We have always been pretty good at having a great morning routine that sets us up for productive days.
But Jo kinda lost her mojo with her morning routine months ago. They moved interstate (from Tassie to the Gold Coast) at the end of last year and they’ve been chasing their tails settling in ever since. One of the things that fell by the wayside was her morning routine. It wasn’t until she really thought about it, how much a good day is totally set up by the things she did in the morning to get her going which in turn, also set her family up for a good day too. Especially given she has young kids (currently 13 and 10).
Because Jo has young school-aged kids, they need to make sure they are out the door on a school morning by 8am, and on Thursdays when her son has music before school, they need to leave even earlier by 7:30am. And you can bet that Thursdays are their most disorganised and chaotic day of the week. It’s funny how half an hour can create a day of total drama and disarray.
So… we thought we would dedicate a podcast ep to just that… setting yourself up for a magic day from the power of a morning routine. And by yourself, we literally mean… just you!
For Tracey, the power of her morning routine sets her day up for success. She doesn’t need to worry about doing anything for her adult daughters (currently 23 and 20) because they are self-sufficient, well except for puppy sit her fur-grandson Bodhi, but that’s a joy!
Having a solid morning routine is something she has always done. It could be from her military days when discipline was key, or possibly from growing up with an organised mother… who knows 🤷🏼♀️, but the point is… it works!
📔 TRACEY’S MORNING ROUTINE
Currently, it looks like this:
- Get up between 6:30am-6:45am
- Put all the diffusers on
- Open up all the blinds
- Put a log on the heater
- Put a load of washing on/fold the washing
- Go for a walk/exercise
- Have a shower and get ready
- Have breakfast
- Get into the office to start work by around 9:15am-9:30am
Because Tracey doesn’t have kids to get off to school, her work day starts a little later and finishes a little later than Jo’s.
Her routine is regimented and one she sticks to so that her day goes well.
And truth bomb… if she doesn’t exercise in the morning before work, she generally won’t do it at all that day. She has tried exercising in the afternoon, but it just doesn’t work for her, nor is she consistent with it. So, mornings it is!
Now that she is getting older and smack bang in perimenopause, her body is exhausted by the afternoon/evening, and the last thing she feels like doing is exercising, so she does what works well for her body.
📔 JO’S MORNING ROUTINE
Currently, it looks like this:
- The alarm goes off 5am… 321 Up!
- Quickly dressed
- Chug a large cup of filtered water and maybe 1/2 a banana
- Work out
- Shower
- Get kids ready
- Make lunches etc.
- Take kids to school
- Start day in the office around 8:30
Jo also exercises in the morning because after school is generally filled up with her kid’s activities. So, whilst the afternoons are about her kids, the mornings are purely for her.
A few tips that they have implemented to help their days run even better are:
👗 Get tomorrow’s clothes laid out the night before going to bed
Tracey is a big advocate for this! If she doesn’t do this, her morning routine is all messed up. It sounds simple, but the few times she hasn’t done it, she stands there aimlessly looking at her clothes trying to figure out what to wear for the day, and it’s basically just one big waste of time.
📵 Don’t look at phone during the morning routine
This was definitely a habit that they both needed to break. Jo used the excuse that she had to have her phone next to her bed because it had her alarm clock on it, but this led to mindless scrolling first thing in the morning. She ended up buying a $12 alarm clock from Kmart which she uses instead, and the phone is in the kitchen now where Tracey also has hers during the night.
🧘🏼♀️ Exercise at home if you can’t get out
When Jo’s kids were really little and she couldn’t head out for a walk or to the gym, she would pop a workout up on the TV and do her exercise to that. Back then she used to buy workout programs and do them at home. There are so many on YouTube these days that you can get them anywhere. Tracey has had a Les Mills On Demand membership for years and loves the convenience of it because she can do it whenever she wants in the privacy of her own home.
As for Jo’s kids during exercise time, she taught them very early on that they were not to disturb her unless it was an emergency. They were welcome to sit on the couch and watch, or read a book or whatever, but they had to not fight, ask questions or demand her attention because the reality is, they didn’t actually need her until it was time for breakfast and get ready for school.
Yes, it may sound harsh, but a mum having me time is so incredibly important and nothing to feel guilty over. When Mum’s thrive, the whole family thrives. It really is that simple.
So… don’t ever feel guilty about prioritizing some you time, whether that’s for exercise or going to the hairdresser or whatever it may be, because it is so incredibly important.
🚶🏼♀️ Go for a walk if you can get out
The last few years, when we go for a walk or exercise outside, one of the greatest things we have ever done is to not have our headphones in. Yes, we take our phones with us, but they stay in our pockets. We stay present and don’t consume content during this time.
You may see lots of people out walking with their headphones in and maybe they’re listening to music or a podcast, and if that works for you… great. But for us, getting back to nature, listening, taking note of our surroundings, and being really present has done wonders for our mental health. There are plenty of other times during our day to consume content like music or a podcast, such as doing chores around the house or cooking dinner, etc. We make this time purely about being present.
So… maybe next time give that a try and see what you notice.
🌃 Get done what you can the night before
This is a given for an easier morning routine. Here’s some things you can do the night before:
- Lay the next day’s clothes out
- Make lunches
- Clean the kitchen so it’s all set for breakfast the next day
- Unpack/Pack the dishwasher
- Put clothes in the washing machine ready to go, and if your machine has a delay function, set it so that it starts the following morning
- Fold and put away any washing
It all comes down to good planning! Again, it’s probably the military background in Tracey but this old military quote has always resonated…
“Proper planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance”
🌅 Get up earlier
Again, that may sound harsh, but if you can get up even 15 minutes or half an hour earlier to get done what you need to, your future self will thank you for it!
🛌 Go to bed earlier
This will help you get up earlier in the morning. Prioritising your sleep is just as important.
🧘🏼 Prioritise some solitude time
It doesn’t have to be exercising like we do, although exercising is really good thinking time for us. But it can be journaling, reading a book, meditating, having a cuppa whilst watching the sunrise, or whatever helps you start the day well. Just make sure it’s about you and nobody else!
You know what the power of our morning routine has done for our kids? Especially Jo’s kids and in particular her teenage daughter, it has taught them the importance of their own morning routine as well. Her kids will prioritise their own exercise time and their own self-care time, which is amazing to see in kids so young.
As you can see, we really encourage you to think about your morning routine. If it’s currently working for you… fantastic! Keep doing it! But if not, think about what you can do to make your life easier and use some of these hints and tips listed above.
Of course, if you have some really great tips you want to add, simply pop them in the comments section below so we can all learn and help each other out.
If you have found this episode (or any of our previous 193 episodes) helpful, then we would love it if you could leave us a review via your fave podcast app. Reviews really help us to know if our podcast content is resonating with you as well as getting our podcast out through the algorithm.
Much love,
Jo & Tracey x
I’m a still working Grandmother of 3 and used to be super organised and then in the last 5 yrs have become so disorganised that my days are so chaotic and exhausting. I have taken so much out of this podcast the ladies just made sense so here’s to being more organised as from tonight
thanks ladies