How to put a stop to stress in the mornings!
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As soon as the alarm rings, the race begins. You keep repeating “Come on, it’s time” like a broken record. Too much stress, too much of a hurry! Do you want to change your habits and find more serenity? So do we!
Do you get to the office in the morning feeling like you have already run a marathon? The race begins as soon as the alarm goes off. You keep repeating “Come on, it’s time” like a broken record, the youngest doesn’t want to eat his breakfast and your daughter has changed her mind about the flouncy dress she wanted to wear this morning. With a little effort, you make it to school just as the bell rings, hop into the transport system and head off to do a day’s work!
Too much stress, too much of a hurry! Do you want to change your habits and find more serenity? So do we! To do so, we are suggesting the good practices used by organised mums that we spoke to this week in the hope of finding some inspiration and a little breathing room!
Anne gets up early: “I set my alarm clock 30 minutes earlier! A little hard at first, but I have my half an hour to take a shower and enjoy a quiet cup of coffee before the children wake up. I’m a single mum and I work in a travel agency, so some peace and quiet is welcome: in the silence of my kitchen, I feel like I am in less of a hurry.”
Elsa delegates: “Two days a week my husband (or my mother if he is travelling) drops the children to school. This allows me to leave earlier and avoid the crowds in the public transport. I get to the office before everyone else and I am more relaxed on those days”.
Marianne prepares everything the night before: “The children choose their outfits, I lay the breakfast table and the washing machine is programmed to finish the next morning. My husband puts them to bed in the evening, so that leaves me time to do everything. Also, I take 10 minutes in the evening to prepare my own things. I’m not a morning person, so I need everything to be cool”.
Nathalie has established rules with her children: “They prepare their things the night before and they cannot play unless they are dressed and have finished their breakfast, including putting their bowls in the dishwasher. It sounds a bit military, but it works! I find that they drag their feet a little less and I have stopped repeating “Hurry up”! And as they fight a lot, if everything goes well in the morning, then I put on the music they like in the car… a small treat that works really well”.
As for Anne-Sophie, she has let go: “I decided that I would stop wanting everything to be perfect in the morning: they put on whatever they want as long as they are warm. Breakfast is on the table and I give the little one a bottle in our bed while I get dressed; he loves that. I say: it’s time to get dressed and then it’s time for breakfast. If everything turns to catastrophe, I add a jumper, a quick stroke of a hairbrush and a slice of bread and jam in the car… So, yes, it’s far from perfect, but most of the time it works out fine! And if they are slow one morning, they arrive at school dressed in a questionable style and without their teeth brushed after the bread and jam, but at least they are not stressed out and neither am I”.
Anticipate elements of friction and prioritise what is important for you and for your family – these are some good reasons to revise the morning routine!
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