Mom Boss - Routine is everything
I'm the worst when it comes to scheduling, keeping to commitments, arriving on time and etc. I over-schedule, under-prepare and kind of just fly by the seat of my pants - or I used to! Now, I've completely adapted my life to fit my new life as a mom and a mom boss. Coming from the corporate world you'd think that I had it together in terms of being organized, scheduled, on time and etc. In fact, I would project manage and that was really my role, holding the team accountable to timelines, scheduling and being prepared! I don't know how I did it for over 6 years and I truly believe that career and ones prior prepared me for my greatest mom boss career that is today.
Before we get into the details on the daily routine, let's talk non-negotiable on those days. What you do first thing in the morning sets the tone for the entire day. I start each day with hot lemon water to aide in digestion and hydrate me first thing in the morning. It works wonders. I do it before I have coffee each day. It's absolutely essential. I follow that or drink it while I'm doing my stretching, journaling, meditating or just sitting watching the sunrise. I find I'm more calm, balanced, grateful and focused before my day starts. I love having my alone time in the morning. It's when I feel most alert, energized and creative so its good to get out my thoughts early before the day activities take over!
The second piece of this is a workout. I have to do something to move every morning. Now because my job is very physical and I'm "working out" quite a bit I still need my own time to sweat and clear my head. I try to do this at least 3-4 days a week. It really helps ease my mind, eliminates any anxiety and really puts me in a good mood and energizes me for the day.
Now, to get into the more specifics of my day. Depending on the day, at least 3 - days a week I'm teaching about 3-4 classes and working in between. When I say working I'm doing anything from creating and filming recipes, creating workouts, blogging, exploring how to optimize my website, planning out the day/week, coming up with new content and etc. To help give me time to do that, I take Alexandra to daycare on those days and typically they are very full days for both of us!
Two days a week, I'm with Alexandra all day. I teach 2 classes on on one of those days and take her to the gym with me. The rest of the day we are together. If I work at all its during her 1.5-2 hour nap, other than that I'm 100% dedicated to momming those days - no question. I try to plan activities outdoor or indoor to get us out in the morning and we are out the door by no later than 9 am to get us back for lunch and her nap by noon. In the afternoon I usually do a long walk or we go to the park. Sometimes we will have a playmate planned for that park time to mix it up and give me a little mom support and relief. After an long afternoon we are home by 4-5 to start making dinner, doing dishes and cleaning up the house, doing laundry or having some reading time. We do dinner at 6 pm for Alexandra and that's too early for me and usually my hubs isn't home at that point so I will snack and then eat a dinner after she goes to bed. After dinner we will get out her energy by having her walk and play in our plaza outside and maybe socialize with neighbors. This is her time when she is most active and hyper winding down. It really helps her to get it all out before we start bath time at 7 pm. After bath, its time for a book while she has her bottle and then she's in bed, usually sleeping by 7:45/8pm.
It's super important to have a routine for both Alexandra and I. As humans we crave routine and because of that she's much more well-behaved and knows what to expect. There's no confusion and we never have issues with her going down for bedtime. I also like it for me because I have my time to do work, catch up with my hubs and/or clean up the house.
As a kid I had a routine and I hated it and maybe that's why as an adult I wasn't a huge fan. I viewed it as being boring, and quite stifling. It's hard as adults to have this routine and many do not have a set daily routine and ‘wing’ their day. By not having routine, we have no idea what we are going to do when we wake up each morning because we have not thought about creating a schedule to adhere to. As a result, many people feel like they are stressed, anxious, overwhelmed and falling short of their goals and true potential. What I learned is by carefully designing a routine that works best for me and Alexandra it helps me be productive, in control, and being on top of my game. Especially as a mompreneur its vital to balance business with being a mom.
Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely some days/weeks where I'm completely off and don't have a schedule and therefore feel very flighty, disorganized and not productive! It creates more stress for me because I feel such a strong urge to be productive and feel empty if I' don't accomplish anything for the day. Because of this, keeping a schedule and routine is vital for my health and wellness. There are times when I'm on vacation or simply taking a day off where I don't schedule anything or stick to a routine and I bask in it, however those are saved for times when I need to take a break and want to actually decompress and de-stress my life at which point its good for me, and my family.
Ok, back to routine and scheduling! Here's a great example of a typical day that will give you some context into my life and hopefully help you to organize your day in a way that works for you!
As an example, here is a routine on a typical Monday.
Monday:
Wake up 5-5:30 AM - Make hot lemon water, stretch, meditate, journal
6:00-6:45 - Workout 25-30 minutes high intensity intervals paired with weight lifting. Here is an example below:
I love doing PWR program by BBG when I don't want to think and just want someone to tell me what to do. I create workouts all day everyday and its nice to just give the control up here on those days. Plus the program has been amazing for me and has given me tremendous results!
. Warm up - Walk 2-3 min OR run 2-3 minutes OR do simple warm ups on app like jumping jacks, high knees, arm circles, mountain climbers and etc.
4 - 5 minute circuits consisting of whatever muscle group I'm working that day. For this example lets use biceps and triceps.
Chest Press 12/10/8/6
Chest Cable Fly's 12/10/8/6
Tricep Pull Downs 12/10/8/6
Pushups
Chest Flys
Skull crushers
1 min sprint in between each circuit / 2 min run at the end of circuits
2-3 min stretching
6:45 - 7:30 AM - Shower, coffee and pack Alexandra's lunch for the day
7:30 - 8:45 AM - Alexandra wakes and we play, eat breakfast, get dressed
8:45 - 9 AM - Walk to school, drop off and head to coffee shop to work
9 - 11:45 AM - During this time I really catch up on coursework with my holistic nutrition program, write a couple blogs and plan out the week.
12:15 - 1:00 PM - Teach Boot camp
1:30 - 1:45 PM - Lunch
1:45 - 3:45 PM - Here depending on what needs to be done I may create a recipe and film it, blog more, continue with coursework, plan out my evening teaching schedule.
4:30 - 5:30 PM- Personal Train Client
5:45 - 7:30 PM - Teach yoga then spin class
8:00 - 8:30 PM - Dinner at home / catch up with hubby
8:30 - 10/11 PM - Working again here either filming or photographing recipes, Blogging, checking in with social media all while catching up with the hubs. We typically both with on Monday nights at home.
Once again, this is clearly an example that works for me and we are all different therefore have different wants and needs so what works for me may not work for you but the its here to provide a little background on how I structure my day to keep my sanity! I hope it helps!
Much love!
XO
Angie