Simplify Your Morning Routine: Back-to-School Edition

It’s back-to-school season (already!), so it’s time to get back into the groove of school schedules, routines, homework and more.  One of the first things to think about when getting back into the groove is your morning routine.  Today I will be discussing ways to simplify your school morning routine.

1. Meal plan & prep for breakfast + lunch

   Nothing brings on more anxiety than trying to figure out what to make for lunch in real-time. I love to prepare for the week by knowing what I’m going to pack for my daughters lunch each day. This also goes for breakfast items. I make breakfast items in bulk so they can easily be picked from in the mornings. By planning out your meals for breakfast and lunch for the week, this will eliminate lots of stress and wasted time in the mornings.

2. Make lunch at night

   Along with planning lunches and breakfasts, making lunches at night is also a great way to reduce morning stress and to make the mornings run smoother. I usually pack a cold lunch for my daughter, however, this year I plan to incorporate hot thermos lunches. These meals will be made in advance, so I can easily pull them out in the morning, warm them up and put them in the thermos. By making items in bulk, it will also reduce the morning rush. I also prepare her snacks for the week on Sundays, so I don’t have to do these everyday either. Any little thing you can do to eliminate or reduce time spent is helpful and every minute counts!

3. Group school items together for easy access (backpack, jacket, keys, etc)

   Another great way to keep the mornings running smoothly is by keeping all of your items in one area that need to leave the house. This means things like your child’s backpack, lunch, jacket, your keys, your bags, etc. By keeping things in one area it will eliminate lost time in the morning trying to search for these things and trying to gather them together.

4. Become one with the weather report

   The weather report for the week is a huge help for my household because it determines the clothes that I’m going to pick for my daughter for the week (it also determines the type of meals that I will be making for dinner!). Of o know it’s going to be rainy on certain days, I choose outfits and shoes accordingly. I’d it’s going to be hotter on some days than others, I select shorts or dresses. Having an idea of the weather conditions for the week is extremely helpful to make mornings run smoother.

5. Select and iron clothes for the week all at once

   Being armed with the weather report, you can then select your children’s (and yours!) clothes for the week. Iron them all at once to knock out a huge morning task in advance and add a few minutes to your morning by eliminating wasted time trying to figure out what to wear. I usually do this on Sunday’s since I’m prepping other things for the week on this day as well.

6. Add more responsibility to kids each year

   Each year, my daughter is getting more responsibilities added to her plate. This year she will be playing more of an active roll in her breakfast. It will be easy to identify what your child can begin doing. For example, if they can reach their clothes in the closet, they can help choose their outfits for the week. They can also do small things for breakfast time like get their own water, pour their own milk and cereal, help pack their lunch and/or snack, etc. These small things will help a great deal when it comes to time saving.

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What are some things you implement in your day and week to save time in the mornings?

How to Work From the Beach Without WiFi or Data

I want to start this post off saying I am on vacation, so this post is literally my life right now.  I use my iPad to create my content on the go, and there is no data plan attached to it.  I am still creating a blog post with no connection, and this post will tell you all about how to stay productive on the beach even with no wifi or data connection.  Though I mentioned at the beach, this is really for anywhere you go where you want to work but have zero or an unreliable connection.

Key apps:

1. Trello- I plan all my contents in Trello (along with everything else that I plan in life haha), so it only makes sense for it to be one of my key apps for working offline.  Since you do not need a connection to work in Trello, it keeps my workflow going as this is my first stop in my blogging and business processes.

2. Google Docs- this is my writing app of choice.  I always create my blog posts or long format content in Google Docs then transfer it to its permanent home once editing is complete.  I love that you can use Google Docs offline since this is a key app in my business.  If you use a different word processing app that has offline capabilities, you can use that instead.

3. Music app that allows downloading/offline mode- I love to work with music in the background (right now I’m listening to Bossa Nova, specifically Astrud Gilberto).  I subscribe to Tidal for my streaming music service, and you can easily download music to your device to listen to when you have no connection.  This has been especially useful when driving through the mountains because there is NO connection there.  I believe Spotify has the option to download music as well, so make sure you get your music prepared before you leave home.

Key items:

1. Laptop or Tablet (with wireless keyboard for best results)- you will obviously need a device to work on.  As I mentioned earlier, I use my ipad on the go, so I have it attached to a wireless keyboard so I can easily type my contents.  If you prefer to use your laptop, that’s great, too.  You can download Google Docs to a laptop and work offline on it as well!

2. Chargers- this is a key element because it would be terrible to run out of juice while working away from home.  Don’t forget your laptop/tablet and phone chargers.

3. Buds/Headphones- if you will be listening to your downloaded music, you will want to make sure to have earbuds or headphones so you can really zone out and not disturb others around you.

4. Paper and writing utensil- although I prefer to use digital items and apps, I still keep a notebook and pen with me to jot down quick thoughts if I don’t feel it’s necessary to add to a note app.  And hey, paper and pen is always a good backup in general if technology just decides to randomly fail you.

Now for the process:

1.Decide what you will be working on- review what your plans are for the day so you will know what documents need to be downloaded.  

2. Get the latest version of the Google Docs and Trello Boards you will be working in by opening the apps before leaving home (this syncs the latest version to your device).  If you plan to create a brand new document, you can also do this offline and just sync once you have a connection again and are complete for the day.

3. Download the music you want to hear from your music app of choice.

4. Once you’re done with your offline work, make sure to open the apps again once you have a wifi or data connection so the work you did offline will sync to the cloud and be available on all your devices.

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I love to work away from home from time to time for a change of scenery, and this beach vacation was a perfect scene to work on a few pieces of content.  If you live near a beach, this is also perfect for you because you can escape to the beach more often to work for the day and not have to worry about how you will connect to your apps and documents.  Productivity is a great thing, and a connection shouldn’t stop you from being great!