If you want to have consistent good days but it seems like they are always derailed and nothing goes as planned, I hear you. After years of trying to figure out the reason why some days are good and some days are not, I can assure you it all comes down to how you start your day. No, I’m not going to tell you to wake up at 4:30 in the morning but I am going to tell you that you need to start your day off on the right foot in order to carve out those predictable and productive GOOD days, day after day. Grab your pen and paper and find out exactly what you need to do in order to have a productive good day, every day as a busy mom.

Listen below for the entire episode on The Systemize Your Life Podcast

I know sometimes you have these super killer days and then some days, maybe more often than those killer days, you have off days. You may not know why this is happening but first I want to bring you back to your routines and time blocking. When I’m on top of my game my systems are flowing, my time blocks are nailed down, and I’m hitting all my routines. These things create so much joy and freedom in my life.

But sometimes I slip too. These off days can almost always be traced back to this one key indicator and that is how I start my day. That means a good day depends on how much sleep I got the night before and what time I got out of bed. How I started my day dictates the rest of my day every single time without fail. So here are my top tips for busy moms on how to start your day right.

A Must: Rise Before Your Kids

This is going to look different for every single woman. I’m not going to tell you, “You have to get up at 5 am and do this, this, and this.” But I am going to tell you that you need to start your day on the right foot. This has several components but first and foremost, you need to make sure you’re up before your children. You need to be awake before anyone is demanding something from you.

If your children are early risers, like mine, we’re going to talk about it. We are going to hear a little bit of everything from every perspective. I have coached women through this inside of the Systemize Your Life Academy from every walk of life. We need to key in on the things that are keeping you up late or making you sleep in.

So, let’s dig in and look at how you can find time as a busy mom to be more productive and get out of bed on time.

Determine Your Wake Up Time

The first thing I want you to write down is to determine what your actual wake-up time is. If waking up before your kids sounds insanely hard, just give yourself 15 extra minutes. If you can, start with 30 minutes. Start incrementally and your body will adjust.

You then need to determine how much sleep you need in a night. We are all in different seasons and some seasons require more sleep. If you are in a great spot, maybe you can do 7 hours of sleep at night. If you have a newborn baby, sick kids, or hard relationships you might need that 9 hours to emotionally recharge.

That will determine what time you want to get up and what time you need to go to bed. For me if I’m getting up at 4:30 a.m. to go to the gym lights are out by 8:30. Mom is not joking. I know if I get up at 4:30 a.m. I will have an awesome day. Every single time.

If I’m not going to the gym I get up at 5. I love a slow morning doing my makeup, picking out my clothes, and getting a good study in before I start with my kids at 6:45.

But I’m not going to tell you, you need to get up at 4:30 and still do the same things the night before that you’re always doing. You will need to also adjust what you are doing the night before.

I’ve made a fun list of everything that could potentially be keeping you up the night before.

Everyone needs a Night time routine

So the first thing is you need to have your kids on a nighttime routine no matter what age. Even near adult children that stay up late need routines. You can teach them this model so they can take it with them into adulthood. We even have a post that specifically talks about nighttime routines.

You can also pop inside the Facebook group and tell us what age your kids are and ask what other people are doing for a bedtime routine.

Start Dinner on Time

Here is another reason why you might be staying up too late. You’re not making space to clean during the week and you’re also not keeping a tidy house. I hear this from so many women, “When do you clean your house if you don’t do it after your kids go to bed ?” I clean with my kids.

The earlier you can start dinner and the more simple that you can make it the quicker the cleanup will be. That does not mean disposable plates and forks and knives and spoons.

You have to create a system that allows every single person to take their plate, scrape it, rinse it, and put it in the dishwasher to help clean up. Then everyone moves into their bedtime routine.

If you have extracurriculars every single night of the week that does not allow you to do that I really suggest you sit down and take a good long hard look at why you’re putting your kids through 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. work every single day of their lives.

Everyone has their answer and everyone’s answer is valid but I think a lot of us need to stop and look at why we’re doing that. There should be in my opinion a few nights a week where you’re able to come together as a family, if not every night of the week.

I’m cleaning as I cook dinner so my kitchen is cleaned up, except for pots and pans, before I sit down to eat a meal with my family. But it’s really important that everybody pitches in after they eat to help clean up. I even have some podcast episodes to give you tips on how to get everyone on board to help tidy the house.

Unwind without screens

Another thing that is keeping you up too late is that you’re unwinding with social media or television. You get sucked in and you need to stop. This is one I have to fight. I am now keeping my phone in a phone basket in another room so it’s really inconvenient for me to go get. Stay away from Netflix at night because man there’s some cool stuff on there. If you need some help separating from your phone I have some helpful advice in this podcast episode.

“You need to start your day on the right foot. This has several components but first and foremost, you need to make sure you’re up before your children. You need to be awake before anyone is demanding something from you.”

Have a Sanctuary

The last thing I have written down on why you’re not getting to bed on time is that you don’t have a sacred sanctuary to wind down in. Most of the time for me it is my bed. I go straight to my bed after the girls are down and I read, then I go brush my teeth, set the alarm, hop into bed and turn off the lights. I think if you just start with this alone you’re going to see a huge improvement and shift in your ability to wake up on time.

Extra Tips

Maybe you are doing all these things and you are still having trouble getting out of bed in the morning. Here are a few tips that might help.

• Plug your phone in on the other side of the room.
• Have everything ready for you when you get out of bed, clothes set out, tea ready etc.
• Use an alarm ringtone that makes you happy such as a favorite song.
• Put a message on your alarm. I use ‘Rise and Shine and Love Your Day.’
• Make your bed, yes make your bed.

If you’re someone who is getting to bed on time but you are still feeling tired these are some things you can look at as well. I’m not a doctor but here are some suggestions.

• Use white noise.
• No screens for at least 30 minutes before you sleep.
• Protect your peace-don’t answer that phone call, check social, or look at the news.
• Nourish yourself throughout the day-get those vitamins and supplements in.
• Be exercising.

You may have some real roadblocks to making these things happen. But, if you have that vision, that is there for a reason and you absolutely should continue to work towards it. Some of you might need two weeks, some of you a year, to get these things in place. It will all come down to how long you will let the excuses stand in your way. You are not a snowflake, we all have our own set of difficult circumstances.

If you can make this happen and get serious about it you will have good day after good day. Figure out the specifics you need to work on and make it happen. You can get coaching and support on this inside the Systemize Your Life Academy. We also would love to support you inside our free Facebook group. Just pop a question in over there and let us know where you are at. I sincerely hope I get to see you over there. Thanks for hanging out!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have any other ideas for how I can get more done?

Yes, sister! So glad you asked. You can check out productivity and systems from my home management systems in my podcast vault and use the Command/Control + C function to search the term “routines.” You will find tips to apply in all areas of your home!