Are you a morning person?
I’m not!
I LOVE sleeping in. I hate waking up to an alarm, I prefer to walk up naturally.
I like calm and smooth mornings, and I hate rushing, nagging people to get up and get moving, and trying to get everything ready for the day before running out the door.
I think my hate for busy mornings is one of the main reasons I work for myself and work from home!
I have a list of things I can do at night that make the next morning feel calmer. If mornings tend to feel rushed and stressed for you, these nightly tasks will make things so much smoother!
Note: You don’t have to do all of these if it feels like too much effort and you’re already tired from your busy day. I don’t do them all, all the time. We’re trying to make life easier, not add more pressure.
Choose one or two to start with and add more if and when you’re ready!
I also recommend delegating some of these to your partner or kids. We shouldn’t have to do it all!
1. Check your planner / diary / calendar.
Get clear on what you’ll be doing tomorrow so you can make sure you’ll get everything you need ready tonight.
If you have high schoolers, ask them to check their class schedule so they know which books they’ll need to take to school with them.
2. Brain dump all of your to do’s for tomorrow.
Get them out of your head and on to paper. You’ll feel so much more relaxed once these are written down, it frees up mental space and you’ll sleep better too!
3. Pack your bags.
Your handbag: For the essentials.
Baby bag: I always kept a post-it note in ours with a list of what to pack to make it easier to do or delegate.
School bags: Primary schoolers will usually just need their hat, homework and bus pass (if needed), and then in the morning you’ll add lunch box and drink bottle. High schoolers will need to check they have the right books packed for tomorrow’s classes
Go bag: For the extras you’ll need to run errands.
4. Pack lunches.
Pop dinner leftovers or a simple sandwich into a container, add a piece of fruit and a snack and lunch is ready for tomorrow! You can put the whole lunch box in the fridge and in the morning add an ice pack before you leave.
If you don’t have room in the fridge for the whole lunchbox, just do step one (leftovers or sandwich into a container, into the fridge). The rest can be done quickly and easily tomorrow morning.
5. Wash dishes and tidy up the kitchen.
I promise, walking into a clean and tidy kitchen makes your morning so much easier.
Wash (or stack the dishwasher) as you cook dinner to get most of the dishes out of the way.
Then do the last few plates and pots after you eat and pack leftovers away for lunch tomorrow at the same time.
If you are hand washing and it feels like too much, skip drying the dishes, just stack them on the dish rack and let them air dry. It’s easy to put dry dishes away in the morning while you’re making coffee.
6. Put a load of dirty clothes into the washing machine.
You can turn it on now if you’ll have time to hang or dry it in the morning.
Or you can just put the clothes in tonight and in the morning, turn it on before you leave so it’s ready to hang or dry when you get home.
7. Get tomorrow’s outfits ready.
Your clothes and accessories, kids clothes or uniforms. This is really handy because if you notice a rip or a hem that has come down, you can fix it now instead of trying to cram it in tomorrow.
Having the kids find their shoes the night before is so much more relaxing than hunting around for them in the morning!
8. Take a shower.
Nighttime showers are so much more relaxing. It’s uninterrupted YOU time (if you’re able to lock the door).
You don’t have to rush as you do in the morning when everyone else is waiting for the bathroom and worried about missing the bus or being late to work.
If you have babies or toddlers, having a warm, relaxing shower at night after they’ve been put to bed feels like your reward for getting through the day!
Plus nighttime showers give you extra time for pampering and doing the extras like a face or hair mask, nails, etc if you want to.
9. Check your alarm is set for the morning
I hate alarms, but on days when I have to use them, they are helpful - if I remember to set them!
Add a snooze or two if that makes it easier - I like to trick myself into thinking I’ve snuck in a few extra minutes of sleep.
If you’re worried you’ll sleep through your alarm, set it half an hour earlier than you need it, and set a second alarm for your real wake-up time.
10. Take ten minutes to journal or read (screen-free)
These ten minutes without screens at the end of your day will help clear away the rest of the mental load for today and let the buzzing of your brain start to fade. It will calm your mind and body and get you ready for sleep.
If you’d like to take more than ten minutes, go for it! This is a lovely way to end your day.
Those are my favourite nighttime tasks to make my mornings easier, I hope you found them helpful! If you have babies and toddlers at home and you're ready for easier mornings with them too, grab a free copy of my eBook 5 Steps to an Easier Morning!
x Marissa
