If you want to have a productive day, having a night routine in place is the first place to start.
Having a morning routine in place is key to starting your day right. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about successful morning routines, it’s that they depend on what happens the night before. If you’re waking up each morning without a plan or without having done anything the night before to prepare, you’re going to be disappointed.
There are three key things you need in your night routine to ensure success the next day:
1. Have a Plan in Place
You can’t just wake up with no plan and expect your morning to run smoothly. You need to know WHY you’re waking up when you are, WHAT you want to accomplish during those first hours, and HOW you’re going to accomplish that.
Think about your why and what you want to do, then write out your routine. Post it by your bed or keep it in your phone–at least until you get the hang of it.Then each night before you go to sleep, read over your routine so you know exactly what’s coming the next morning. There’s something about reading your list before bed that’s magical. It’s like your mind takes it in and goes over it while you sleep, so when you wake up, you’re ready to tackle it.
If you do the same thing every day, in the same order (or try as best you can), it’ll become a habit and the tasks will start to take less and less time until you’ve reached maximum efficiency. Obviously as a mom (and especially a mom of young kids), distractions & interruptions are a huge part of your day. But try to stick to the routine as best you can as often as you can.
2. Do As Much Prep Work As Possible
Use whatever time and energy you can muster up at night to prep for the next day. This will help your mornings run SO MUCH SMOOTHER. I know it seems like it should take the same amount of time and effort if you do it the night before or the morning of, but I promise this step is SO WORTH IT.
It’s often so hard to push myself to do this, but when I don’t, I always regret it. Lay out your clothes for the next day (and workout clothes if you work out in the AM). Pack your diaper bag. Prep for breakfast (and lunch and dinner). Straighten the house. Have your kids lay out their clothes and pack their backpacks and lunch boxes.
The more work you do to prepare the night before, the better your day will start.
3. Sleep
If you don’t get enough sleep, there ain’t no way you’re going to wake-up the first time your alarm rings. You’re going to press snooze. And then press it again. And again and again and again.
Or, if you’re one of those amazing people that doesn’t ever press snooze, you’re going to wake up groggy and unmotivated and spend extra time trying to wake yourself up rather than spending that time on your morning routine.
If you want to wake up on time and have a successful morning, you have to get enough sleep. This means you need a bedtime and you need to honor that bedtime. Set an alarm in your phone to remind you it’s time to get ready for bed. Stop looking at screens at a certain time of night. Take a bath. Diffuse lavender by your bed. Do what you need to do to ensure you’re in bed on time and able to fall asleep as quickly as possible.
By keeping these three things in mind the night before, we can better prepare ourselves for the next day and start our day off on our best foot.
What’s something you struggle with at night? Let me know in the comments below.
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Britney is a wife and mom with a passion for helping other women see the good inside of them. She loves podcasts, polka dots, and dancing around the kitchen with her family.