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How to Have Productive Mornings When You Have Early Risers

Author: Guest post from Jessica, motheringwithcreativity.com

I have 3 children ages 4 and under. My baby still wakes up once in the middle of the night, and is up by 5:30 a.m. My two-year-old follows him 15 minutes later. My 4-year-old has learned to “sleep in” until 6:45 a.m. — woohoo! I thought I’d share some tips for making mornings easier, despite the early risers!

I work part-time in the mornings teaching kindergarten, and my husband also leaves the house by 7:25 a.m. It occasionally happens that I have a productive morning with all the children running around and playing nicely. However, most mornings, that is not the case, and so I do not expect it.

Since parents of early risers typically have early-to-bedders, the evenings are often prime “prepping” time for the next day.

Here’s how I use my evenings to make my mornings more enjoyable:

Prepare Lunches
It can often take me 25 minutes to make five lunches for five very different people. (I know it would be easier to say “everyone eats the same thing!” but I do enjoy the special touches for each person, and so it’s something that’s worth it to me to spend a few extra minutes preparing.) Preparing lunches the night before saves that much time and stress from my morning.

Shower at Night
I hate showering at night. Did I mention I hate showering at night? However, I’ve been showering at night for almost three months now. I still hate it, though maybe not as much as I did three months ago!

I go to bed with wet hair (annoying) and I just straighten it in the morning (and use a little water to get out out any crazy kinks). Though I would prefer to shower in the morning, showering at night shaves a lot of time off of my morning routine.

Pick Out Clothes
For the indecisive child (or parent), making clothing choices the night before can save a lot of morning time stress. If my 2 and 4-year-olds know what they are going to wear ahead of time, they are capable of getting themselves dressed without me. This saves me the time, and allows them to practice valuable skills.

Fill Juice Cups
Does anybody else have a child with a one-track mind? I’m sure that in some regards this focus can be a blessing, but at 5:45 a.m., the insistence that “no one else moves until I get my almond milk” is enough to drive me up a wall.

The simple solution? Fill a sippy with almond milk (or juice, water, milk, etc.) the night before and place it in the fridge. As soon as they wake up, they can get their drink, and you don’t have to drop everything to fill a cup. On days when I remember to do this, my two-year-old gives me the biggest smiles.

Make Lists
I love lists. While trying to leave in the morning, do you ever find yourself running in and out of the house for all of the “forgotten” things?

Make a list of all the easily forgotten and necessary items on a sticky note and leave it on the counter or the garage door. Before you leave, be sure to give a quick glance over your list.

Remembering to do some, if not all, of these things helps make my morning with early-risers much more enjoyable and much more smooth.

And for the record, I wrote this in the early morning while my kids slept in. How’s that for irony? That usually never happens!

Jessica Locke is a wife and mom of three small children. She loves Jesus, being creative, eating sweet treats, and making her home a place where others can feel at safe and loved. She blogs about life as a mom at Mothering With Creativity.

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