Mamma Mia Greens

Now is the time to create a routine for the stay at home mom. Are you sick of the chaos, feeling overwhelmed, and done with the exhaustion that comes along side being a mom? You’re in luck this post will give you the best advice when it comes to establishing a routine that WILL ACTUALLY WORK!

This post is all about having a routine stay at home mom.

What do stay at home moms do with time?

Time can be your best friend or your enemy. As moms we must steward the time we are given well. It feels like we either have too much time on our hands or not enough. Along with time are the prioritizes and lists of task to get done. Including when it needs to be done by. So when time is at its crunch are you prepared or overwhelmed? Let’s be a generation of stay at home moms that steward our time well with the task at hand. The best way to steward our time is by creating a routine.

Why do you need a routine?

Creating a routine is good for stay at home moms and for the kids because it relieves the family from anticipation anxiety. Do you have kids that constantly ask no what are we doing? When are we going to have lunch? Can I watch TV. Once a routine is established everyone in the family will start to get into the rhythm of how the day will go. Eventually, eliminating some of the same questions moms and dads get asked multiple times a day.

Having a routine helps you be more productive. You start to become intentional with your time when you have a plan established. When you become more productive you begin to feel the accomplishments that you have set before you. Instead of wasting time scrolling away on your phone viewing how everyone else is living their life. You get to be knee deep into the daily grind and the sweet blessings that the day holds.

You need to create a routine you enjoy, especially as a stay at home mom. Romanticizing the sweet moments of your routine all in the process of raising kids day in and day out. A routine stay at home mom will forever change the way you do life. Your mood will be better and you will look forward to settling into these routines each day. Below is how you create good habits and routines that will forever change your life!!

7 Tips for Creating Routine for the Stay at Home Mom

1.Make A Gumbo List

You mama have a long running to do list, don’t you? I am there with you. To start creating a routine as a stay at home mom is to write down everything that needs to be done. Of course, we might want and need to get all the things done today but in reality it will not happen. We simply do not have the capacity to do it all. But we must know all the things that are needed to be accomplished and get the thoughts of the things we want to do and have them be on “paper”(or on your todo list on your phone).

This giant list are things like: Deep clean the kitchen, folding the laundry, make eye doctors appointment, take Jimmy to soccer practice, buy new bed sheets, etc. Now that you have a giant list of “to dos” let’s jump to step number two.

2.Prioritize Your Top Three

Now that you have a giant list that is as long as a giraffe. These lists can seem SO daunting. It is EXTREMELY important to choose the top three. I know only THREE. It doesn’t mean that you will only do three things but it does indicate that you will FOR SURE get these things done. These three things have to be reachable. Making it a priority to read a whole book in a day doesn’t really seem in reach to accomplish in one day(unless its children’s book or with lots of pictures). But reading 10 pages of your book is more of a reachable goal on your top three.

After you choose your three things you have to make a small reward for yourself. Something, I have liked to do is reward by going on a walk. I have rewarded myself by having a special healthy chocolate snack (sunflower cups from Trader Joe’s, yummy!!). Sometimes the reward is big and can impact your kids. This is a huge incentive to get the reachable tasks completed. For example, a reward to get out of the house. You could take the kids to the park and you treat yourself to a coffee. Good for them and for you once you have finished those three things. Make your task in reach, you got this Mama!!

3.Time block

Time blocking will be your best friend if it is done effectively. Of course creating a schedule to work for you and your family. This will not be the case for everyone to the tee. But you can switch around time blocks that will fit your family best. One important tip is to dedicate one/two days a week for outing. If that is grocery shopping, errands, appointments, going to the post office, etc. It is helpful to schedule these outings at around the same time. For us, going on an afternoon outing is better after my son wakes up from a nap. I make sure he gets his lunch and a good nap in then interpreting his nap by taking him in and out of the car to check the things off my list. Time blocking with assist to create the routine for the stay at home mom.

Other things to add to your time block are me time for mom, homeschooling routine, going outside for playtime, workouts, to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner around the same time everyday, etc.

