreasing as the school year goes on. Any routine is difficult to start, but the great thing about a new school year is that it gives you an opportunity to start fresh.

What are some of the tips you have for a stress-free morning?

A great morning routine means everyone gets a good start to their day! (Image Credit:http://backpack-sale-guides.blogspot.com/2011/04/pack-little-kid-backpack_26.html)