By now, you must be thinking….LADY are you crazy? What’s your problem? You’re not a fan of sleep? My sister says that to me all the time and trusts me when I say, I was on the other side not too long ago. But with a new career ahead of me, what I realized that I needed was not just a mom morning routine, but a working mom morning routine.

Being a mom is hard enough and yes I love my sleep. But I’ve realized in the past year that having a couple of hours to myself and do what makes me feel good is even better. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m doing something I love and I’m super passionate about. A couple of months ago I started a whole new career path from working at restaurants to being a mom of 3 and now having a blog, ig account, Tik Tok, and now youtube. I have so much on my plate to say the least. But waking up at 5 am has been the most productive and I can’t tell you how good I feel even though I get a little less sleep than I used to. I still remember going through those nights where I have to wake up every 2-3 hours to feed my baby times 3 (i have 3 kids). I was so tired and exhausted I would’ve never guessed I would voluntarily wake up at 5 am now to work out and work. 

A BREAKDOWN OF MY PRODUCTIVE 5 AM WORKING MOM MORNING ROUTINE

5 am – Waking up at 5 am on the dot, excited for the day ahead. I usually sleep around 10:30 pm to 11 pm because I find that 6 hours is the perfect amount of sleep for me. Everyone is different, but I’ve found that 6 hours is always solid. The first thing I do is grab my workout clothes off of my nightstand and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and change.

5:15 – After that, I head straight to the kitchen to find the thing that brings me to smile every day: coffee. After I make myself a cup, I’ll bring it to the kitchen table where I start writing in my planner and reviewing what I’ll need to have done for the day. 

5:30 am – Next, I’ll make the very cold walk out into the backyard and into the den where I’ll begin my workout (10 mins stretching, 45 mins on the Peloton, and 30 mins strength training with kettlebells. After a nice sweat, I’ll stretch again and put on some relaxing music or mediation to soak in all the quiet and soothing energy. 

6:30 am – After that, I’ll put in about two hours of work (editing videos, content planning, blog post/research, etc.) 

8 am – Monsters are awake. The kids come trickling in as I wrap up my work and I’m greeted by their smiles and asks for cuddles. So now, I’ll go into the kitchen where I’ll whip them up some breakfast and then hop into the shower. If Doug doesn’t have work, I’d usually have him make breakfast while I shower and get ready.

So yes. That is my morning routine. Honestly, if I could wake up earlier I would. Being a mom of 3 is not easy – my kids are already pretty well behaved, but with the pandemic and them not being able to go to school, they need more attention now than ever. It’s been hard, but the silver lining of this is that I’ve developed a lifelong healthy habit that is going to stick around forever. 

Because inevitably, the moment the kids wake up, my priority is them. Listening to “Mommy I want a snack,” on repeat like a broken record will drive any sane person up the wall. So you can imagine, how much I VALUE that alone time in the morning. Nothing but birds chirping, me alone in my thoughts, and feeling ready to take the day by storm. Building this habit will benefit you in the long run to be able to do what you love. Take a second to find what you would gain from waking up early and let that motivate you. 

“The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.” Atomic Habits

Read on for more tips on how to become an early riser and to have your own working mom morning routine!

BENEFITS OF WAKING UP EARLY

• Increases your energy level 
• Better eating habits 
• Improved concentrations 
• Reduces stress 

TIPS ON WAKING UP EARLY

FIND YOUR MOTIVATION

Understand why you want to wake up early. What do you want? More time for yourself? More time to do your work? Working out? Reading? Listening to music or a podcast? Watching the sunrise and hearing the nothingness but birds chirping and silence? Me too. Find something that makes YOU feel at peace or joyful for the day ahead.

WIND DOWN

Set a time 30 mins before bed to wind down and prepare to sleep. Limit your screen time and create a wind-down routine like reading a book, meditation, etc. 

SLEEP EARLY

Having a consistent sleep schedule is key. Over time, it will get easier for you to sleep early because you wake up early. 

PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE

Set your workout clothes the night before, prep your coffee mug, etc.

START SLOW

Start by waking up in 15-30 mins increments. If you usually wake up at 8:00, then start waking up at 7:30, then 7:00, etc. 

NO SNOOZE

When your alarm goes off, don’t think about it, and just get up. (Place your phone farther away so you have to get out of the bed to turn off your alarm. )

STICK TO IT FOR AT LEAST 10 days

According to the power of habit, it takes 10 days to lock down a habit, 21 days to make it permanent. Even if it’s not perfect, as long as you wake up earlier than your original rise time, consider it a win! Don’t be too hard on yourself! 

FIND A BUDDY

It’s always best to find someone to keep you accountable. A sister, a friend, a fellow aspiring early riser, and someone else who is as crazy about a working mom’s morning routine as you!

Hope this blog post was helpful! Comment below and tell me if any of the tips are helpful!

Love,

Tiffany