4.Make Goals To Create Good Habits

Time to create some long-lasting habits. When you feel motivated it is easy to accomplish something. But the moments where you lack motivation is when you need to kick in the consistent habits even then you are not motivated. Having these habits established will help you. In fact, you won’t even think twice about doing it. It will feel like second nature to you.

The key to to creating habits that last are by making extremely small changes. These changes can be so small that have you thinking… is it even worth it if it is so small. Craig Groeschel uses the example of creating the habit of flossing. It is so small but it can be habit that can be established and part of your routine. If you’re someone who is into habits checkout Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast and Atomic Habits by James Clear to grow and be inspired in these areas.

Now when it comes to choosing habits, you want to start implementing the most important ones first. So it is not advised to chose 10 things you want change by added to your routine all at once. According to a recent study, it take 59-70 days to form a habit. You will burn out and end up doing nothing! If this happens then you will more than likely mentally beat yourself up for not accomplishing your goals and it becomes this horrible cycle.

List of extremely small habits to try:
Floss
Walk 10 minutes
Read 5 pages
5 minutes of quiet in the morning(no podcasts or music)
Start your day by saying a prayer
Text of gradititde to a friend
Drink lemon water first thing in the morning(Yes, before coffee)
Take 5 minutes in the morning to yourself before grabbing your phone.

5. Set Start and Stop Times To The Day

Your mind and body need to be on the same page. Wake up at the same time every single day. Waking up early is not my favorite thing to do. But I am way more productive the mornings I do wake up before my child wakes up. You will not regret waking up and taking some moments as you start your day with productivity. If waking up early is hard for you. The best tip is to put your phone across the room for when your alarm goes off you have to wake up. Next step is not even hitting the snooze button. This will help you get your body up and moving in the first moments of your day.

Waking up a a specific time is just as important as going to bed a certain time. Again, to get your body into a rhythm with your sleep schedule will help give your body the proper rest it need. Also you have more of an incentive of when you need to be done doing work. Yes, even house work. If want to be in bed by 10pm make your last hour of the night be for enjoyment. At 9pm clock out of house work, phones times, or anything that might drain you and use it for something you enjoy. Yes, end the work even if everything in the house isn’t perfect. Because there is always something to do. We must put a stop to the MADDNESS!! You might enjoy reading, a movie, or show, painting your nails. I meant don’t you want to do something that will refresh you for the next day?

6.Be Intentional By Preparing The Night Before

Preparing the night before is a be a GAME CHANGER!! If you make plan and write down some of the few things you want to accomplish the next day you are starting your day up for success(write your top three). A few things you can do to prepare the night before is lay your clothes out for the next day. This is a great way to prepare especially if you plan to workout in the morning. To have your clothes out and ready for you to jump into your workout. Making every minute in your morning be productive and valuable. Another way to prepare the night before is make your lunch or breakfast before you go to bed. One of the most popular breakfasts to make the night before is overnight oats. For one, the mess is all ready cleaned up and you will have a filling breakfast waiting for you in the morning.

7. Focus On Your Wellbeing

Focus on your wellbeing can be a little overwhelming because there is so much we can do to be more health driven. But going back to the small goals and habits to make one small change at a time. How we fuel our bodies is huge. If all you drink in the day is coffee with no water. Your body will have a response that will highly effect your mood and energy. Coffee has wonder benefits and contains the minerals our body needs. Of course coffee should be consumed in moderation(like many things). When we over consume it can no longer be good for you. This can be in multiple ways not just coffee(I am writing this because it is my weakness by far!!)

If you are someone who struggles with eating healthy I challenge you to make the change one meal at a time. Start with consistently creating a healthy breakfast. Once you have created a healthy breakfast move on to learn how to create a healthy lunch. Eventually, you will be a healthy person by the way you prepare your meals because you consistently made the change one meal at a time(this kinda sounds like an ad, haha but really it will work).

I hope that you have found these seven tips to be helpful as you change your life to make the best routine as a stay at home mom that works for you and your family. I pray that you give yourself grace as you take on the task for self improvement to serve your family with love. I believe we can do anything in through the strength of the Holy Spirit. I am proud of you and cant wait to hear about the your favorite part of your routine. This post is all about having a routine stay at home mom.

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7