Schedules were my thing before motherhood. Now, schedules are not my thing. I wish they were, really, I do. I want to be someone who wakes up, has a predictable routine, and knows what to expect with each coming day. Pinterest-worthy schedules are something that I’ve been chasing for a while now. Even one of my earlier posts has a “daily rhythm” printout. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn’t! 

I’m learning to be okay with that. 

My kiddo is a sort of toddler now, and sleep is still not happening at all. No sleep y’all. So, schedules are not going to be my thing for a while. 

Instead of obsessing over a schedule, I am trying to intentionally add some things into our day instead of planning motherhood down to the minute. 

Go outside, every day

For example, those of you who have heard of the 1,000 hours outside challenge, know that we need to be spending at least 1 hour outside a day, but my goal is usually closer to 2. Granted, it’s winter in the PNW, so by the time summer rolls around and we go hiking and camping, we will hit 1,000 hours no problem! So, the little one and I have been taking the dog on a walk every morning, playing at the park for at least 30 minutes (rain or shine) before lunch, playing in the backyard before nap #2, and usually walking the dog again after dinner! That adds up to at least 2 hours most days, sometimes more if it’s particularly pleasant weather. Listen, y’all, motherhood is wayyyy easier outside. Less ‘no’s’ and less to clean.

Get Ready for the Day

Motherhood is important work. So, I try to dress like it. The other thing I have been trying to do is to get myself ready for the day before we head down to eat breakfast and begin morning chores. I feel so much more put together and awake. Since my little one has such trouble sleeping, I shower at night since our mornings we wake up together between 4-6; I can’t force myself awake any earlier for a shower! My morning routine is very simple then. Unbraid or rebraid my hair, get dressed, deodorant, and cold water on my face, and brush my teeth. Maybe some moisturizer if I remember. Chapstick for sure. If I’m feeling fancy, I might cover up my dark circles and pop some brown eyeshadow and black mascara on, but that is pretty rare over here. Even without makeup, I feel so much better when I’m prepared. 

I’m sure most moms can relate to looking at the clock and it’s 2 pm and you’re still in your pajamas and it’s been days since you’ve showered. I’ve been there, promise. In the first ¾ months of my child’s life, I was totally fine with that – I loved it! At a certain point though it started to just make me feel icky and depressed, so I knew I needed a change. It has been really great. 

Clean as you go

Cleaning up before we move on to another activity is also something that has been difficult to implement but has improved our days when I stick to it. We clean the kitchen completely when we’re done before we move on. Toys are put away before we get new ones out. The bathroom is tidied up after baths before we do storytime. You see the theme. 

Along with this, I never put more than one “large” cleaning task (ie. cleaning the whole bathroom, vacuuming upstairs, mopping the floors) on my plate for a day. Unless it is a dedicated cleaning day (these are rare – maybe once every few months)!

Start dinner by 4 pm!

Simple, but not necessarily easy. I also do my best to set the table right away in order to reduce the stress and rush as dinner time comes closer! 

These things have been helping me feel like my life is getting a little bit back on track. Not completely, not perfectly, but a little bit. It certainly has been helping me enjoy motherhood more as well.

I hope some of these tips will help you out as well, or at least give you something to think about. I have decided that I’m going to write more often, but just whatever I want I suppose. Who reads this anyways!? Getting into a routine of posting frequently will hopefully lead to me improving the content. We’ll all see together!